How to write FAQs that search engines and AI understand

Short answer: write each question the way your customer would ask it, answer it in the first sentences and mark up the list with FAQPage structured data whose text matches the visible text exactly.

Why FAQs matter

Search engines and AI assistants answer questions. A page that already poses them and answers them clearly is easier to understand and to cite.

How to write them

1. Start from real questions. Use the ones that reach sales and support, and the ones search engines show as related questions.
2. One question, one answer. Avoid double questions.
3. Direct answer first. Answer in one or two sentences, then add context.
4. The question is the heading. Use a heading (h2 or h3) for each question.
5. Don't repeat the same block across many pages. Each URL should have the questions that belong to it.

Structured data

Mark up the list with FAQPage JSON-LD. The text of each question and answer must be the same one the user sees.

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "How long does the audit take?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Between 5 and 7 business days."
      }
    }
  ]
}

A good practice is to generate the visible HTML and the JSON-LD from the same data list. That way they can't differ.

What to expect

Since 2023 Google has limited FAQ rich results to a small group of sites, so the markup doesn't guarantee they'll be shown. It still helps other systems understand the page's structure, and clear answers serve the reader either way.

Checklist

• Each question is written the way a customer would ask it.
• The answer starts with the direct answer.
• Each question is a heading.
• The JSON-LD matches the visible text.
• No two pages share the same block of questions.