Why your website needs an FAQ page

Research by HelpScout shows that 75% of online customers expect support within five minutes. Depending on the size of your business this could be a huge demand on resources via phone calls, emails and instant chat. An effective FAQ page that answers customer queries without the need to get in touch can save your business time and money in staff resources.

Your FAQ page has to focus on what your customers need to know. But that doesn’t mean you can’t use the page to draw attention to key criteria that make your business stand out from the competition. Customers visiting your FAQ page are interested in your business, so make sure you communicate details like awards you’ve won, your eco-credentials, staff successes and so on. Think of your FAQ page as a bitesize summary of all the critical messages you want to communicate to customers to help them convert.

FAQ pages are great for your SEO. Just think about the content of the page – it’s about you, your services and the geographical areas you work in. What’s more, an FAQ page uses lots of H2 headings and phrases questions like search terms e.g. ‘Does my business need a website?’. This type of question-based query works well with voice search and can lead to your FAQ page being returned in search listings.

Customers want confidence that the companies they buy from are knowledgeable. An FAQ page is a great opportunity to demonstrate your industry expertise. Answering questions like ‘what does a website cost?’, ‘how does SEO work?’ etc. shows that you have a wide knowledge of the sector you work in and are a trusted voice in the sector. This can be a critical factor in encouraging a customer to convert.

Customers want to easily navigate through your website to find the information they need. An FAQ page can help with this. Rather than jumping between your About page, product pages and blog posts, before ultimately ending up at a contact page to find answers, an FAQ page can streamline this process. By placing an FAQ page in your navigation, you can simply your customer’s journey on your website.

FAQs are particularly effective for e-commerce websites. On a single page, you can answer key queries around delivery times, packaging, returns etc. that a customer would want to know prior to purchase

Your FAQ page can become a real asset to your business. As well as providing bite-size questions to answers, you also have the opportunity to link off to more detailed responses. Your FAQ page can become an indexed resource or library, linking to blog or content pages for more detail on a topic. This internal linking can help with SEO. It also means that you have created a one-stop shop for your business – a directory of key queries and answers that can assist customers, new staff members, suppliers and investors to learn more about your business.

No business is without problems. Rather than avoiding mentioning any issues, your FAQ page can help you to turn negative perceptions into more favourable outcomes. If your customers have concerns about product returns or the sustainability of your package you can use FAQs to explain what you’re doing about an issue and how you’re striving to be better. Customers appreciate this honesty and openness.