If you don’t have an FAQ (frequently asked questions) section on your website right now, you might want to give it a second thought. It’s a wildly underrated feature that can benefit your business in a multitude of ways. But, can writing an FAQ on your website help boost your SEO rankings? Read on and let’s find out…
What is an FAQ?
An FAQ is a page on a website that is packed full of information, addressing the most frequently asked questions. These can be as in-depth or as brief as you like, and you can tailor them specifically to your business, or your industry as a whole.
But, is it really that valuable?
Why is an FAQ So Valuable? What are the Benefits?
An FAQ can be immensely valuable for your website and business, here’s how:
# Improved UX (user experience): It doesn’t matter how well your website is presented or how much information you provide, sometimes your visitors are simply looking for a quick and easy answer. With a well-optimised FAQ, they can quickly access the specific information they need and move onto the next task.
# It’s great for improved site navigation: An FAQ creates more opportunity for you to develop your internal linking structure (which is one of the many principles of good web design). You can address a wide variety of questions referring to a multitude of products and/or services and then link to them accordingly.
# It’s great for organic search: Yes, an FAQ on your website can boost your SEO rankings! This is because well-written, SEO optimised FAQs are awesome for organic search. When you are actively providing clear and concise answers for a wide variety of frequently asked questions (and you can use a keyword research tool to get even more ideas), then there’s a good chance that your website can rank for them.
# FAQs are often featured snippets: When people type questions into Google, the SERP will often include a ‘featured snippet’. This is essentially a box of text with the most relevant answer appearing at the very top of the page (#0). If the answers on your FAQ are short, concise, and authoritative, there’s a good chance you can appear in the featured snippets thus driving even more traffic to your website.
# Less strain on your customer service: Without an FAQ, the only way that potential customers can find some of the critical information they need is either by contacting your customer service department (thus wasting time and money), or by heading over to your competitors.
# Establish trust and authority: Websites with detailed FAQs are far more authoritative and ‘trustworthy’ than those without. It shows a commitment to your audience and ensuring that they have all of the information they need to make a comfortable and well-informed purchasing decision.
You can add to it constantly: As your business grows and you release new products and/or services, you’ll encounter new ‘frequently asked questions’. The beauty of having an FAQ on your website is that it isn’t static and you can continue to add to it as and when necessary.
# Better understand and serve your audience: When you start writing an FAQ you have to deep dive into your target audience’s psyche and identify all of their doubts and pain points. This is a great opportunity to better understand them and serve them as best you can.
Conclusion: It’s a No Brainer
In truth, there’s no good reason not to have an FAQ on your website. It can benefit your SEO, it helps your customers, it can take the strain off your staff, and it can ultimately improve the internal linking structure of your website and lead to more conversions. What’s not to love?
Of course, creating an extensive FAQ and optimising it accordingly is a big job. As such, if you have neither the time nor desire to do it, we recommend hiring a reputable SEO agency to help expand your website and work on your broader long-term SEO strategy while they’re at it.
