There are several main factors that influence the answers Google Assistant returns from voice search queries.

Performance factors range from speed, device, and ranking in search engine queries to page score, trust score, high-quality backlinks, keywords and complexity of the query.

The findings from the SEMrush report — titled 2019 Voice Search Study, released Friday — suggest there are clearly defined differences, and that 80% of the answers delivered by Google’s voice assistant come from the three top results in search engine results pages.

SEMrush also found a common link between the answer length and use as a voice result.

Optimizing the length of the paragraph will help. The study found that the average word count of an answer from voice search was about 43. Google Home came in at 41.4 words, followed by Google Home Mini at 42 words, and Android Phone at 41.4 words.

In terms of ranking, the Android device delivered 93% of answers from the first page of organic results. However, that is still lower than Google Home and its Mini counterpart, both of which delivered 98% of answers from the first page.

The goal of the report was to understand the parameters Google Assistant uses to select answers to voice search queries, and compare and understand the differences in the answers to the same questions received from numerous devices.

SEMrush conducted the study by feeding a combination of random common questions, keyword-generated questions, and questions derived from lists into Google’s Text-to-Speech platform to create consistent audio files for each search question. Those files were then tested on the Google Home, Google Home Mini, and the Xiaomi Redmi 6. SEMrush then analyzed the answers each device provided against the answers from Google’s SERP. 

Marketers can use these factors to optimize their sites for voice search and ensure their businesses are included in voice assistants’ answers.