A recent study on voice search reveals that content is more likely to be returned for a query if it ranks within the top 3 web search positions.
SEMRush conducted an in-depth analysis of over 50,000 queries to identify the most essential ranking factors for voice search. Beyond ranking in the top 3 positions, content is more likely to be returned for a voice query if it appears in a SERP feature.
According to the study, 70% of answers returned from voice searches occupied a SERP feature, with 60% of those being Featured Snippet results.
The report also provides detailed insight into how factors such as backlinks, text length, and page speed affect voice search rankings.
Here is a summary of key findings from the study.
Voice Search in 2019: Key Findings
Backlinks
- 50% of answers had backlinks with anchor text that appeared in the question.
- Page Score and Trust Score were slightly higher for the URLs of answers.
Text Complexity & Readability
- Content returned for voice queries is easy to read, ranking around 8 on the Flesch Kincaid Grade.
- 80% of Americans would be able to understand/read the answers returned for voice queries.
Page Speed
- The page speed of content returned for voice queries is faster than the average of the top 10 non-answers.
- Some voice search results were over 10 times faster than the average of non-answers.
- Answers were found to have a particularly high input latency of 70%. The First Paint score also appears to be a key factor in voice search.
The study looked at but did not draw any conclusions about schema, HTTPS, and URL depth. For more data related to voice search rankings, see the full study.
