How to Optimize a Site for Google Voice Search: Tips

Today you'll learn how to optimize your site for voice search.

The tips and strategies offered are based on data from a study conducted by Backlinko.

10,000 top pages of search results generated using Google voice search were analyzed.

During testing, 11 potential ranking factors were studied, including page load speed, Schema markup, and HTTPS.

The results of the study will help you understand how to properly optimize a resource for voice search.

Main conclusions of the analysis

1. 1. Load speed is a decisive SEO factor. The average figure for sites on the first page of voice results is 4.6 seconds. This is 52% higher than the average load speed of all online resources.
   2. Sites on an HTTPS connection prevail — their share is 70.4%.
   3. Google Home likes concise answers. On average, the length of a voice answer does not exceed 29 words.
   4. Schema plays a secondary role. Only 36.4% of the resources that made it into voice results use this markup (this figure is only slightly higher than the average for organic search worldwide, which is 31.3%).
   5. Authoritative domains show higher results compared to less significant ones. The average rating of domains returned by Google voice search, measured using the Ahrefs service, is 76.8. You can see an Ahrefs overview in this video.

1. Content popular on social media ranks higher in the results. The average results for posts in voice search are 1,199 Facebook shares and 44 retweets.
2. Simple, easy-to-perceive text is positioned more successfully in voice results. The average readability of its results is at the level of the 9th grade of the school curriculum.
3. It turned out that there are very few sites in the results whose title tags contain an exact match of the query. Creating separate pages for each keyword is the wrong promotion strategy.
4. The average number of words in posts is 2,312. Google tends to look for answers among long articles.
5. Content that ranks high in text search on a PC will very likely also appear in voice results. It was found that 75% of the top voice search results are in the top 3 of regular results for the same query.
6. Getting into the featured snippets block will help improve positions in voice results, which takes 40.7% of all its answers from there.

Below are the statistics and detailed information on these 11 statements. For convenience, we've broken them down into several blocks.

Hey! Yes, you. Looking for traffic for your site? SEOquick will bring you 100% organic!

SEO is your long-term and reliable source of traffic from the Google and Bing search engines

We'll do comprehensive SEO promotion: content, reputation, on-page optimization, link building

Our SEO is white-hat, our goals are your way to the TOP! We know exactly what to do and how. Isn't that just what you need?

Book a call

Speed, security, and conciseness

You won't make it to the TOP of voice search unless you take maximum care of the user.

They don't like to wait, don't want to infect their gadget with viruses, and look for short answers.

Give the user all of this, and you'll come out ahead.

Read the details below.

Sites with fast loading appeal to Google voice search

After analyzing the load speed of voice results, it turned out that the average figure is much higher than for most web pages.

For comparison, TTFB ("time to first byte") was taken as a basis — a measurement that reflects the speed of the server on which the resource is hosted.

The metric shows how long it takes the server to respond to a request.

The average figure in voice search is 0.54 seconds, whereas the same parameter on a global scale is 2.1 seconds.

On average, it takes 4.6 seconds to load an entire page among those that made it into the TOP of voice results.

This figure in global search is 8.8 seconds.

At one point, Google introduced the Speed Update ranking algorithm to the world, which made page load speed one of the most important conditions for getting into the TOP.

Google strives to please users in every way, as they want to find the answer to their question as quickly as possible.

That's why the algorithms increasingly measure the load speed of sites.

This trend is already observed in voice results: results load much faster than most existing web pages.

Optimize this parameter to get high positions in voice search.

If your site runs on WordPress, this article will be useful to you.

A secure HTTPS connection makes sites more attractive to Google Home

Studies have shown that sites on HTTPS get higher positions in voice results compared to regular ones, which are formed during internet browsing from a PC or mobile device.

An analysis of the top links showed that 70.4% of sites switched to HTTPS (the share of such resources in regular Google results is 50%).

The data obtained does not prove that Google values HTTPS sites higher than those running on HTTP.

But it confirms that most top sites have already switched to HTTPS. You should do this too, if you want to join them in voice results.

Google Home gives concise answers

The study found that the average length of a voice answer is 29 words.

When optimizing a site for voice search through Google Home or Google Assistant, shorten the answer snippet, including all the necessary information for the query.

Try to stick to a length of 29 words.

Do you want to get free traffic?

Are you interested in promoting your site?

Fill out the form below and I'll personally contact you, and we'll discuss a plan to grow your business!

Markup and link weight

Google bots also like convenience.

Add Schema.org markup to your site structure and show that your site is authoritative.

Google will appreciate your efforts and ensure a good spot in voice search.

Using Schema.org markup won't help you advance in voice results

You may be aware that Schema.org markup helps search bots better understand your content.

Does this tool affect voice search results?

Most likely not.

According to the study, 36.4% of resources from voice results use Schema.org markup (this figure among regular pages on the internet is 31.3%).

Despite the fact that pages in voice results use markup slightly more often than the average across the network, this difference is insignificant.

More than half of the sites in the TOP don't use it at all.

Thus, we can conclude that Schema is unlikely to be among the decisive factors that affect ranking in voice results.

However, you shouldn't write off this tool.

Schema can improve the visibility of your site on any platform, so you should still use it.

Sites with a lot of link weight are positioned better

It's well known that backlinks form the foundation of the authority of sites in Google search from computers and mobile devices.

To analyze the impact of links on voice ranking, two metrics developed by Ahrefs were taken as a basis:

1. domain rating (DR);
2. page rating (PR).

The average DR of sites in voice results was 76.8. This is a fairly high figure.

With PR, everything is different: the average weight of pages that made it into voice results was 21.1.

How can this be explained?

Unlike regular search, which gives you a list of 10 blue links, the Google Home assistant gives a single answer to the dictated question.

This means that Google must be as confident as possible in the authority of the chosen resource and the relevance of its content.

To simplify the task of recognizing the most reputable resources, the voice search algorithm may rely on the link weight of the domain.

Having found a suitable answer on an authoritative resource, it doesn't evaluate how many links point to the page itself.

Increase the authority of your domain by getting more backlinks from large, popular resources.

Recommended reading:

1. Google search secrets that only 4% of the population know about
2. How CY, IKS, PR, and a site's position in search are connected + 5 ways to increase them

Quality content

A lot has been said about this in the context of regular SEO, but the question doesn't lose its relevance in the voice optimization format either.

Only here, quality content takes on its own peculiarities.

What are they? I'll tell you in this chapter.

Content popular on social media takes high positions

According to the results of the testing, pages that have a lot of shares on social media prevail in voice results.

Considering the fact that half of the articles on the internet are shared on Facebook twice or fewer times, the average number of shares for voice search results, which is 1,199, is a stunning figure.

At the same time, Google representatives have repeatedly stated that they don't use social signals in ranking.

If this is really the case, then Google voice search shouldn't use this factor either.

The data obtained during the study reflects a clear trend: valuable, resonant content takes high positions in any search space, and Google Home is no exception.

Improve the quality and relevance of content, and then it will not only become popular on social media but also rise in any results.

Accessible and understandable content appeals to Google Home

According to the official Google document "Voice Search Guidelines" in English, oratory skill is important in ranking.

To put it simply, the answer must be pronounced clearly and distinctly.

The simpler the speech is, the easier it is for Google to recognize it.

According to the study, the average readability level of voice results is 9.

Thus, the data obtained doesn't prove that Google uses readability as a ranking factor, but it's quite possible.

This will probably be the case in the near future.

Judge for yourself about the features of voice answers:

• they should consist of simple words that are easy to pronounce;
• the user must grasp the content of the text without images;
• the user has no way to clarify the meaning of complex words.

Be proactive: simplify your texts so that they appear in voice results.

Only a few posts contain an exact match of the query in the title tag

Is it worth writing articles for every query for which you want to appear in the results?

If we're talking about voice search, the answer is no.

As the study showed, only 1.71% of voice assistant search results contain an exact match of the query in the title tags.

Here are the voice search results for the query "how to make a cake."

It's clear that the exact match is contained in only one link — it's in second place in the overall mass, but it still got into the voice answer block.

The study was conducted for English-language voice search.

The English-language voice assistant works somewhat differently — it can't yet read all the suggested answers, but dictates links to resources out loud.

This example shows that it chose as the best answer the resource that contains an exact match of the query in the title tag.

Thus, if you're promoting content with a clear query intent, you should continue to include exact queries in the meta tags.

If you're dealing with an English-language resource, it's not at all necessary to do this: it's much more important to make the content relevant, concise, and as easy to understand as possible.

Longreads take high positions in Google Home

The average article that made it into voice assistant results has 2,312 words.

This is a fairly long text.

Does this mean that the Google Home assistant, like computer search, prefers pages with a certain number of words?

Hardly.

It was noted above that voice answers are quite concise (on average, they have 29 words).

There's no reason to believe that Google selects long articles with such short snippets.

Rather, the point is that a lengthy text has more passages that will be suitable for search results for a particular query.

Accordingly, by publishing longreads, you get more chances to make it into voice results.

This probability can also be increased by giving your texts a clear structure.

The test results illustrate the statement: 2.68% of pages in voice search are FAQs.

There's a logical explanation for this.

The lion's share of queries asked of a voice assistant are long interrogative sentences characteristic of the FAQ format.

The answers to them also perfectly meet the needs of voice search.

Proper classic SEO

No matter how you look at it, a spot in voice search is inextricably linked with regular organic results.

If you're in the TOP in standard search, you increase the site's chances of leading in voice search.

In this chapter, I'll talk about the principles of classic SEO that are also important for voice results.

A high ranking increases the probability of getting into voice results

The study revealed a clear relationship between voice and text results.

It was found that 74.9% of Google Home results are pages that made it into the top 3 of text search.

Accordingly, the higher a page's ranking, the greater the probability of it getting into voice results.

Usually, the first lines of text results are occupied by authoritative resources with weighty domains, filled with relevant, well-optimized content.

Google has already singled them out for regular search, so it gives them preference in voice search as well.

Want to get into voice answers?

Bring your pages to the TOP.

The right topics, which are relevant at the moment, will help you get there quickly.

Use the tips from this article to stay on trend.

Publications with featured snippets rank great with the voice assistant

Only trustworthy, authoritative resources are awarded publications with a featured snippet.

This format is ideal for voice search.

The testing showed that 40.7% of voice search results were taken from featured snippets.

Conclusion

If we bring together all the conclusions drawn from the results of the study, we get the following set of characteristics:

If you're planning to optimize your site for Google Home or Google voice search, start with these 10 factors.

Speed up page loading, switch to HTTPS, add content in the format of FAQ pages, optimize the length of articles, simplify the language if necessary, and start promoting the resource more actively on social media and on other sites.

This will help improve positions in both voice and text search.