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Voice search 101: how it works and why marketers should care about it

• Written by Drew Tendero

In a fast-paced society like the one we are living in right now, in which time is more important than ever, we sometimes need answers to our questions as fast as we can, and it seems like assistive technology has come to fix that. Lots of people nowadays rely on voice recognition technologies like Alexa, Siri, or even Google Assistant to solve their random, sudden questions while driving, having a beer with friends, or even taking a shower. However, how do these tools work?

Retro-style illustration of a person whispering to a friendly robot, representing voice search interaction

Well, these voice assistive technologies work in a way that allows them to decide what information from the Internet is valuable and should be delivered to users when, for example, they are asking a question or looking for restaurants nearby. And being mentioned in that answer could be just the boost your visibility has been waiting for…

The truth is that this way of searching has been a little overlooked by marketers, even though it's quite an interesting strategy to implement, as voice search is used more and more every day. According to GlobalWebIndex statistics, around 30–40% of internet users have used voice search or voice commands in the past month on any device.

As we think this might be a great thing to explore, we have written this article teaching you the basics: what voice search is, how it works, and how you could implement it in your overall marketing strategy.

As we've already mentioned at the beginning of this article, voice search is a way for users to search for things by using their voice instead of typing. This is powered by a voice recognition technology called ASR (Automatic Speech Recognition), which is included in devices like smartphones, computers, and smart speakers. Even though it might seem new, this technology has actually been around for a long time, especially as an accessibility feature.

There are different types of voice search, but the most common are assistive voice tools like Alexa, Siri, and Android Assistant. These tools allow users to ask questions, set reminders, search for nearby restaurants, play music, or even control smart home devices without touching a keyboard or screen.

Another type of voice search comes directly from search engines, where users speak queries into apps like Google Search or Bing instead of typing. These searches are often more conversational, using natural language, and the results are optimized to provide direct, concise answers, which are perfect for mobile users or people on the go.

But how do these tools find the information you're looking for, whether they're an assistant or the speaker option in search engines? Well, that's the interesting part from a marketer's perspective, and that's exactly what we're going to explain next.

How does voice search work?

It depends on the tool used, but all of them rely on a combination of AI, Natural Language Processing (NLP), and Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR). This combination of technologies allows them to understand natural language (most languages can be recognized and used), filter out background noise, convert voice into text, and understand what users are actually asking.

They can usually be activated by pressing a button, with a wake phrase like "Hey, Google" or a command like "Alexa, play some country music." For them to be functional when searching or executing a command, they can either work as a native app (like Siri, for example) or require an internet connection.

When it comes specifically to search mode, which is what we are interested in, they are almost always powered by the internet, as they need access to find what you are looking for. But what part of the internet do they access? Well, they usually rely on search engines, just like you would when typing a question. And what information do they provide? Again, similar to typed search, they tend to pull answers from top results, especially featured snippets or highly relevant pages.

And what about voice search optimization?

Regarding how this technology interacts with SEO, as we have already mentioned, all these assistive technologies work with an internet connection to look for answers to users' questions and tend to prioritize the first results in search engines. This means that ranking your content high can be a way to increase your chances of being featured in voice search.

However, some things must be said: traditional SEO alone is not going to ensure you get featured, and you need to better understand how users, search engines, and voice search interact with each other before jumping into a voice search strategy.

At least in our opinion, you must understand two things:

  • Understanding what type of company you have

    Before trying to get your site featured, you need to define what type of website you have. Do you run a blog? A local business? A media outlet?

    Depending on that, your strategy and approach will differ. For example, if you have a location-based business, you should probably focus first on local SEO (Google Business profile, reviews, location keywords, etc.). On the other hand, if you run a blog, it can be more difficult to get featured, as high-authority sources like Wikipedia often dominate direct answers (although it's still possible).

  • Understanding how people use voice search

    You have to understand what type of questions are being asked through voice search to know if it's even worth implementing in your strategy. Most queries tend to be more conversational and question-based, like "what's the weather today?" or random curiosity-driven questions like "who was [insert random person]" or "in which year did [insert war name] start."

    But one of the most important and highly used types of queries is related to local searches, like "restaurants near me" or "best coffee shop nearby." Because of this, local businesses are often the ones that can benefit the most from voice search.

    This doesn't mean that you won't benefit from voice search if you don't have a local business, as you will get other types of benefits, but you should be aware of it, as you won't see the same results.

Understanding these two things will help you create a better strategy, as well as become more aware of how you can benefit and what type of benefits you can get from it. By doing so, you will better understand users' intent when using voice search, and therefore the best way to start with voice search optimization (which is what we are going to talk about now).

Now that you understand how voice search interacts with SEO and what you should consider before implementing a voice search strategy, let's get muddy.

In this section, we are going to explain the most important steps to create a functional Voice Search Optimization (also called VSO) strategy, so you can get your content featured in voice search.

Implement structured data in your content

We have already discussed structured data several times, and that's because it's crucial for SEO, as it helps search engines understand your content better. By tagging key information such as products, events, articles, and FAQs, you increase the chances that your content will be selected as a direct answer for voice queries, making it easier for search engines to read and interpret.

Adding structured data also enhances your content's visibility in rich results, which can include carousels, knowledge panels, or featured snippets (key for voice search ranking, as we'll explain later). For voice search specifically, the clearer and more organized your information, the more likely a voice assistant will pick it as a concise, accurate response.

To implement structured data effectively, focus on marking up your content with schema.org types relevant to your niche, and ensure your tags are accurate and kept up to date. This simple step can significantly increase your chances of being chosen for voice responses.

Apply a local SEO strategy

We have already touched on this earlier in the article, but most users rely on voice search specifically to find businesses near them. The key to appearing as one of those businesses is having a strong local SEO strategy. Voice search depends heavily on Google business listings to recommend options, and if you don't appear there… well, you won't get mentioned by the voice assistant, and you could miss out on a lot of clients.

By following a local SEO strategy that includes an updated Google Business Profile, excellent reviews, accurate contact information, and optimized business descriptions, you increase your chances of being recommended in voice search results. Adding local keywords to your website content and using structured data further strengthens your visibility for users searching in your area.

Focus on mobile and page speed

Just like with Local SEO, responsiveness is non-negotiable. Most voice searches happen on mobile devices, so having a fast-loading, mobile-friendly website is key. If your page is slow or hard to use, it's less likely to be prioritized in voice search results.

Optimize your content for voice search

Besides having well-structured content that directly answers users' questions, optimizing your content with long-tail keywords, question-based queries, and structured data can increase your chances of appearing in voice search results.

For example, if you run a cafeteria, instead of trying to rank for "best coffee," you might target queries like "best small-batch coffee shop open after 8 pm in [city]." These long-tail, question-based queries reflect how users actually search, giving you a better chance to capture voice search traffic.

Target very specific or niche questions

Targeting niche topics or very particular questions increases your chances of being featured over broader, more competitive pages. As we mentioned before, for informational queries, voice search often prefers Wikipedia (we get it), but if you focus on queries that are more specific or pieces of information that can be answered clearly, you'll have a higher chance of getting selected.

For example, instead of focusing on a broad query like "what's voice recognition," you could target a more specific long-tail keyword like "how does voice recognition software work" or "how to use voice recognition in google docs."

These queries might have lower search volume, but they're a smart way to increase your chances of being featured in voice search.

Voice assistants often pull answers from pages that feature clear, structured snippets, so optimizing your content to be "snippet-ready" is crucial. In fact, according to statistics, more than 40% of the results provided by voice search come from featured snippets. If you're not familiar with them, check out our guide on what featured snippets are and how to achieve position zero. Optimize your site to be Gemini-friendly (we recommend checking our article on how to rank on Gemini), and incorporate elements such as images, bullet points, or tables to better structure your content and boost your chances of reaching position 0. Remember to make your content, as mentioned earlier, conversational, easy to understand, question-led, and based on up-to-date, reliable information.

Summary

More than 20% of users worldwide are using voice search, and you don't want to miss out on that opportunity.

Optimizing for voice search allows your content to be featured in another way users look for information. Even if your content isn't immediately chosen as a voice answer, the optimization still pays off, as it improves your overall SEO performance and increases your visibility across search results.

As you've read, you're probably already implementing many of the tips listed, and it's worth noting that all of them are interconnected and also benefit other strategies, such as AIEO or Local SEO. However, if you want to start specifically with Voice Search Optimization (VSO), the key elements to focus on are:

  1. Having a strong Local SEO strategy
  2. Structuring your content
  3. Creating content that is question-led
  4. Standing out by targeting long-tail, niche questions

By combining these elements, your content will be easier to find, actually helpful for users, and more likely to get picked up by voice search, a channel that's growing fast and one you definitely don't want to ignore.