There are some website basics that every site has. Every site will have a navigation bar somewhere, and a home page leading to main and sub-pages. Most will have a site map. Some, if they’re smart, will feature a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section, anticipating and answering user questions before they can be asked.

Why is an FAQ such a smart concept? Well, not only does it provide potentially frustrated users with answers, but a well-planned FAQ section can be a big help to your SEO. A structured FAQ section can provide further areas for SEO content, as well as further internal links that can aim their linking power to the site’s main pages. FAQs are an undervalued source of great SEO content. You can make them work effectively for your site.

With the amount of content that is possible through a frequently asked questions section, it’s amazing that more sites don’t feature one. It’s even more amazing that most sites that have an FAQ section don’t make proper use of it. Most FAQ sections are treated much like the ‘Terms and Conditions’ page, both in design and in position. They feature small, hard-to-read fonts, extensive and over-worded paragraphs and are tucked away in the forgotten corners of the sites. This is a poor use of an FAQ section, not just because it gives the user the impression that their questions are unimportant, but because it wastes a valuable search engine optimisation asset.

FAQ for SEO:

The FAQ section can be useful to your search engine optimisation in three main ways, two of which are much like any of your content. First of all, your FAQ pages are an opportunity to seed keywords. They may present an opportunity to compete on keywords you otherwise wouldn’t have thought of. Second, the FAQ content can be used for hyperlinks to your main pages, establishing more link power where it’s needed. You can talk to us at SEO Consult about internal links. The third point, and one which all but a few businesses seem to have overlooked, is that FAQs can provide fresh content.

Although your initial FAQs need to be posted fairly swiftly, it is possible to eke out the content of an FAQ section over time. This is particularly true if you’re answering users’ questions. Posting a comments section asking for further questions is another way to source fresh content.

Well-constructed questions:

Your FAQ section is an opportunity to develop the internal linking structure of your site. A good design of an FAQ section is to list questions as hyperlinks on the main FAQ page. This allows you to address each question on a new page. It also makes it easier for your users to find the questions they have.

Even if you decide to feature your FAQs on one page, you can use the content to anchor links. Reading through the content should provide positions for keywords from your other pages. You can talk to your SEO consultant about positioning keywords in the FAQ section.

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