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Get to the point. Why use FAQ Schema?
- FAQ Schema can lead to being more prominent (up the page) in search results and or used by Google Assistant
- They can increase your web traffic, especially if your content earns Rich or Featured Snippets (although Standard is alright, too)
- Your site could take up more visual “real estate” in search results, which gets people to view you as an expert and want to find out more about you or your product/service
OK I want that! So, what’s a Schema?
Generally speaking, a Schema is a “scheme” that looks like a plan or theory illustrated by an outline or model of some kind. Schemas are common in most fields, take the psychology of child behavior for example.
In SEO Land…
In terms of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Schema (or Schema.org) is a formal collection of tags that you add to your web page’s HTML to make it easier for search engines to read and comprehend your content. Schema.org is considered a semantic vocabulary*.
Schema.org is a collaboration between Google, Bing, Yandex, and Yahoo! to optimize the search results on their pages. Schemas help your content to “surface” in search results.
What is FAQ Schema?
FAQ (or Frequently Asked Questions) is one of the Schemas supported by Google and others and luckily for us, its results tend to be prominent in search results or SERPs. (There are several types of Schemas but the FAQ Schemas are what we want here.) The goal for FAQ Schema is so people get their FAQ answered quickly, directly from a browser’s search results page without having to click and go somewhere else. YOUR goal in using FAQ Schema is to get rich results.
LITTLE SIDENOTE: IF your site allows users to submit answers to a question, you use the QAPage Schema. Consider hiring a FAQ expert to help you navigate these waters.
The Goal
Google’s goal for FAQ Schema is for people to get their answers directly on a search page without going somewhere else.
YOUR goal is to get on the Path to Riches (Rich Results, that is. See pic).
Google’s goal for FAQ Schema is for people to get their answers directly on a search page without going somewhere else.
YOUR goal is to get rich results.
Are we there yet? Enter Structured Data
To get those wonderful rich results, you need to work (a little) harder: you will need to use Structured Data to standardize and categorize the content on your pages. Structured data marks up your content on-page in system of pairing things together and keeping it all nice and tidy so that search engines can easily index your webpage.
On-page structured data describes the content of that page for search engines.
Take it away…
To add structured data to a page, you do these main tasks:
- ADD the required properties in the correct location on the page.
- CHECK the guidelines to make sure you are being a Good Citizen.
- TEST the page to see if it is getting rich results.
Hello! How do you know it’s working? Testing, 1-2-3
Google has a nifty tool for testing your FAQ Schema and markup called the Rich Results Test. You should be checking all your FAQ content.
The Rich Results Test page looks like this:
Play nice and follow the rules
And no one will get hurt. What we mean to say is this: you must follow Google’s general guidelines for structured data, webmasters, and specifically for the FAQ content itself. For example, knowing the difference between FAQpage and QAPage is crucial. Also, FAQ schema markup must only be used on questions and answers that are visible on a page. Confused? A little ticked off about having to do this? A FAQ Pro can help.
A mini-caution (but not to curb your enthusiasm)
The goal is to make your site eligible for rich results in Google Search; however, alas! There are no guarantees. Search factors are complicated and include things like search device type, location, and whether Google Search *thinks* a feature qualifies as a great user experience (yeah, hmmm). But you should still fight the good fight.
Snippet, Run! What is a Snippet?
All this hard work is to be eligible to earn FAQ Snippets and such from your content. This is a really good thing, and you want that. That’s where we were headed in the first place with this whole FAQ Schema thing.
What is a Snippet? A Snippet is a special, condensed search result on a page of larger search results. They usually have:
- A title
- a URL
- a page description
Snippet types: regular, rich and featured
- REGULAR–the leaner, healthy version, skim or 2%
- RICH–the full-fat, creamy version with things like product ratings, reviews, availability and more
- FEATURED–the crème de la crème–only the “best” ones gets this award
Don’t I get a say in how it’s written?
Your page’s Meta Description *may* contribute to the ultimate wording of the snippet. Search engines generally are in charge of determining the best possible snippet, but adding a meta description and/or SEO title to your page can nudge it along in the way you want. After all, who knows your product better than you do?
Your Meta Description *may* contribute to the ultimate wording of the Snippet.
Wait, what is a Meta Description?
Text (keywords, phrases, sentences) explaining your content that is easily comprehended by your potential users and search engines. The text of your SEO title can also help influence how your content is described in searches.
What about mobile devices?
There is a different rich results format for mobile devices called a Carousel. A Carousel is a list-looking format that is swipe-able. It works by displaying multiple cards from the same site (also known as a host carousel). (Just so you know, there are other carousel-like features on Google Search, like Top stories, but we digress.)
Is there a downside to using FAQ Schema?
Note that using FAQ Schema means potential users might get answers to your FAQ on the search results page instead of clicking through to your site. Although we believe that this should be considered, we still recommend using FAQ Schema, anyway. You will still be building your “street cred” if you show up in rich results. To be found this way is better than not being found at all.
Need help implementing the FAQ Schema and Markup?
A FAQ expert is just a click away.
*A semantic vocabulary is a formalized description of data used in a particular domain, like astronomy or marketing.
Credits: Dream Plan Act by Brett Jordan . Rich by Brock Wegner . Ice Cream by Courtney Cook
