What do we mean by next-level? We start by identifying specific, advanced tactics to use in order to gain an edge over your competitors. These are not required actions in some cases, but once you have built a great foundation of content and technical SEO implementation these should be on your to-do list. Last time we touched on the “People Also Ask” box, in this article we’ll look at the FAQ search results available in Google searches.
What are FAQ search results?
FAQ search results are question and answer drop-downs below a regular organic listing. These results are a great way of adding onto your listing to take up more space in the SERPs and showcase your content chops.
What do FAQ search results look like?
We made a search for the phrase “faq schema” so we could take advantage of this very meta use case to pull up FAQ results about FAQ results. Below you’ll see our search with the FAQ box highlighted. You’ll notice a typical Google-looking drop down box similar to what is seen in a “People Also Ask” result.
How do you get FAQ search results to show?
FAQ Schema must be on the page in order for Google to correctly read and display the FAQ’s. The questions and answers must exactly match the content on the page in order for them to show in SERPs. Ultimately this means you’ve got to put in the thought and time to build out content to get FAQ results to show in your listing – it’s not exactly easy or predictable but it is … next-level SEO.
Does implementing FAQ Schema guarantee your site will show in FAQ search results?
No, unfortunately implementing FAQ Schema only encourages Google to show FAQs in search results. Are you kidding? There are almost no guarantees in search, no sure things – what you’re doing by implementing FAQ Schema is putting your website in the optimal position to best serve searchers needs and capture their attention!
In fact, Google has taken steps to mitigate the proliferation of FAQ results in SERPs, they’re being limited to queries showing on the first page and not all results with Schema implemented on Page 1 will be able to show FAQs simultaneously – this is in an effort to de-clutter results.
What SEO value do FAQ search results offer?
We see there being three main benefits in FAQ results –
- By having FAQ search results on your organic listings your site will take up more valuable space in SERPs.
- Providing additional information right in the SERPs answers users related questions right away, helps users find additional information, and potentially increases the likelihood that they click through to the site.
- Increase the authority signals of your website.
It’s important to understand that the direction search is headed is increasingly “zero-click”, meaning that on average a search is actually less likely to generate any clicks to a site – this is doubly so for information seeking searches. By providing information up front and taking up additional space you are a) increasing the likelihood of your result getting attention and b) proving in the SERPs that you are a reliable source, effectively functioning as a brand awareness driver in search.
Moz has a lot to say on this, including actual case study data –
“There is some risk involved with implementing this Schema: if the content is too informational in nature, it can create a situation where users get the answers they need entirely within the search results. This is exactly what happened when we first rolled out FAQ Schema for one of our clients at Path Interactive — impressions to the page surged, but clicks fell just as quickly.”
Image source: Moz
Does showing in FAQ search results (and implementing FAQ Schema) help your site show up for featured snippets or “People Also Ask” boxes?”
According to Neil Patel, there has been no correlation between Schema markup and featured snippets/”People Also Ask” boxes. That being said, it’s always better to help Google easily understand your site and the information you have to offer. We’ve outlined three different features as Next-Level SEO – Featured Snippets, People Also Ask, and this overview of FAQ. They are not linked directly but by identifying key questions your audience is asking related to your content and building out Q&A content AND utilizing FAQ Schema you will be effectively positioned to appear for any of the three and officially rule SEO!
