If you’re not optimizing your landing pages for voice search, you’re “turning a deaf ear” to your audience. Literally.
According to eMarketer, an estimated 91.4 million U.S. consumers will turn to voice commands on smart speakers for their questions by 2026. In fact, Edison Research also highlights that asking questions without needing to type ranks in the top three reasons for smart speaker purchases. You get the drift.
Voice search SEO is non-negotiable. And voice search optimization is one of the most important steps in website-building.
But, how do you optimize landing pages for voice search?
That’s what we’ll cover in today’s guide on voice search. Let’s begin.
1. Target Long-tail Keywords
There’s a difference between writing and speaking. You don’t write the way you speak, and vice-versa.
Writing is the product of conscious thinking.
Speaking, however, isn’t. At least, not always.
Source: Medium
Consequently, how someone types a query in the search bar will be markedly different from the way they use voice. For example, if someone wants to find out the best Italian restaurants in NYC, they are going to type something like the following:
best Italian restaurants NYC
However, for spoken search, the same query would read like:
“Hey Google, what are the best Italian restaurants near me in New York City?”
Typing tends to be more concise and keyword-focused.
Speaking is more conversational, often includes full sentences, and may reflect natural language patterns.
Source: The Hoth
“As search is second nature for many people these days and voice search gains popularity, searches are becoming more conversational. Creating content to satisfy this type of query can be really beneficial,” Claire Brain writes in Search Engine Land.
Therefore, the first step to optimizing your landing page for voice search SEO is targeting long-tail keywords.
Whether optimizing pages for voice assistants or search engines, long-tail keywords come closest to natural language patterns.
But at the same time, it also means you need to learn to use natural language as part of voice search optimization.
2. Use Natural Language
We just said that there’s a difference between writing and speaking. So how to write landing pages in natural language?
To begin with, here are a few actionable tips to get you started:
- Write as if you’re speaking to a real person, and not a search engine.
- Try to use headings or subheadings that reflect how people ask things verbally.
- Use contractions. Words like “you’re,” “it’s,” “we’ve,” etc make your copy feel more natural.
- Keep it clear and digestible, like everyday speech.
- Avoid jargon or overly complex phrases.
- Use “you,” “your,” “we” to create a human connection.
- You can also use FAQs to echo spoken questions. Mirror the exact phrases users might say aloud.
“It’s no longer about optimizing to hit a certain keyword density, but ensuring that you are providing the most helpful, direct response to a given question in a way that sounds natural & mirrors how users speak,” confirms Nikki Brandemarte, Sr. SEO Strategist at NP Digital.
But, keep in mind that natural language patterns vary from niche to niche. So, the natural language style should mirror how your ideal customer talks, asks questions, and expects answers.
3. Optimize for Local SEO
Location is the common thread running through most voice-based searches. As Chris Essey, owner of Essey Marketing, says:
“…location-based keywords are the golden ticket for local businesses in the age of voice search. By optimizing your online presence with details like your address, operating hours, and service areas, you ensure your business shows up when users ask for recommendations in your local area.”
Source: WebFX
Local SEO is an integral part of voice search optimization.
So here’s how you can optimize landing pages for local SEO:
- Use location-based long-tail keywords. Here is a fantastic break-up of such keyword types.
- Create content that answers local questions.
- Use LocalBusiness, FAQ, and OpeningHours schema to help search engines understand your business.
- Include complete and consistent NAP info.
- Use Google Business Profile effectively. Keep your business hours, reviews, Q&A, and services updated.
- Voice searches usually come from mobile; your page needs to load fast and look clean.
- Gather and display customer reviews; voice assistants often read out high-rated local results.
“You’re going to get positive and negative reviews, and it’s good to have both on your profile. Users might grow suspicious about profiles that have all 5-star reviews because they wonder about the authenticity of those reviews,” says Macy Storm at WebFX.
4. Optimize for Mobile Views
Mobile is where most voice searches come from. 27% of the global population uses voice to search on mobile devices.
Therefore keep the following best practices in mind while building voice-optimized landing pages:
- Use a responsive design. Make sure that your layout adapts seamlessly to all screen sizes.
- Compress images, use lazy loading, and minimize scripts to reduce page load time.
- Show your value prop, CTA, and trust signals early.
- Make CTAs and menus easy to tap with a thumb.
- Avoid intrusive pop-ups. Make sure to use mobile-friendly banners or slide-ins.
- Test across browsers like iOS, Android, Chrome, Safari, etc.
- Enable click-to-call and map links. Make it effortless for your audience or users to take action.
- Stick to mobile-first indexing. So your mobile version should have the same essential content as desktop.
Now, since voice searches are mostly done on mobile, not having a mobile-optimized site drastically lowers your chances of snagging a featured snippet on SERPs. But, at the same time, with the rise of LLMs, even featured snippets are no longer as relevant as before.
As a result, you want to show up in Google’s AI Overviews instead.
5. Optimize Content for LLMs
Voice searches also list results in AI Overviews.
In fact, Google is launching Audio Overviews as well, “which uses our latest Gemini models to generate quick, conversational audio overviews for certain search queries.”
Creating content that aligns with how LLM reads it is key while optimizing pages for voice search SEO.
It’s instructive to know what Carolyn Shelby at SEJ tells us about how LLMs interpret content:
“Unlike traditional search engine crawlers that rely heavily on markup, metadata, and link structures, LLMs interpret content differently. They don’t scan a page the way a bot does. They ingest it, break it into tokens, and analyze the relationships between words, sentences, and concepts using attention mechanisms.”
Therefore, you’ll need to optimize landing page content for LLMs. How to do that? Here are a few stepping stones:
- LLMs prefer direct and unambiguous language. Avoid jargon where possible, and when necessary, define the terms.
- Use H1, H2, H3, etc., to create a clear structure. Each heading should introduce a distinct idea or answer a specific question. This helps LLMs understand the content’s organization and extract relevant information.
- Break down complex information into digestible chunks.
- Provide a brief summary or “TL;DR” (Too Long; Didn’t Read) at the beginning of your content. LLMs often pull from intros or conclusions for summaries, so make these sections impactful and informative.
- Dedicate sections to FAQs. This directly addresses common user queries in a format that LLMs are trained to understand and extract answers from.
- LLMs understand entities (people, places, things, concepts) and their relationships. Instead of just keywords, ensure your content consistently uses your brand name, product names, relevant locations, and associated concepts.
Not an exhaustive list by any means. But enough to get you started.
Wrapping Up
If your landing pages aren’t optimized for how people speak, not just how they type, you’re leaving valuable traffic and engagement on the table.
From using long-tail keywords and natural language to prioritizing local SEO, mobile responsiveness, and LLM-friendly structures, the playbook has shifted. Today, it’s about meeting users where they are: on their phones, in their homes, and in conversation with their devices.
The next time someone says, “Hey Google,” make sure your brand is part of the answer.
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