One of the key areas that I look at when carrying out an SEO & Website Audit is whether or not a site has schema mark up. And if the site has any sort of Q&A content in place, then FAQ Schema Markup is imperative.
What Is FAQ Schema Markup?
FAQ Schema Markup is code that is added to a web page to let search engines know that content on your page is being presented in a question and answer format.
Why is FAQ Schema Important?
By implementing FAQ schema on your page, your page becomes eligible for rich snippets in the SERPs whereby questions and answers are shown along with your page listings.
For example, on my Google Analytics 4 service page, I wrote the content in Q&A format and added FAQ schema. The page now appears as follows in the search results.
This in turn can enhance click through rate as your listing stands out and gives the user confidence your page will be the answer to their query.
For example, in December 2021 I added FAQ schema to this page:
https://cesafety.co.uk/news/haemostatic-dressings-first-aid-kit/
Within search console, if we compare the 6 months after it was added to the six months before, we see a noticeable improvement in visibility and clicks for this page across all queries:
Further to that, if we then look at queries that contain keywords relating to questions, those being:
- Where
- Who
- Why
- About what
- To whom
- Should
- Can
- Does
- When
- how
- for what
- whose
- what
We can see a more significant increase in CTR:
Important Caveat /Disclaimer:
Adding FAQ schema doesn’t guarantee you will get clicks if your questions appear in the SERPs. It could be that you have crafted the perfect question and answer that is shown in your search result listing, where there is no need for the user to click through to your site as there query has been satisfied.
How Do You Write FAQ Schema?
There are two options here – you can add microdata to your HTML directly, or, you can add JSON-LD markup. My preference is always JSON, but, for those of you who are that way inclined, microdata works just as well.
If we use example questions from my GA4 page, the FAQs would be configured as follows:
Microdata
<html itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/FAQPage">
<head></head>
<body>
<hr id="what" />
<div itemscope itemprop="mainEntity" itemtype="https://schema.org/Question">
<h2 itemprop="name">What is Google Analytics 4 (GA4)?</h2>
<div itemscope itemprop="acceptedAnswer" itemtype="https://schema.org/Answer">
<div itemprop="text">
<p>GA4 is the new reporting tool set to replace the Universal Analytics (UA) we all know and begrudgingly love.</p>
<p>You are presumably aware by now that Google are phasing out UA to push everyone over to GA4 moving forward.</p>
<p>Here is the official announcement:</p>
<p><a href="https://blog.google/products/marketingplatform/analytics/prepare-for-future-with-google-analytics-4/" target="_blank">https://blog.google/products/marketingplatform/analytics/prepare-for-future-with-google-analytics-4/</a></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<hr id="when" />
<div itemscope itemprop="mainEntity" itemtype="https://schema.org/Question">
<h2 itemprop="name">When is Google Analytics 4 launched?</h2>
<div itemscope itemprop="acceptedAnswer" itemtype="https://schema.org/Answer">
<div itemprop="text">
<p>GA4 was actually launched in October 2020 and though there were a number of early adopters, overall very few people, agencies and companies have made the switch over and started using it.</p>
<p>UA has been in place since 2013, whilst GA4 is the 4th iteration of this product since it's initial inception in 2005</p>
<ul>
<li>GA1: Urchin - 2005</li>
<li>GA2: Classic - 2008</li>
<li>GA3: Universal - 2013</li>
<li>GA4: aka GA4 - 2020</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>JSON-LD
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "FAQPage",
"mainEntity":
[
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "What is Google Analytics 4 (GA4)?",
"acceptedAnswer":
{
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "GA4 is the new reporting tool set to replace the Universal Analytics we all know and begrudgingly love. You are presumably aware by now that Google are phasing out Universal Analytics to push everyone over to GA4 moving forward."
}
},
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "When is Google Analytics 4 launched?",
"acceptedAnswer":
{
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "GA4 was actually launched in October 2020 and though there were a number of early adopters, overall very few people, agencies and companies have made the switch over and started using it."
}
}
]
}
</script>How Do You Validate Your FAQ Schema?
Once you have your code in place, I always use the Schema Markup Validator tool at schema.org
You can either cut and paste your code into the code snippet box, or, if you have already added it to your page you can fetch the URL directly.
This will either confirm your code is good to go, or, highlight any errors you may have made.
Other validation tools are available, such as:
I actually don’t know or use any others, I don’t even use Google’s – but if you know of any let me know and I can add them to this list.
How Do You Implement FAQ Schema?
Once you have your JSON-LD code ready, you can implement it by adding this directly into the HTML of your page – it can go anywhere within the page though my preference is always to add this into the <head> code of the page. If you don’t have the ability to access your page directly, there are other options available.
How Do You Implement FAQ Schema Using GTM?
If you use GTM to add code to your pages, this is a straightforward process.
You would create a Custom HTML tag and paste your code in, and then create a trigger to fire on whatever page it is you want to add your code to:
How Do You Implement FAQ Schema In WordPress?
On the instances of WordPress I’ve used (and on this actual post), I’ve added the JSON-LD code by adding in a Custom HTML element at the bottom of the page content:
There are other ways of doing this as per this article:
How Do You Find FAQs Relating To Your Content?
If you want to optimise existing content by adding FAQs, but aren’t sure what questions they currently gain traction for, then you can use Search Console’s page performance report and the custom regex query match to see what questions your page / site currently gains impressions and clicks for within search.
As per the list of keywords above that are the most common keywords that appear in questions, you would create a regex as follows:
where|who|why|about what|to whom|should|can|does|when|how|for what|whose|what
You then go to the search results performance section of Google Search Console, select the page and time frame you wish to check, then for the query filter, set the filter to “Custom Regex” -> “Matches Regex” and paste in the above string:
You will then see all the visibility your page currently gets in terms of questions:
How Do You Find FAQs Relating To A Keyword?
When starting an article / page from scratch, you can take your primary keywords you wish to optimise your article for, and then perform a Google Search. You can the check the “People Also Ask” to see what questions are commonly asked:
Alternatively, I find SEMRush’s keyword magic tool a great place to go to find data around questions and keywords. Here, just enter your keyword, click the questions tab and you’ll see a list of FAQs with associated search volumes:
In Summary
The process of researching, creating and optimising FAQs for new and existing content is a straightforward process, and a great way to enhance your visibility and clicks by addressing the most common questions users are searching for around a particular topic.
If you need any assistance or have any questions on how to do any of the things written about in this article, feel free to get in touch using the content form below, am always happy to help.
About The Author - Dave Ashworth
I would describe myself as an SEO Expert and a specialist in technical optimisation with a professional approach to making websites better for people and better for search engines.
When I'm not blogging, I deliver website optimisation consultancy and organic SEO solutions by addressing a website's technical issues and identifying opportunities for growth