Short and sweet:
Voice search; the practice of using spoken queries, through a smartphone, smart speaker, or voice assistant, to search the web or ask a question, instead of typing.
Tends to favor longer, more conversational phrasing than typed search, since people speak differently than they type.
See also: Semantic Search, Featured Snippet, Local SEO
Voice search queries are typically longer and more naturally phrased than typed ones, since asking a question out loud, what’s the best pizza place near me that’s still open, feels more natural than typing a clipped keyword phrase like pizza near me open now. That shift rewards content written in a conversational, question-and-answer style and makes semantic search and featured snippets especially important, since a voice assistant usually reads back a single answer rather than a list of links. Local businesses have a particular stake in voice search, since a large share of voice queries carry local intent, like finding a nearby service or checking store hours.
A restaurant might optimize its website with clear, spoken-language answers to questions like what time do you close on Sundays, aiming to be the answer a voice assistant reads aloud.
A recipe site structuring content as clear step-by-step instructions makes it more likely a smart speaker can read the steps aloud one at a time during voice search.
A local retailer keeping its hours and address consistently updated across its website and listings improves its odds of being the answer to a nearby query spoken into a phone.
