Are FAQs actually good for SEO? The debate is still on among SEO experts, so we decided to run a little experiment ourselves. The goal? To find out whether adding a FAQ section to your blog posts helps you rank higher in search results.
The result: Nope. Including FAQs in your articles does not improve your rankings. In fact, we noticed quite the opposite effect.
But don’t write off FAQs just yet! While they might not give your SEO a boost, they’re not all bad. In this post, we’ll break down when FAQs are basically useless—and when they still add value by serving your readers with helpful, relevant content.
The Experiment: Are FAQs Good for SEO?
Let’s dive right into what we did, what the results were, and what we can conclude from our little experiment!
Our Methods
- 4 blog articles targeting keywords with the same personalized keyword difficulty (based on our domain)
- 2 articles included a FAQ section; 2 articles did not
- Written by 2 authors (each wrote 1 article with FAQs and 1 without)
- All articles published on the same day
- Keywords were added to our tracking campaign in our keyword tracking platform SEMrush
- Ranking check-ins conducted on days 4, 11, and 22 after publication (starting from 20.02.2025)
Our Results
Rankings on the first check-in: 24. February
1.Article (with FAQ): Position 39
2.Article (no FAQ): Not ranking
3.Article (with FAQ): Position 28
4.Article (no FAQ): Position 92
Rankings on the second check-in: 3. March
1.Article (with FAQ): Not Ranking
2.Article (no FAQ): Position 1
3.Article (with FAQ): Not Ranking
4.Article (no FAQ): Position 21
Rankings on the third check-in: 14. March
1.Article (with FAQ): Not Ranking
2.Article (no FAQ): Position 3
3.Article (with FAQ): Not Ranking
4.Article (no FAQ): Position 20
Important: The keyword difficulty shown in the images reflects the general difficulty. However, we deliberately chose keywords with the same personalized keyword difficulty for our domain as shown on the image in our methods section.
Our Conclusion - FAQ Sections in Blog Entries Do Not Help SEO
While we initially had high hopes that including an FAQ section would boost our article rankings, the results turned out to be quite disappointing.
At first, things looked promising—both FAQ articles were ranking, while one of the non-FAQ articles hadn't appeared in the results yet. However, the tide quickly turned. Within about a week and a half, both FAQ articles dropped in position, and one disappeared from the rankings entirely.
By our second check-in, only one of the two FAQ articles was still ranking. Meanwhile, one of the non-FAQ articles had claimed the #1 spot, and the other was still outperforming the remaining FAQ article.
At our third check-in, the outcome was clear: the FAQ articles had lost the race. Neither of them was ranking anymore. One non-FAQ article climbed from position #21 to #20, and the other held strong at position #3 despite a slight drop.
Unfortunately, the conclusion from our experiment is clear—at least in our case, adding FAQ sections did not improve rankings. In fact, both FAQ articles were no longer ranking at all after just three weeks.
But Does That Mean FAQs Are All Bad for SEO?
No, definitely not! FAQs aren't all bad for SEO. In fact, they’re still a powerful tool when it comes to providing your website visitors with genuinely helpful content.
While our experiment showed that adding a FAQ section to a regular blog post has little impact on SEO rankings, integrating FAQs into landing pages can still be beneficial.
Why? Because you shouldn’t just focus on marketing your content to search engines like Google or Bing—you should mainly be creating value for your users.
FAQs offer clear, concise answers to common questions, help reduce friction in the user journey, and can even improve on-page engagement.
Why Are FAQs Helpful Content?
- Allows the reader to get quick answers to common questions.
- Helps you provide more context in an easy-to-digest format—better than a long block of text.
- Makes it easy for readers to quickly scan important information and discover insights they might otherwise miss.
- Lets you add more information (useful for both users and search engines) on landing pages where a long flow of text would feel unnatural or cluttered.
Check out our landing page “Local SEO for Hotels”, which consistently ranks within the top three search results for the keyword “hotel local SEO service.” This page includes a FAQ section at the end to provide in-depth answers to common questions about our tools—and it’s performing exceptionally well! It’s a great example of how to use FAQs not just for SEO purposes, but especially to enhance the user experience.
Who Benefits Most From FAQ Sections?
Local Businesses: If you run a restaurant, beauty salon, hair salon, or hotel, your potential customers aren’t looking to read lengthy blog posts. What they really want are quick facts that convince them to take action—whether that’s dropping by or making a booking. Including FAQs on your landing pages can help by answering practical questions like, “How many people can be in a group reservation?” or “What’s the difference between highlights and balayage?”
Service Providers: If you offer professional services—whether you're a lawyer, plumber, electrician, or similar—FAQ sections on your landing pages are a great opportunity to address the kinds of questions people usually type into Google. For example, a potential client might be unsure whether they need legal advice. A clear, concise FAQ can present a common issue, explain the situation, and emphasize when legal advice is needed. This not only helps answer real questions but can also drive conversions by guiding the reader toward taking action.
Product Pages: When customers visit your e-commerce store, they often want to compare products quickly and confidently. FAQ dropdowns are a simple way to answer common questions and reassure customers as they move through the buying process. For example, questions like “What are the shipping fees?” or “Does returning my item cost money?” are essential. If you're selling health-related products like supplements, you can also use FAQs to address concerns about dosage, effectiveness, and usage—helping build trust and increase conversions.
FAQ Best Practices
Here’s how to make the most of FAQs - improving your SEO while genuinely helping your website visitors.
Where to Include FAQs
- Add FAQs to relevant landing pages where they provide value and enhance user experience.
- Use them to address common concerns, objections, or important details that help visitors make informed decisions.
Where to Avoid FAQs
- Don’t add FAQs just for the sake of it. If a page doesn’t need them, leave them out.
- Avoid placing FAQs where they disrupt the user experience or repeat information already covered.
Avoid Obvious Questions
- Skip questions with answers that are too basic or self-explanatory.
- Focus on questions that provide real value and help users make a decision.
Use FAQs Your Audience Actually Cares About
- Think from your audience’s perspective—what do they genuinely want to know?
- Base your questions on customer inquiries, feedback, and search trends.
Keep SEO in Check - No Keyword Stuffing
- Optimize FAQs naturally without forcing keywords into every question or answer.
- Use variations of keywords in a conversational, reader-friendly way.
Wrapping Up
Well, this took a turn! Turns out, FAQs might not always help your blog posts rank better - in some cases, they can even hurt your SEO. But that doesn’t mean FAQs are bad. They’re still a great way to provide value to your website visitors.
The key takeaway? Always prioritize your readers over search engines. Instead of stuffing in a FAQ section just for SEO, focus on what your audience actually wants to see. After all, Google’s ranking factors are a mystery, and there’s no foolproof formula for success.
So, now you know - adding FAQs to your blog posts isn’t always the best move. Instead, put your energy into making the blog post itself as valuable as possible. If a FAQ section doesn’t genuinely help your readers, skip it!
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