Many of today’s websites have dropped the frequently asked questions (FAQs) page. According to Garrett Moon, the founder of Todaymade & CoSchedule, this vital website component has been eliminated because it became “a dumping ground” for information that couldn’t be fit elsewhere. As a result, FAQ pages often lack a focused purpose and become difficult to navigate and understand, especially with random questions all over. However, a well structured and organized FAQ page offers value to website owners and visitors alike. The following lines will give you an idea of what you may be forgoing by not having this page.

Why You SHOULD Have a FAQ

If you didn’t add a FAQ page or haven’t put much thought into your current one, here are some reasons that might encourage you to re-think this:

Search Engines Love FAQs

One of the top reasons for creating a FAQ page is ensuring a better rank on search engines. Google especially has become very fond of content, encouraging website owners to provide interesting, high quality written pieces. Having a FAQ page allows you to add more high quality content to your site while still providing relevant and valuable information. You also get more content to add keywords to, increasing your chances of being discovered online. Moreover, FAQs help with search engine optimization purposes by providing intra-site links. As a result, you can increase the time your visitors spend on your site, boosting your SEO rankings further.    

Website Visitors Check FAQ Pages Regularly

Today’s internet users are fans of information, and generally don’t appreciate salesy content. As they demand facts, they’ll need every bit of information your FAQs can provide. So create questions that allow you to reiterate your key selling points as well as your products or services’ features and benefits.

FAQs Boost Conversions and Sales

Answering the questions your clients may have demonstrates your willingness to serve your clients. It also allows you to answer sales objections others may have posted. For instance, if someone objected about your prices being higher than the competition, you can create a question that addresses the issue and answer by showing how your product provides more value than similar offerings in the market. Doing so will boost your conversion rate and ultimately allow you to generate more sales.

Your Staff Will Remain Sane

Nothing can irritate your customer service staff more than answering the same questions over and over again. By setting up a FAQ page, you can save their time and energy. As a result, you can utilize them for other purposes such as improving customer loyalty or tending to your social media presence.

Tips for Making the Perfect FAQ Page

Now that you’re aware of the importance of FAQs for your website, company and customers, you may be tempted to create one right away. However, unless you have a strategy in hand, chances are that you’ll create another “dumping ground”. To help you create a well-crafted FAQ page, here are seven valuable tips.

1. Make Navigating through Questions and Answers Flawless

Your website visitors need to get information easily, which is why you should make your FAQ page as easy to navigate as possible. Now there are three ways of achieving that:

• Batch questions by category to allow the information to be presented in an easily understood, systematic way and to increase efficiency for the visitor,
• Group questions at the top of the page and let your site’s visitors click them to discover the answers they need.
• Create unique URLs for each answer, ensuring that your website visitor can easily go back to the top once they’re done.

2.  Be Clear and Concise in Your Answers, Rather than Overly Technical

One of the biggest mistakes FAQ page writers make is trying to answer everything with excruciating detail. Though your goal is to answer questions thoroughly and ensure technical correctness, you need to remember that FAQ pages shouldn’t be boring or hard to process. Writing too much detail and using technical jargon will drive your website visitors away rather than retain them. Therefore, prioritize clarity while answering questions to encourage your clients to actually read your content. Simplified answers will also coax your readers to interact with you to answer more questions, allowing you to push prospects into the funnel.

3. Create Dedicated Landing Pages for Important Categories

One of the newest ways of creating informative FAQs and gaining more search engine value is through dedicated landing pages. You can have important questions featured on these pages, making Google direct searchers to them. This method is especially helpful since long-tail searches are growing in popularity. Besides, it helps you break your FAQ page into segments, preventing it from overwhelming visitors.

4. Answer General Questions Related to Your Industry as Well

One of the smartest techniques successful businesses embraced is adding questions pertaining to their industry rather than product or service. Your answers will allow you to establish yourself as an authority on the subject. This will build your credibility online, helping your gain your prospects’ trust and ensuring their business with time.

5. Add a Text Box for Visitors to Add their Own Questions

Rather than have your clientele email you their questions, add a text box on your FAQ page. This will show that you’re interested in answering their queries while saving you from the hassle of going through hundreds of emails. You can later create a new FAQ and notify your client about it. Doing so will also create a bridge between both of you, especially now that your website’s visitor knows how dedicated you are to please your clients.

6. Allow Users to Print Your FAQ Page

If your FAQ page is relatively lengthy and hard to read in one go, make it easy to print. That way, your clients will know everything they need even when they’re far away from their computers or mobile devices.

7.  Leverage User Generated Documents

If you built a user community, don’t hesitate to refer to their content in your FAQ. In most cases, your users’ documents are bound to be updated faster than your manuals. If you haven’t yet created a forum or knowledge base, do so soon to hit three birds with one stone: produce new documentation, gather user feedback, and engage with your clients.

Having a FAQ page certainly has its perks, especially with consumers demanding facts and quick information. However, give this page the importance it deserves to make its content worthwhile and save your staff from nerve-wracking calls or emails.