A recent Hitwise report showing the trend toward longer search phrases seems to imply that people are expecting search engines to respond to more "natural language" queries - where the searcher asks a question rather than just entering one or two keywords.
It is questionable whether search engines have the ability to fully interpret the intended meaning of the question. But knowing that these types of queries are being asked more frequently, you need to be able to provide both the questions and their answers on your site in the form of Frequently Asked Questions. FAQs can provide the "relevant results" to intent-based searches about what your business has to offer, and relevance has always been an obsession with Google.
If you don't have a FAQ, now is the time to add one. A FAQ gives you another opportunity to put your best keywords onto your website. Read on for some suggestions.
If you have a FAQ, you need to evaluate its effectiveness, and learn a strategy to make it work even harder for you.
Suggestions on creating a FAQ
1. Make a list of what customers and prospects are asking you, on the phone or in person. Pretend you are looking for your service or product. What would you need to know?
2. If you have more than 10 questions, organize them into categories.
3. Specific questions (like "Will I be sedated for the coronary catheterization?") are better than general ones (like "What will I experience during the test?"). Not only will they better address the needs of your visitors, but they will allow you to get those keywords on the page!
4. Don't try to sell your services in the answer - limit it to "just the facts."
5. Include a link where visitors can ask a question which is not answered yet.
Evaluate the Effectiveness of your FAQ
1. Revisit your questions and answers by comparing them to the suggestions above, and re-write them if necessary.
2. Check your site statistics. Are visitors entering your site via your FAQ? If so, then the FAQ has been indexed by the search engines, and it is bringing you traffic.
3. Are visitors who have not entered the site on the FAQ, going there as part of their visit to your site? (Again, check your site stats.) If so, the FAQ is being used.
4. Are the search phrases (as found in your site statistics) that actually bring visitors to you included in your FAQ questions? If not, add them.
Make your FAQ work harder for you
Once you have a FAQ, and you know that you are successfully getting visitors to it, you've got an audience. But are those visitors going to become customers, or are they just researching/browsing/gathering information?
Add something to your FAQ page that encourages the spectators to take action! Invite them to give you their email address in exchange for a free eBook. Give them a coupon for a first time sale. Tell them about your special offer. You've already got their attention; give them a reason to do business with you.
back to top
