“How have you successfully optimized for voice search in your SEO strategy? What’s one key difference you’ve noticed compared to traditional SEO and what recommendation would you make?”
Here is what 10 thought leaders had to say.
Speak Like Users Talk: Voice Search SEO Success
One of the most effective changes we made for voice search was shifting how we write content. People don’t speak the way they type. Instead of aiming for keywords like “red wine stain removal,” we’d write content that answers actual spoken questions like, “How do I get red wine out of my carpet?” That small tweak helped us land more featured snippets and win voice search results. Added bonus – it helps get cited by AI Search.
What stood out most is how direct voice searches are. When someone types a question, they might browse. When they ask a voice assistant, they want an answer. That changed how we structured content: shorter sentences, clear answers up top, and using headers that mimic real questions.
If you do one thing to get started, create an FAQ page that uses real, conversational questions your customers ask. Not only does it help with voice SEO, it makes your content more relatable and useful across the board.
Talk like your users talk. That’s the heart of voice search SEO.
Chris Burdick, Senior SEO Consultant & Co-Founder, CartImpact
Natural Language Transforms Voice Search Strategy
I started optimizing for voice search after noticing how people around me, especially my kids and parents, would ask their phones full questions instead of typing keywords.
The first real shift in my strategy was moving away from short, punchy keywords and focusing on longer, conversational phrases. For example, instead of targeting “weather Mumbai,” I rewrote content to answer questions like, “What’s the weather like in Mumbai today?” That meant reworking FAQs and weaving in natural speech patterns throughout our site.
One key difference I noticed is how voice search demands content that directly answers questions. With traditional SEO, you can get away with broad topics and scattered keywords, but voice search rewards clear, concise answers.
I remember updating a local service page to include a section that answered, “How late are you open on weekends?” in a single sentence. That page started appearing in voice results, and we saw more calls coming in after hours.
My recommendation is to listen to how people actually speak about your business. Build out content that mimics those real conversations and make sure you’re answering the “who, what, when, where, and how” questions directly. This not only helps with voice search but makes your content more useful for everyone who visits your site.
Evgeni Asenov, SEO & Content Lead, Resume Mentor
Direct Answers Win Voice Search Results
Focusing on voice search changed the way I approached content. I noticed people use much more natural, conversational language with their devices.
Instead of targeting just keywords, I started phrasing content around questions I’d actually hear in real life, like how do I reset my phone or what’s the quickest way to get to the airport. This shift made my writing sound friendlier and, surprisingly, led to more featured snippets.
One thing that really stood out was how voice search favors direct, concise answers. Traditional SEO let me get away with long-winded explanations, but for voice, I learned to get to the point quickly. I began structuring my articles with short, clear responses right at the top, followed by supporting details.
My advice is to pay close attention to how your audience speaks, not just how they type. Listening to real conversations or customer questions helped me shape content that felt authentic and useful, which made a noticeable difference in search performance.
Erin Siemek, CEO, Forge Digital Marketing, LLC
Write for Microphones, Not Screens
Voice search has not only reshaped SEO, it has redefined the architecture of how we connect with users, redesigning content to behave like a reliable, conversational interface.
One of the most interesting transformations I led was that of a DTC brand of home wellness products. Their blog was rich in evergreen content, but underperforming in mobile and zero-click contexts.
The real problem was that the content answered questions, but not the way people asked them.
To solve this problem, I stopped writing for screens and we started writing for microphones.
I built a semantic map of voice queries from three points: anonymised voice logs from our chatbot, long-tail queries in Google Search Console with a CTR of less than 1%, and competitor content that ranked via featured snippets.
From there, we restructured the content according to three key principles.
First, intent-first phrasing, where we rewrote H2s and introductions to reflect the cadence of spoken language.
For example, ‘How to improve indoor air quality’ became ‘What is the fastest way to eliminate dust and allergens in the home?’.
Second, we loaded direct, easy-to-pronounce answers under 45 words immediately after each header, using NLP-like structuring to increase snippet suitability.
Thirdly, entity-rich markup, with a combination of FAQPage and Speakable schema, we signalled to search engines that our answers were not only readable, they were also repeatable verbally.
Within six months, organic voice-driven sessions grew by 38 per cent and smart speaker traffic accounted for almost 12 per cent of all top-funnel queries, up from less than 2 per cent.
More importantly, our voice-optimised snippets started outperforming competitors in zero position visibility in high-intensity, low-competition clusters.
Here is the fundamental change, a user typing ‘best probiotic’ has no problem scrolling through the options. A user asking ‘Which probiotic is safe during pregnancy?’ expects a single, authoritative, quick answer.
This compresses the funnel and requires a different editorial mindset.
If you want to compete in the voice industry, your content must behave like a concierge, anticipating, frictionless and deeply informing.
Don’t just optimise for keywords (that’s 2012 stuff), optimise for contextual dialogue.
Build your content as if it were the answer the user would get from a brilliant shop assistant who knows his needs before he finishes his question.
Sam Mazzotta, Digital Marketing Specialist | Associate Director @ ADworld Experience, Impulve
Answer Human Questions, Not Target Keywords
I led our transition into voice search by focusing on one key principle: speak like a human. We began by auditing our top-performing content and realized that much of it wasn’t aligned with how people actually interact with voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant. So we rebuilt key pages around full-sentence queries, like “How do I become an SEO Expert?” instead of “become an SEO expert.”
We also collaborated with our customer support team to mine real queries from live chats and support tickets, which became the backbone of a new FAQ strategy. Each answer was written in a conversational tone, optimized with structured data, and tested across devices. One standout result: we saw a major lift in leads and conversions from long-tail voice queries within six months.
The biggest difference from traditional SEO? Traditional search rewards structured, keyword-rich content. Voice search prioritizes clarity, intent, and human tone. You’re no longer writing for robots; you’re writing for machines that mimic people.
My recommendation: treat every page like it’s answering a voice question. Use long-tail, question-based phrases, lean into natural language, and structure your content for easy parsing. It’s not just about ranking anymore, it’s about being the answer.
Shankar Subba, Growth Consultant, SEO Expert in Nepal
Match Content to How People Speak
One of the most successful strategies I’ve used involves shifting the content structure to match how people speak, not just how they type.
The key difference with voice search is intent and phrasing. Traditional SEO often focuses on short, keyword-heavy phrases like “solicitor conveyancing London.” Voice search, on the other hand, is far more conversational. People are more likely to ask full questions, like “How much does a conveyancing solicitor cost in London?” or “What documents do I need to sell my house?”
To adapt, we started building out FAQ sections on key service pages, using schema markup to help Google understand the content more clearly. We also created blog content that answered specific, natural-language questions directly, aiming to match the kind of queries people would speak into a device. That content often had a better chance of getting picked up as a featured snippet – what many call “position zero” – which is commonly used in voice results.
One of the clearest wins came from rewriting headings and content to mirror spoken queries. Instead of “Conveyancing Costs Explained,” we’d use “How much does conveyancing cost in the UK?” That subtle change helped pages rank for long-tail, question-based queries and dramatically increased traffic from mobile and voice devices.
If I had to give one recommendation, it would be this: listen to how your clients ask questions in real life, whether it’s in meetings, phone calls, or emails. Those are often the exact phrases they’ll use for voice searches. Build content around those, and you’ll naturally align with how people are searching in today’s world.
Peter Wootton, SEO Consultant, The SEO Consultant Agency
Speak First, Write Later for Voice SEO
One thing that worked surprisingly well for us in voice search SEO was training internal teams to “speak the answer” before writing it.
We ran a small internal experiment: every time someone was about to write a blog intro or FAQ answer, we made them record a 10-second audio answer like they were replying to a friend’s voice message. Then they’d transcribe and tweak that into the final copy.
Why? Because voice queries are super conversational. When you write straight from your brain, it sounds formal or robotic—even if you’re trying to simplify. But when you speak first, the structure naturally fits voice search: short, clear, and to the point.
Biggest shift from traditional SEO? You’re not chasing just keywords—you’re chasing question intent, phrasing, and tone. We stopped obsessing over exact-match queries and instead built pages around “spoken clusters” like:
- “how do I…”
- “what’s the best way to…”
- “can I use… if…”
This tweak alone helped us land 4-5 rich snippets (that now show up on smart speakers too), without even increasing word count or backlinks. Voice-first writing is underrated.
Harsh Pathak, Digital Marketing Manager, WPWeb Infotech
FAQ Sections Drive Voice Search Success
The difference with voice search compared to traditional SEO is how people phrase their queries. It’s more conversational and usually framed as a question. With typed search, someone might enter “best dentist Irvine.” With voice, it’s more likely to be “Who is the best dentist near me open on Saturday?” That shift changes how we structure content.
When I optimize for voice search, I build out detailed FAQ sections on service pages using natural language. This is what I have done for a dental client targeting local patients across Orange County. I pulled actual query data and structured the content around it. I wrote out full, spoken-style questions such as “How much does a dental implant cost in Orange County?” and “Is emergency dental care covered by insurance?” then answered each one in a short, direct paragraph that actually gave a useful response.
I made sure those answers matched the tone and structure of how someone would speak into a voice assistant. After writing them, I added FAQ schema so the content could qualify for rich results and voice-driven queries. Three weeks after, that one section drove 28 percent of the organic traffic to the page and captured over 40 new long-tail keyword rankings that hadn’t existed before.
Kevin Heimlich, Digital Marketing Consultant & Chief Executive Officer, The Ad Firm
Natural Language Questions Boost Voice Search Visibility
As voice search becomes more prevalent, optimizing for it has been essential in evolving our SEO strategy. One key approach we’ve successfully implemented is focusing on natural language and question-based keywords. People speak differently than they type—so instead of targeting short-tail keywords like “best HVAC service,” we optimize for phrases like “Who offers the best HVAC repair near me?”
A major difference between voice search and traditional SEO is intent clarity and context. Voice queries are often longer and more conversational, which means search engines prioritize concise, direct answers—especially in the form of featured snippets and FAQ schema.
My top recommendation is to deeply understand your audience’s questions and structure your content to answer them clearly. Use tools like Google Search Console, AlsoAsked, or AnswerThePublic to extract real-world question queries, and then create pages or sections that directly respond in a human-like tone. Structured data, page speed, and mobile optimization also play a vital role since voice searches are mostly performed on mobile devices.
Bonus tip: Implementing FAQ schema and optimizing your content for ‘near me’ phrases dramatically boosts voice search visibility for local businesses.
Dhruv Shah, Digital Marketing Manager, Yegital
Optimize for AI Citations, Not Rankings
We’re in the middle of this transformation now, and it’s big.
Traditional SEO has always been about rankings. Voice and AI-powered search flip that around. It’s not about ranking anymore; it’s about being referenced. We’re moving from Search Engine Optimization to Answer Engine Optimization. That means being the source AI chooses to quote, not just the result Google decides to rank.
At Tradie Agency, we’ve been leaning hard into this transition. We’ve adjusted our entire content strategy to reflect how people are now speaking to search, not typing. Where millennials grew up typing keywords with their thumbs, Gen Z is speaking to AI. The new internet browser isn’t a browser – it’s ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overview, it’s Perplexity. And it’s all driven by conversation.
So we asked: “How do our customers talk about this topic when they’re not in ‘search mode’?” What are their full-sentence questions? What phrases do they use when talking to AI? That’s where the opportunity is.
We generate long-tail, low-competition keyword sentences, not just keywords. The tactic that’s working for us is to write in a way that can’t be paraphrased.
AI summarises most content. But if you make your insights clear, direct, and original, and you write things the AI wants to quote, you increase your chance of being referenced, not just compressed. The goal is to be a cited source in Google’s AI Overview.
So, the key difference is that you’re no longer optimizing for a top 10 blue link; you’re optimizing for an AI citation.
I recommend shifting your content strategy from “ranking articles” to “referenceable answers.” Use tools to identify sentence-level opportunities. And remember, the future of search is already here, but most businesses are still optimizing for the past.
Grace Savage, Brand & AI Specialist, Tradie Agency
