The Impact of Voice Search on Legal SEO: Optimizing for Voice Assistants

Every day, millions of consumers use voice search tools like Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri to gather information, get answers to questions, and research brands. But, if you think getting your website and content in front of these consumers involves the same SEO strategies, you’d be mistaken. Your law firm’s website must be optimized for voice assistants if you want to get the best results, so you must consider the impact of voice search on legal SEO.

The Rise of Voice Search

Voice search has transformed the way consumers interact with technology, seek information, and make purchasing decisions. With the development of voice-activated devices like virtual assistants and smart speakers, the digital marketing landscape is shifting toward a more hands-free conversation model.

Search Engine Journal notes that the number of digital voice assistants reached about 8.4 billion in 2024. According to a Google Mobile Voice survey, 41% of U.S. adults and over half of teens use voice search daily. In some instances, voice queries are outpacing typed searches.

The Impact of Voice Search on Legal SEO

Voice search queries are significantly different from traditional text-based searches in several ways. They are typically more conversational, longer, and phrased as complete questions. For example, instead of typing “divorce lawyer,” a user might ask, “Who is the best divorce lawyer near me?”

When a person conducts a voice search, the device either provides an answer that it pulls from a website or directs them to a website for more information. As the device responds, it typically provides the source for its information. For example, Google Home sends a link to the Google Assistant app, which allows the user to access more information on the topic.

The most important thing to understand about voice search is that people don’t search for topics the same way they type. They tend to ask a lot of questions. People often speak to their electronic devices as if they are another person, so your legal SEO must adjust to these nuances.

Optimizing Your Approach for Voice Search

The shift to voice search requires that your law firm adapt its SEO strategies to align with the types of queries people make using voice-driven devices. Here are some examples:

• Where can I find a reliable estate planning lawyer nearby?
• What’s the potential penalty for 2nd DUI in Mississippi?
• How can a lawyer help me with an SSDI appeal?

As you can see, this represents a fundamental shift in how people search for and access information. Your law firm can capitalize on this growing trend by optimizing its digital marketing strategy for voice search.

Focus on Long-Tail, Conversational Keywords

The first step in optimizing for voice search is to incorporate more natural language phrases and long-tail keywords into your content. These should mimic the way people speak as opposed to the way they type. In other words, more of your content will include phrases like, “How much is my car accident case worth?”

Optimize for Featured Snippets

Featured snippets are also referred to as “position zero” because they appear at the very top of Google’s search results. These are short, concise answers to queries, and they work for voice-based searches as well. To get prime spots in featured snippets, your content should answer common questions related to your industry, ideally using lists and bullet points.

Create Customized Content

To adjust your law firm’s SEO strategy for voice search, you optimize some of your existing content to include more long-tail and conversational keywords. You can also create content customized for voice search. One effective approach is to create FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) pages that address common legal questions your potential clients might have.

Prioritize Local SEO

Voice search is often used for local search queries, meaning people are looking for a “lawyer near me” or an “attorney in [city].” To optimize your website and content for these searches, ensure your business information is correct and listed on every page of your website, such as in the footer. It should also match what is listed in Google and various legal directories. Finally, it’s essential to incorporate location-based keywords in your content.

Improve Mobile Usability and Website Speed

Since most voice searches happen from mobile devices, it’s critical that law firms have a mobile-friendly website. This involves creating a website that has a responsive design that will work seamlessly across any device. A mobile-friendly device also means that the site has a fast loading speed. If your site doesn’t load quickly, typically in three seconds or less, it likely won’t appear in voice search queries.

Leverage Structured Data

Leveraging structured data markup, such as schema.org, can help search engines better understand and index your law firm’s content. When you use schema markup, you deliver structured, clear information about your law firm’s services, practice areas, locations served, and other important details. These efforts enable search engines to more accurately respond to queries, including those made via voice search.

Generate More Customer Reviews

Having more customer feedback is an excellent way to build credibility and trust with your law firm’s brand. It can also be beneficial for your voice search strategy. This is because many online reviews are written in a conversational tone, which is ideal for attracting the attention of AI-driven voice search algorithms. For your part, you can continue to encourage former clients to leave feedback for your firm on sites like Google, Facebook, and major legal directories.

Use Ads and Sponsorships in Voice Assistants

While paying for results isn’t necessarily an SEO strategy, this approach can generate results for your law firm while you wait for the others to bear fruit. Some platforms now allow brands to advertise directly with audio ads that will play on Google Assistant or Alexa in response to voice search. These are brief ads that will play contextually during a user’s online session.

Get Help With Your Firm’s Voice Search SEO Strategy

Because so many consumers are now using voice search to find and connect with brands, having a specific strategy tailored to it is critical to your law firm’s success. We can help you consider the impact of voice search on legal SEO. At Too Darn Loud Legal Marketing, we specialize in helping our clients achieve results using our results-driven digital marketing solutions. To learn more about how we can help your law firm get found and chosen by its target audience, contact us today to schedule a free consultation.