A good FAQ saves your customers time and saves your team from answering the same questions again and again. Written well, FAQs also give search engines and AI-powered search clear, direct statements about your business.
Use real questions
Collect questions from enquiries, sales calls, reviews and support messages. Write them the way customers ask them, such as “Do you deliver to Galway?”, rather than the way you might phrase them internally.
Answer in the first sentence
Start each answer with the direct answer, then add detail. “Yes, we deliver across Ireland, usually within five working days” is clearer than a paragraph that only reaches the answer at the end. Only include details, such as delivery times, that are accurate for your business.
One question per entry
Keep each entry focused. If an answer needs to cover several topics, split it into several questions.
Be specific
Vague answers such as “Contact us for details” do not help anyone. Where you can, give concrete information: what is included, what it depends on and what happens next.
Put FAQs where they are needed
A general FAQ page is useful, but questions about a specific product belong on that product page, and questions about an offer belong on its landing page. People find answers where they are already looking.
FAQ structured data
FAQPage structured data labels questions and answers on a page. Google has limited FAQ rich results in its search results mainly to well-known government and health websites, so most businesses should not expect an enhanced listing. The markup can still help machines read your answers accurately, as long as it matches the visible content.
Keep them up to date
Review your FAQs whenever prices, policies, products or service areas change. An outdated answer is worse than no answer.
Key takeaways
- Use the questions customers really ask, in their words.
- Put the direct answer in the first sentence.
- Place FAQs on the pages where people need them, and keep them current.