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People are asking search engines more questions than ever, whether verbally asking an artificial intelligence system to typing text in a search box. 

Question answering has become mandatory for every business that wants to be known as the source for answers by their target audience. The new era of marketing technology surfaces People Also Ask (PAA) search results. By managing this aspect of customer relationships yourself, your business can control what people and search engines know about your brand. 

The main reason for this change is that consumers want immediate answers from trusted sources. 

Semantic SEO and schema markup let everyone implement these more modern opportunities for your business. Paid advertising remains essential for digital marketers to bring products and services to relevant searchers; however, this on-page search marketing technique has lasting benefits. Paid campaign dollars have a self-life tied to the duration of your investment, whereas, question answering optimized content consistently connects you to consumers and ultimately revenue.

On an organic search level, optimizing for People Also Asked questions about your brand lets you inform Google’s search engine result pages (SERPs). Here’s why.

Here’s why you should use a PAA approach to increase your competitiveness.

The Development of QandA SERPs

When someone searches for a brand name or information, they are already seeking your business over others. If they want to navigate to your website, they might be seeking to get there fast. People Also Ask boxes and Related Questions commonly display high up in the SERP, right in plain view without having to scroll down.

If they’re seeking information about you, your location, what you sell or do, your brand might even command the entire SERP. It is an easy way for people to read the answer, expand the PAA box for more details, and gain a link to your web page with more content.

Every major search engine is trying to source a trusted brand SERP that provides content such as traditional blue links, podcasts, videos, tables, images, Twitter Boxes, PAA, etc. With the right strategy, you can inform Google of your helpful, relevant, valuable answers for the user.

PAA Boxes Expand and Provide Additional Relevant Insights

To come up with the right questions to answer on your site, research if your QA content is relevant to your audience.  Next, your answers need to be concise, trusted, and have the right context. You should be easy to find, and show up for your brand name where you – not someone else – provided the details. This typically includes your current buyers, clients, social followers, prospects, people on your email list, current and potential employees as well as journalists.

Use the language of your audience in your answers. Industry jargon may leave them frustrated and without gaining a better understanding. 

Stay on topic in your answers. Keep them tightly themed to the question. Thin definitions and answers may not be deemed comprehensive enough in the future. Build your audience by consistently satisfying them with answers that meet their search intent.

Identify the Important Questions to Answer

Provide the answers to the following question types before your competition does, or better than they are currently answering.  Then Google may favor your answers and provide them to your audience. 

– Questions that have a fact-based answer. 

– Questions that you can provide statistics for.

– Questions that naturally lead to an opinion answer.

– Questions that help potential buyers move along the purchase funnel.

– Topical questions that have high search volume.

– Questions that your audience may not think of but you know that they need answering.

To do the above can be accomplished by writing a dedicated blog article with FAQ schema markup, question answering in your Google Business Profile, and across social media channels. If your site is answering users’ questions, but your competition obtains the PAA spot, refine your SEO techniques and add more value to your content. 

Currently over half of all brands that win a People Also Ask for their brand searches still fail to own at least one PAA box. This demonstrates that many brands remain unfamiliar, outdated, or lack a specialist to help them with this aspect of their brand-building and search marketing. If this applies to you, you can adopt this approach and get in front of your audience more often and faster.

What May Occur if you don’t Optimize for PAA

Without seeking to control the answers to brand-centric questions about your business: 

  • Someone else may take control of the critical information about your brand.
  • Google may “guess” it incorrectly or mix you up with another similar entity.
  • Permitting others to answer questions about you shows you are not present for your audience’s needs.
  • It is a tell-tale signal that you’re missing a marketing strategy that focuses on providing basic answers to fundamental questions people are asking.

Steps to Advance Your Brand’s Question Answering Strategy

  • Create an FAQ section on your website that provides accurate, positive, and helpful answers to questions about your brand. If you don’t even answer the question, then you aren’t even in the game for the PAA.
  • Place answers on “friendly” Provide answers on third-party channels that naturally prompt an opinion-type question answer response. 
  • Enrich your existing articles and posts with clear question-answer content. 
  • Become known as a specialist and trusted source on topics that matter to your audience.
  • Adapt and embrace this new strategy to gain digital conversions. Remain informed and flexible with your marketing plans as new ways to answer your consumers’ questions emerge.
  • Stay involved in the SERPs. Provide fresh, regular, and instant communications.

When to Add FAQ Content

If your brand-building strategy doesn’t feature PAA, starting soon versus later is best. Google and Bing continue to expand ways that they are surfacing immediate answers in their search engine result pages. You’ll almost certainly see them continue to appear in new formats in a year or two. Preparing your business today will help you dominate how your brand appears. 

Providing a brand FAQ page that supports who you are and what you do best can boost your revenue stream. 

Research the questions that answer what your core business expertise is, what you sell, and how to engage with you. They are the top questions your business prospects and current customers are asking. This is where to begin so you can dominate your own brand entity and what people find when searching for you.

Stay listening to your audience and gather data insights as to their needs and what they are asking about. Then expand your content strategy to include these answers for your clientele.

Question-and-answer schema or FAQ schema is not a must-have to rank in the PAA box, but incorporating it is helpful. Using schema simplifies search engines’ work to extract the relevant information quickly.

BIO: Jeannie Hill is the founder and owner of Hill Web Marketing. She is a digital marketing consultant and search marketing specialist helping brands provide more value online and increase their conversions and revenue. With more than two decades of SEO, content, and digital marketing management experience, today she prioritizes e-Commerce and healthcare sites.