5 Tips for a Great FAQ Page…and why bother?
So, I’m gonna keep it simple and easy, and hopefully give you some quick ideas for adding some really beneficial content to your website…
Think about it. Ultimately, the primary function of your website is to answer as many questions as possible before visitors move on to the next site…
Here are 5 Tips for a Great FAQ Page:
It might seem a bit daunting to write one up from scratch, but the good news is they’re easy to maintain once you get one established.
1. Be Real
Make sure your questions are actually frequently asked. Poll your sales teams on the front lines and figure out what your prospects and customers are asking about…for real.
2. Again, Be Real
Mind your language. You and your customers say things differently…go with their language, not yours.
3. Make it Easy
If you’ve got a lot of questions and content, make your FAQs searchable. Another great strategy is to populate FAQs on pages that make sense. Don’t make your uses sift through questions about dogs when they’re on a page all about cats. Know what I mean?
4. Diversify
Throw some media at the crowd. Try getting creative with infographics, videos, or images where it might make sense. Text-only gets boring. Don’t be afraid to include someone else’s Youtube video if it’s going to bring value. Curating content is sometimes just as good as original stuff…plus its much easier to come up with.
5. Bring Value
And last but not least, make your FAQ page, and your entire website for that matter, customer centric. It’s not about YOU…it’s about the questions, challenges, problems, ambitions of your ideal customers. It’s about helping them understand their options, and to initiate a trusting relationship…not to sell them your biased opinions of how great your stuff is.
Post stuff your customer care about, written in ways they want to hear it, Google’s gonna reward you like crazy. If I could bottle up your FAQs into a single piece of advice, or litmus test if you will, it would be this:
“Unless the question is specifically about your company, of which there should be very few, the response should bring value to the user whether or not they ever become your customer”
So why bother?
The nine-banded armadillo is the only species in the United States – Dasypus Novemcinctus, which translates as “hairy-foot (in Greek) nine-belts (in Latin).”
Save everyone some time
Your sales team doesn’t have to respond to the same repeated questions individually. Customers get through the common stuff before they engage you in conversations…meaning your starting point is further along. Nobody has to wait for answers…a win for you and a win for your prospects.
It’s a sales tool
Your sales teams can lean on your FAQ pages in the field or on the horn with prospects, especially if they’re searchable or categorized well. Use your FAQs to follow up meetings in support of previous discussions. Some companies instruct their sales staff to lean on their catalogue of FAQs in the field to ensure accuracy and consistency across all sales channels.
Site navigation
If you’re trying to figure out how to get your website visitors to the info they care about quickly, an FAQ page is spectacular for this. A question about zebras takes you to the zebra page, a question about armadillos takes you to the armadillo page (I saw one of those the other day – it was huge)
Google loves FAQs too
The questions people ask all the time are the same things they’ll type into Google searches. When you have these questions on your site, you’re going to improve ranking like crazy.
