SEO Content Writing Tip: Make FAQs the Secret Sauce for Search Results
By Pam Foster

See if you can wrap your brain around this fact for a moment:

According to InternetLiveStats.com, “Google now processes over 40,000 search queries every second on average, which translates to over 3.5 billion searches per day and 1.2 trillion searches per year worldwide.”

Whoa, Nelly. That’s a lot of searching!

Quite often, those searches are in the form of a question.

For instance, one of the most popular search phrases is “How do I … ?”

Just for fun, I started typing “How do I” in Google a moment ago, and one of the top fill-ins was, “How do I get a passport?”

Let’s think about this for a moment.

Whether people are searching on their mobile devices, laptops, or even voice search (“Alexa, how do I get a passport?”) …

The intent is all about finding an answer to a question, problem, or need.

“How do I … ?” questions show up in any industry. For example:

• How do I build a deck?
• How do I know if my car battery is dead?
• How do I train my staff on safety improvements?
• How do I crate-train a puppy?
• How do I do streamline shipping methods?
• How do I save on moving cross-country?

You get the idea.

And that’s just one question type. Here are several other common question openers:

• What is … (or what are)?
• Can I … ?
• When do I … ?
• Should I … ?
• How can I tell if … ?
• What’s the best way to … ?
• How much does … ?
• How long … ?
• Where is … ?

Source: www.backyardchickens.com

The reason I’m telling you this is …

When people search on Google with a question, Google brings up web pages that match what the person is searching for.

And, it’s very likely that the best pages are Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) pages from a company or organization that offers the most complete, helpful answers.

See where I’m going with this?

If you’re writing SEO content for a client’s website — you should recommend a super-helpful FAQ page that answers the most common questions prospects might ask about the client’s services, products, product category, etc.

Here’s how to make it work wonders for your client.

1. Brainstorm a list of questions your client’s prospects and customers may be asking on a regular basis.
2. Search in Google, using relevant questions, to see what turns up. You may find some great questions in the “People also ask” and “Searches related to” sections of the Google search results page.
3. Ask the client if you can speak with staff members from their Customer Service team and Sales team. These are the front-line professionals who field prospect and customer questions every day.
4. Once you have a collection of common questions and answers, write the best FAQ page you can possibly create, with detailed answers, definitions, graphs, photos, and even videos!
5. Make sure your FAQ content is optimized for search. This means you’re using search phrases in the questions, so they match what your client’s audience is really using in Google. And, be aware that Google is a big fan of long content pages packed with helpful information. Plan to write 1,800 words or more.

The results of making an awesome FAQ page like this?

• You’ll create a powerful “search magnet” page that shows up when prospects and clients ask relevant questions in Google.
• You’ll help bring new search traffic to the client’s website — these are new leads that become part of the client’s marketing effort.
• You’ll also make customers happy because they’ll find their answers online; they won’t have to email or call the company.
• You’ll provide an excellent resource for the client’s sales team members; they can simply visit the FAQ page during sales calls, if needed.
• And, you’ll likely reduce emails and calls that come in to Customer Service.

All of these results will wow the client and position you as an SEO Copywriting genius they need again and again.

So now my question for you is, “What is keeping you from writing a great FAQ page?”

Do you have any questions about using this FAQ tactic to get traffic for your website or your client’s? Let us know in the comments below so we can get you the answers.