Users search for questions and seek the most valuable and accurate answers. They rely only on a handful of top-ranking search results.
So, websites optimize their online presence to rank amongst the top few results. But, despite perfecting their SEO strategies, they lag when it comes to answers.
In most cases, the missing link is a well-optimized FAQ page on their websites.
FAQ stands for Frequently Asked Questions.
An FAQ page is a repository of the most relevant and commonly asked questions about the products and services of a business.
Not having an FAQ page on your website is akin to running in a race off-track.
In this article, we will learn:
- Why are FAQ pages important
- How FAQ pages help websites rank higher in the SERPs
- How to create SEO-friendly FAQ pages
Let’s dive in.
Why Are FAQ Pages Important?
An FAQ page steps in where the rest of your website’s content misses out on covering what a user might be looking for.
Using an FAQ page, you can provide high-quality answers to the most common questions related to your business.
It helps fill the possible gaps in your content that keep it from ranking higher on the search engines.
Besides this, here are some other reasons why FAQ pages are essential:
1. Enhancing User Experience:
Users don’t have to struggle to find answers to their questions – they can go to the FAQ page and get the required help.
2. Driving Conversions:
Many users prefer visiting the FAQ page after landing on the homepage of a website.
That means a well-designed & content-rich FAQ page may help in driving conversions.
3. Establishing Online Authority:
FAQ pages also play a vital role in helping you establish your authority in your industry.
They help you showcase your expertise in preempting and answering questions accurately.
Validate your concepts for performance during the design stage with AI-generated attention analytics
4. Building Trust:
FAQ pages are also helpful in winning the trust of your customers: you offer them the solutions they need, showing that you care about them.
5. Helping Support Team:
The burden on your customer service team reduces with well-optimized FAQ pages.
Using them, users can find answers to many queries they would otherwise call or text you about.
It gives your customer service team room to focus on more complicated problems.
How Do FAQ Pages Help Websites Rank In The SERPs?
The goal of SEO is to help your website rank higher in the SERPs. FAQ pages help in achieving this goal.
FAQ pages answer the frequently asked questions by the users and rank for relevant queries.
They will find a place in search results containing the most relevant keywords, structure, and information.
Also, you can create internal links to other pages of your website through the FAQ page.
In this way, your keyword rankings and your CVR (conversion rate) improve. You can track the real time ranking of the keywords in SERP by leveraging a Google rank tracker tool.
Here’s an example to help you understand it better:
Let’s say you search for the question, “How do I initiate repair service under the AppleCare Protection Plan?”
You’d get several relevant links in search results.
When you click on the first link that appears, it takes you to the Apple FAQ page. There, you find the most accurate solution to your problem.
Also, notice that the answer to your question appears in the featured snippet of the first SERP.
So, FAQ pages can also help your website rank for position zero results.
All in all, FAQ pages are a great way to drive more traffic to your website and rank higher in the SERPs.
How To Create SEO-Friendly FAQ Pages?
Here are 5 simple steps to create well-optimized FAQ pages for your website:
1. Compile Common User Questions
Prepare a list of the most commonly asked questions around your products/services and your industry in general.
Make sure it is comprehensive, well-researched, thorough, and well-segmented.
Note that the quality and relevance of the questions on a FAQ page is important.
So, you should leave no space for mistakes.
There are specific online tools to find keywords and questions. One of them is RankWatch’s free keyword research tool, which is highly capable.
It provides relevant keyword suggestions, including a set of question keywords.
For ‘chatbots,’ it gives the following questions:
If you want to take the manual route, other methods and avenues are available.
Here are some of them to help you make your list of questions that people need answers to:
1. The most basic way to look for questions is to hit trial and error on Google and look for results.
The most basic way to look for questions is to hit trial and error on Google and look for results.
Type questions using relevant keywords in the search bar and see the results. Add the questions to your list that fetch the most desirable results.
2. Another way to find questions for your FAQ page is by using Google autocomplete.
The machine learning algorithms at play suggest the most frequently typed search queries. It gives you a great idea about what questions you should answer on the FAQ page.
3. You can also cue from related searches and ask boxes in the SERPs. Again, having relevant keywords ready comes in handy.
4. You can also check out the forums such as Quora, Reddit, etc., dedicated to questions and answers. They are a goldmine of questions posted by users.
You can spend time on these forums and navigate topics relevant to your business.
5. You may also take help from brand monitoring tools like WebSignals. It will allow you to monitor your and your competitors’ online activity in real-time.
Plus, you can get questions for your FAQ page via the user comments.
Once you have your questions ready, the next step is to craft answers.
2. Write Crisp, Clear & Concise Answers
To write the best answers, you should use the resources already available to you, such as internal SMEs, whitepapers, etc.
Make sure that your answers are thorough and cover the pain points adequately. At the same time, they are as short as possible.
The idea is to write to the point while covering all required bases. That said, try to keep each answer within three to five sentences.
If possible, give steps to solve a problem or present information in pointers. Don’t fill your FAQ pages with lengthy paragraphs that are hard to read.
Also, don’t make users put in the extra effort. To give additional information, use internal links and direct users to relevant content.
3. Optimize Your FAQ Page’s Meta Title & Description
Both, the user and Google, need to know the purpose and type of a page on your website. This is where title tags and meta descriptions become useful.
Title tags help users understand the type of content present on a page. At the same time, they help the search engine understand what a particular page is all about.
Meta descriptions also positively influence the CTR (click-through rate). Both of these are crucial parts of on-page SEO.
So, you need to optimize both the title tag and meta descriptions of your FAQ pages.
4. Keep The Design Simple & Navigation Easy
Since the users come to your FAQ page to find answers to their questions, you need to go easy on its design.
Make sure that you use the simplest yet appealing design elements for your FAQ page.
Another factor you need to address is creating a smooth navigation flow, free of any glitches.
The users should not face any difficulty navigating from one part to another on your FAQ page.
In short, it’s a necessity to make the user experience stand out as it adds ranking factors to your page.
Simplicity and ease of navigation will do the job for you.
5. Add Structured Data To Your FAQ Page
The standard format for providing information about a page and classifying its content is structured data.
Using structured data for your FQ page increases its chances of ranking in the search results.
Also, it might earn the eligibility to have a rich result on SERPs and action on the Google Assistant.
You can see what a rich result is here:
Simply put, structured data helps you talk to Google’s search algorithms and tell them what your website is about.
Therefore, you should make it a point to add structured data to your FAQ page to optimize it for the search engine.
You can learn more about structured data and how to use it here.
Bonus: Monitor and Update Your FAQ Page
Once you have set up your FAQ page and optimized it for the search engine, it’s time to monitor and update.
You need to analyze your FAQ page’s SEO performance regularly to see where it could improve.
Use an online SEO monitoring tool like RankWatch’s website analyzer to run diagnostics on your FAQ page.
It will give you a detailed analysis of your FAQ page’s loading speed, web traffic data, and other SEO-related issues.
You can implement the required updates on your FAQ page and improve its SEO using this information.
In this way, you can push your FAQ page towards higher SERP rankings.
Include FAQ Pages In Your SEO Strategy
I have provided you with the step-by-step guide to create your SEO-friendly FAQ pages. So, ensure you make the best use of this information!
In fact, you must make it a point to get FAQ pages constructed during your website development process.
If you have any other questions about FAQ pages and their optimization, let me know in the comments below.
