Create FAQs and improve the website’s SEO rankings

Including FAQs on a website has many advantages. For example, they can reduce the load on customer service, increase conversions, or improve visibility in unpaid search results. This article explains in detail the various ways to create an FAQ page and how to optimize it for SEO.

What is meant by FAQ?

FAQ stands for “frequently asked questions” and can be translated as “commonly asked questions.” Specifically, this involves collecting the most important information on a topic and presenting it in the form of questions. These can include frequently occurring issues or the most frequently asked questions. FAQs are widespread in the software sector or other technical areas, but they can be useful for any topic and industry.

One of the goals of FAQs is to answer questions from potential buyers easily, thereby reducing the burden on customer service. If a purchase has already been made and problems arise, the FAQ section prevents customer service from having to deal with the same easily answered questions. A well-prepared FAQ section benefits both users and companies.

How do FAQs benefit SEO?

First: Any type of relevant optimized content is positive for search engine optimization. With FAQs, you have the opportunity to cover composite keywords and phrases (long tail keywords) that a product page, for instance, does not answer. You will be found for questions that users have about a topic, such as your products or services.

At the same time, you increase your authority in your field in Google's assessment because you provide a lot of relevant high-quality content. Greater authority means higher trust and thus a better chance of being found in unpaid search results even for competitive terms.

Another SEO advantage is the chance of appearing as Rich Snippets on search results pages (SERPs).

In the example of e-bikes, you see in the result below that two questions are displayed directly in the search result for the testberichte.de website. This gives the website more attention in the SERPs than results without this enhancement.

Screenshot from the SERPs - Example E-Bikes

What are the ways to integrate FAQs into a website?

Depending on the purpose of the FAQs, different solutions offer themselves for integrating them on the website. Below are the most important ones and their advantages and disadvantages.

Dedicated FAQ Page

The first option is to create a single long FAQ page that lists all important questions. For better overview, an accordion element is often used in the layout, allowing users to expand and collapse answers to individual questions.

Advantages

• Easy to set up and maintain

• Even simple questions that can be answered in one sentence are no problem for SEO

Disadvantages

• Rarely ranks for (competitive) terms, as different topics are addressed on one page, and thus the focus is missing

• Fewer opportunities for good internal linking between individual questions

SEO-friendly setup

• Each question as a sub-headline

• Use correct headline structure

• If technically possible, table of contents at the top of the page with jump marks to individual questions

• Where appropriate, link relevant products or services from FAQ texts

• Implementation of structured data (see below)

FAQ Section on the Page

An alternative with more SEO potential is a standalone FAQ section on the website instead of a single page. There is an overview page with all questions that link to subpages with the answers to the questions. If there are a large number of questions, they can be thematically categorized for better clarity. In the e-bike example, categories could include: General Questions, Brands, Models, Batteries, Maintenance, and Repair.

Advantages

• Higher chance of being found for keywords

• More targeted optimization for keywords is possible, as longer texts are created and can be optimized for a larger number of keywords.

• Better usability, as no navigation on a long page is necessary

Disadvantages

• More maintenance required, as many individual pages are created

• Individual FAQs require more content to avoid creating “thin content.”

SEO-friendly setup

• Overview page with teasers and links to detailed FAQ pages with individual questions

• Detail pages with correct headline structure

• Minimum amount of content (if there are still questions with very short answers, it may be wise to exclude them from indexing)

• Cross-linking between similar FAQs

• Links to relevant product pages or services

• Implementation of structured data (see below)

FAQ Section on Service Pages or Product Pages

Product or service pages also benefit from an FAQ section. Especially if there are very specific questions about a particular product, they are well placed on the product page. They can help reduce reservations against a purchase or answer questions that would otherwise occupy customer service. In the worst case, users might bounce off if they do not find an answer to their question and purchase the product from a competitor.

Advantages

• Expands content on these pages with useful and relevant phrases and terms

• Questions can appear as extensions in search results (Rich Snippets) for product pages or services, gaining more attention.

Disadvantages

• For high-competition keyword combinations that individual FAQs are optimized for, there is a significantly lower chance of ranking than if these were created as standalone pages.

SEO-friendly setup

• FAQ section with heading

• Individual questions as headlines (observe correct headline structure)

• Implementation of structured data (see below)

FAQs as Blog Posts

If the CMS does not allow a standalone FAQ area, one option is to incorporate FAQs in the form of blog posts. Each blog post answers a question for which keywords with sufficient search volume have been defined.

Advantages

• Easy maintenance

• Good chance of being found

Disadvantages

• Individual FAQs require a minimum amount of content

• They may get lost on the website (worse usability)

SEO-friendly setup

• Correct headline structure

• Minimum amount of content

• Cross-linking between similar FAQs/blog posts

• Links to relevant product pages or services

• To prominently place FAQs on the website, you could create FAQ as a category in the blog and link this category page.

• Implementation of structured data (see below)

Optimizing FAQs for Search Engines - 3 Additional Tips

Above, guidelines for SEO-friendly setup of the various types of FAQ pages were already given. We want to provide you with three additional tips to take your FAQ SEO to the next level.

Selecting Appropriate Questions

If you have set up your FAQ section so that each question has its own page, we recommend conducting a keyword analysis to research subtopics or questions that are of interest. If you have already collected questions you know to be relevant from practice, such as those your customer service regularly receives, keyword analysis can help you describe these questions with the words your target audience uses. The goal is to identify terms or phrases that are frequently searched for.

You can use these sources for your keyword analysis and question identification:

• Paid keyword tools

• Free keyword tools (such as answerthepublic)

• Google search results: Google suggestions, questions in the Google search

• SEO tools displaying competitor keywords

• Your own analysis tools, especially Google Search Console, which shows you which topics and questions you already have some visibility for.

Screenshot from the SERPs - Example E-Bikes

Using the example “E-Bikes”, you could identify this incomplete list of general topics and questions:

• Which e-bike is recommended? (Question in Google search results)

• Which e-bike motor is the best in 2022? (Question in Google search results)

• How much does a good e-bike cost? (Question in Google search results)

• Which e-bike suits me? (Keyword tool in SEMrush)

• How long does an e-bike battery last? (Keyword tool in SEMrush)

• Who repairs e-bikes? (answerthepublic)

• How to charge an e-bike battery? (answerthepublic)

Use FAQ Markups

If your CMS allows it, it is recommended to integrate structured data to help Google interpret and classify content. In the case of FAQs, the FAQPage markup ensures that Google recognizes what a question is and what an answer is, allowing this content to be classified as an FAQ.

You can find detailed explanations at Google as well as on the schema.org page for FAQPage and QAPage.

Structured data can be verified using Google's “Rich Results Test” tool. The tool shows which markups have been incorporated and whether they contain errors.

In the example of the testberichte.de page, we see in the Google tool that the FAQ markup was used, which generates the enhanced search result:

Optimize Internal Linking

One of the greatest advantages of an FAQ section on the website, besides generating relevant content, is the opportunity to improve internal linking. Linking related pages within your website strengthens the linked page and also helps users find new content and stay on your website longer.

Therefore, consider with each individual question whether there are meaningful products, services, blog posts, other FAQs, or other pages that you can link to from the text. To achieve good internal linking, use a descriptive link text instead of a vague text like “read more here.”

To identify appropriate links, it is also wise to ask after creating the FAQ text: what is the most sensible next step for users who ask this question and have read this content? Is it a product page? Do more questions usually follow? Is the answer to the question to use your service?

Content Optimization from FAQ to Blog with the internetwarriors

Do you want to improve your organic visibility with optimized content? Our experienced SEO team knows all the tricks and tools to be found better on Google. We analyze your content, assist you with optimization, or provide you with relevant optimized content for your website or online shop. This could be FAQ texts, but also product descriptions or blog posts. Contact us, and we will be happy to provide you with a non-binding, customized offer!

Did you enjoy the blog? Share it now!

Facebook

Twitter

Telegram

Linkedin

Envelope

Whatsapp

AUTHOR