Guide to Boost SEO using FAQ Schema Markup
If you are looking for a way to boost your SEO, FAQ schema markup can be helpful for you.
According to Neil Patel, less than 1% of businesses are using FAQ schema markup and that is the reason it is really easy to get your spot secured in Google SERPs as featured snippets on the first page.
But what is it? And how can you leverage the benefit of it?
Well, you are in the right place. We are going to deep dive into why this is important and how you can get started…
What is FAQ Schema Markup?
FAQ Schema Markup is a piece of code placed on the web page to help Google and other search engines get rich results for the users.
We use it when we offer a frequently asked question page or any product page having FAQs about it. Having this code on the page will enable a collapsible menu on SERP with questions and after clicking, you will see the answers.
Example here:
Google also gives emphasis on FAQ schema markup because it can make your content eligible to display these FAQ directly on Google Search and the Assistant.
How important is the FAQ Schema Markup for SEO?
If you want to lift your organic reach in no time and want to appear on the SERPs as featured snippets, adding FAQ Schema markup can benefit you.
- It can increase the overall visibility of your page.
- Can get more space below the regular search result as FAQs.
- Differentiate your result from all others, and in return can give you more click-through-rate.
It can also increase your chance to be in the “People Also Ask section”. Although there is no correlation between FAQ schema markup and the People Also Ask section so far, it does no harm if you optimize your content for this and increase your chance to be there.
Example here:
How can I implement FAQ Schema Markup?
There are 2 ways to add FAQ Schema on the website pages:
- JSON-LD
- Microdata
You need to have a little coding knowledge to implement FAQ schema on the website pages, like it is required for any other schema code. You can choose either JSON-LD or Microdata and then stick to it throughout. It’s not recommended mixing both on the website pages.
Here is what Google recommends using on the developers.google.com website.
1. JSON- LD: Google also recommends using JSON-LD format. It is easier between the two options, and you can place the code in the header section of the page.
FAQ Page Schema JSON-LD Example:
<html>
<head>
<title> FAQ Schema Markup — Schema</title>
</head>
<body>
<script type=”application/ld+json”>
{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
“@type”: “FAQPage”,
“mainEntity”: [
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “What is FAQ Schema Markup?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”:”FAQ Schema Markup is a piece of code placed on the website pages to help google and other search engine show better results.”}
}]
}
</script>
</body>
</html>
2. Microdata: This is more complex than the JSON-LD one. You can place the code in the body section of the page. If you don’t have a developer in your team, this can be a little challenging for you.
FAQ Page Schema Microdata Example:
<html itemscope itemtype=”https://schema.org/FAQPage”>
<head>
<title> FAQ Schema Markup — Schema </title>
</head>
<body>
<div itemscope itemprop=”mainEntity” itemtype=”https://schema.org/Question”>
<h3 itemprop=”name”>What is FAQ Schema Markup?</h3>
<div itemscope itemprop=”acceptedAnswer” itemtype=”https://schema.org/Answer”>
<div itemprop=”text”>
<p>FAQ Schema Markup is a piece of code placed on the website pages to help google and other search engine show better results</p>
</div>
</div>
</div> </body>
You can copy the above code and use it as a template for your website. But don’t forget to change the content as per your website page.
How do I check my FAQ Schema Markup?
After creating FAQ Schema markup for your website pages, now it’s time to validate them. Validating schema code is a simple 3-step process.
- Test: To ensure that you implemented the code correctly, you need to use the Google Rich Result Tester tool. The tool will show you if you have done it correctly or not. You can see the option of submitting the URL or code snippet and hit test.
2. Preview: When you click on Test, the tester tool will show you if your code is eligible for a rich result.
And not only that, but it will also show you the preview of your Rich Snippet. Cool, isn’t it?
3. Crawl: After validating and previewing. Now, it’s time to ask Google to re-crawl the page to index it again with the newly added code.
For this, you need to go to Google Search Console and enter the newly changed URL in the search bar, and hit enter. Then you have to select the option “Request Indexing”.
In most cases, you can see the results as quickly as 30 minutes after re-indexing.
Will FAQ schema Markup help me rank for Voice Search?
Knowing the fact that over half of the searches on Google will be from voice search in the future, this is a valid question!
Most of the Voice Search gets their answers from rich results and adding schema markup to your website increases your chance to get featured snippets which automatically increases your chance of getting featured in voice search.
Quick tips to win the FAQ Schema Game
- Applying the FAQ schema to pages already ranking on page 1 on Google SERPs you can see your updated listing in less than 10 minutes. Yes, literally in 10 minutes.
- FAQ Schema is helpful for articles that are ranking on the first page, but not in the first three positions. It can get you there in a trice.
- Don’t add FAQ Schema Markup on forums or pages where users can add multiple questions and answers on a single page.
- Add FAQ Schema Markup on the FAQ page or Product page, where there is no option for a user to submit answers.
How will I select questions for my FAQ Page?
After you know how you can set up the schema code for FAQ schema markup, now it’s time to find out the relevant questions as per your audience.
There are many tools you can use to select the best FAQs for your page depending on the keywords. Answerthepublic.com is one great tool that you can use to search for some trending relevant questions according to your long-tail keywords, and tools like Ahrefs.com, Google PAA, and Quora also provide suggested questions for FAQ. You just need to do some research based on your product, and you are good to go.
Key steps to create a strong FAQ page:
- Collect data from your email, staff, and customer support line for most asked questions.
- Use easy and common language to answer the questions.
- You can also use the FAQ page to build strong internal linking.
- Try to leverage all the available tools to dig deeper into the topic and create your FAQ page.
Conclusion
So you see how simple this is to implement, and it can certainly give you a kick in no time. Follow these simple steps and attain a competitive edge over your competitors. You can do it in a single day for all your potential product pages and FAQ pages. And let me tell you, it feels wonderful to see your result as featured snippets. I have experienced it myself.
Do it yourself and know how it feels.
I won’t be surprised if someday I know that Google uses some kind of AI algorithm to pick these rich snippets and randomly display them on the Google SERPs. Please read the article, to know more about AI-driven Digital Marketing.
