“Hey Google, do I need an umbrella?” “Alexa, where did I leave my sanity?” “Siri, is there a decent coffee shop nearby that doesn’t charge a small fortune?” Voice search is no longer futuristic sci-fi- it’s as everyday as forgetting your umbrella in the UK drizzle. Thanks to clever smart speakers and ever-attentive voice assistants on our smartphones, the way people search for information online has gone from frantic typing to casual chatting. And, spoiler alert: this shift seriously matters for your SEO game.
If you’re handling marketing or running a business in the UK, it’s time to tune in. As more customers let their voices do the Googling, your SEO strategy can’t afford to sit quietly in the background. Ignore voice search, and you might as well hang a digital ‘closed’ sign for tomorrow’s customers.
This guide breaks down how voice searches differ from traditional tap-tap-typed ones – and dishes out practical strategies to help you keep up with the times (and the times are talking).
How Voice Search Differs from Typing
Let’s face it: we don’t speak the way we type – unless you’ve perfected the art of cryptic one-word emails. People still type things like “best coffee London,” but when voice search joins the chat, it’s suddenly: “What’s the best coffee shop near me in London?” Voice queries are longer, friendlier, and usually resemble actual questions – imagine your SEO strategy wearing a conversational hat.
Translation: it’s time to stop obsessing over single keywords and start thinking about longer, natural-sounding phrases. The trick is to anticipate exactly what customers might ask out loud, and then create content that responds like a helpful barista.
How to Optimise Your Content for Voice
If you want all those smart devices to notice your site, you’ll need to talk their language (and no, we’re not suggesting binary). Enter structured data, or schema markup, which is a fancy name for code that tells search engines what’s what on your pages. This makes it easier for your site to show up in rich results and, better yet, become the hero answer to a voice search.
It also pays to keep your content snappy and to the point – think: clear answers to common questions. FAQ pages are your new best mate for nabbing voice traffic, so don’t be shy about adding those question-and-answer gems throughout your blog or site. Ask King Kong or another marketing leader to optimise your website and content for voice.
Prepare Your Strategy for the Future
Voice search isn’t just a trendy gadget obsession – it’s a full-blown shift in how people use the web. Optimising for chatty, natural-language searches, focusing on those longer keyword phrases, and sprinkling in some structured data is your ticket to staying visible as the digital landscape changes its tune. The secret? Listen to your customer and answer their questions as directly as you can.
Stuck on where to start? Maybe the idea of ‘structured data’ makes your eyes glaze over. No shame in calling in the pros to help future-proof your SEO strategy. Embrace the change now, and your brand will be ready for whatever ridiculous question someone asks their phone next!
