People Also Ask (PAA) is a Google search engine feature that appears directly on the results page. It's an excellent resource for internet users, enabling them to obtain more precise or complementary information to their initial search.
It can also be very useful as part of your SEO strategy!
In this article, I'm going to explain exactly what People Also Ask questions are, describe the value of these generated questions for web surfers, and give you a few tips on how to exploit them in your SEO marketing strategy.
What is People Also Ask on Google?
When searching on the Google search engine, you've probably already come across the People Also Ask feature.
This box includes questions related to your search that are inserted directly into the top of the organic search results.
Questions in the PAA box represent the searches most frequently typed by internet users.
The feature displays a list of questions, often 3 or 4.
90.27% of PAA boxes display 4 questions (Semrush 2020 study)
You simply need to press one of the arrows on the right side to scroll down the answer.
Here, the search engine will display an answer, along with a link to the source where the information came from. This can be in the form of a table, text, video, or lists.
78.6% of PAA answers display paragraphs, 13.8% lists, 4.3% tables, and 3.3% videos
Another peculiarity of the PAA tool is that when you display the question with an answer, other questions appear!
You can therefore continue to dig deeper into the subject and find other questions/answers related to your initial research.
What are the benefits of questions posted in PAA?
PAA questions are particularly useful for web users. Here's a list of of the top benefits these snippets provide.
Simplifying understanding of the query and taking it further
People Also Ask helps users to better understand the query they've typed, by offering them the opportunity to explore the subject in greater depth. By displaying related questions, users can discover additional information that may be of interest to them.
These related queries can also address topics likely to capture the user's attention, even if they hadn't initially considered them.
Encouraging self-learning
Highlighting questions related to a specific query attracts curiosity.
Users who discover related questions will often seek further information and develop their knowledge on a specific topic.
Providing a better user experience
This is always the main objective of Google's search engine. The company does its utmost to ensure that the user is satisfied with the results displayed and stays as long as possible browsing between pages.
This feature of quick answers with very short responses in the form of featured snippets once again demonstrates Google's desire to move towards an answer engine rather than a search engine.
How do you see People Also Ask on the SERP?
The People Also Ask box is displayed for a large number of queries. When it's displayed, it's usually visible at the top of the results on the first page.
1. Perform a search on Google (Example: "How do I maintain my surfboard?").
2. Search for the PAA box: The PAA box is usually at the top of the organic results.
3. Explore PAA questions: To see a response to a PAA question, simply click on one of the questions in the box.
Not all topics generate People Also Ask boxes. Google may feel that the search results are sufficient or that other types of results, such as featured snippets (e.g., Position 0), are more appropriate.
How is PAA content generated? Where do the questions come from?
To generate PAA content, the Google search engine relies on two elements:
- Related searches: These are combinations of keywords that are featured at the bottom of the results page.
- Content in position 0: This is a block of information that appears above the organic search results for certain keywords.
What are the SEO benefits of the PAA feature?
As part of an SEO strategy to best optimize your business's marketing efforts, People Also Ask offers many SEO benefits!
Visibility and brand awareness
You'll find that one of the main advantages of PAA questions is that they give your site high visibility for certain keywords, by displaying a link to your site directly on the first page of results.
Most of the time, these are keywords that you don't exploit directly. So you benefit from organic traffic from related queries without targeting them directly.
73.75% of sites that appear in PAA questions don't appear on the first page of results
The PAA box is also a tool that takes up space in the SERPs, and it's positioned above most organic results. The visibility of this box can therefore become beneficial for your site.
Trust and relevance
The content Google selects to appear in the PAA feature is often a sign of trust and relevance. It shows that the search engine's algorithms consider your content, and indeed your website, to be a reliable source of information.
The appearance of your site in the PAA box is therefore a positive signal for your site.
What are the disadvantages of the PAA feature in SEO?
As with other online tools and features, some benefits can also have drawbacks. You'll find that the PAA tool is also at the heart of many discussions concerning SERP features.
Less visibility
PAA questions are often inserted at the top of organic results.
As a result, if you rank in 2nd or 3rd position for a keyword, and a PAA box is added below the 1st position, your site will be pushed further down the SERP.
According to the Semrush study, 57.52% of PAA questions are displayed after the 1st position
This lower position in the SERP will therefore have an impact on your page's visibility and clicks.
Clicks from PAA questions
Google's aim with the PAA feature is to display answers to questions directly on the results page. As a result, some web surfers will obtain the information they're looking for in these featured snippets in the PAA boxes without even clicking on the web page dealing with the subject.
If your site is listed in a PAA box, you may not necessarily see a significant increase in traffic.
Competition
The PAA box also opens the door to competition. They can take advantage of this display to slip into the SERP without actually having to rank for a keyword, as the Semrush study shows.
With the PAA feature, you're not only competing for organic positions in search results, but also for inclusion in PAA questions.
How can you take advantage of People Also Ask for SEO?
PAA is a dynamic Google feature that can be used in a variety of ways for your business's SEO marketing strategy. So how can you best employ PAA questions and use them to improve your site's SEO?
Get topic ideas
SEO content is an essential element when it comes to optimizing your site for search engines. PAA questions are a goldmine to help you find ideas for new content to write on your site.
Often linked to a specific topic you're already covering, they're interesting keyword opportunities to exploit!
Improve your content
The PAA tool can also help you complement existing content on your site. For example, you can take questions that you find in the box and use them as H2 or H3 headings in your text content on your blog or other pages of your website and provide detailed answers to each query. This adds relevant information for your readers and improves your SEO.
These are the questions that web users are looking for in your subject area, so it's in your interest to answer them.
Position yourself in PAA questions
People Also Ask can help you work on your content and come up with ideas for topics, but you can also try to make your pages appear in this box.
At present, there's no precise strategy for positioning yourself effectively in PAA questions. It's Google's algorithm that does the sorting and determines the most relevant questions/pages to display to users. Nevertheless, I'm going to give you a few pointers to increase your chances of appearing in PAA questions:
- Make sure that Google triggers a PAA box for the targeted queries.
- Have a quality website that respects optimization standards on the various pages (title, meta description, Hn structure, etc.).
- Rank for keywords and generate organic traffic.
- Offer relevant informational content that responds to search intent.
- Vary response formats in your blog posts: text, table, video, and lists.
- Retrieve PAA questions from your articles and write short, concise answers to suit the expected format.
On average, the response displayed for a PAA question contains 41 words
Tools to easily and quickly extract PAA questions
Browsing Google, you can list a large number of PAA questions, but this can be a rather time-consuming task... Fortunately, there are online tools to save you time, just like when using a keyword rank checker to keep an eye on your rankings for specific keywords!
AlsoAsked
With the AlsoAsked tool, you enter a keyword and select the language and country that best suit your needs.
The tool will then generate a mapping with the various PAA question possibilities displayed for the keyword you've entered. You can then click on the question of your choice to obtain new results.
The free version offers 3 searches per day.
KeywordsPeopleUse
KeywordsPeopleUse is a comprehensive tool that lets you select results from PAA questions, search suggestions, Reddit, Quora, and more.
Again, all you have to do is select "People Also Ask" and enter your keyword, language, and country. You'll then be presented with a graph showing all the questions. The tool also lets you select other questions displayed to discover new results.
The free version offers 20 searches per month.
Answer The Public
Answer The Public is one of the most popular tools for analyzing PAA questions. Bought out by Neil Patel, it's evolved to display additional information and data such as search volumes and cost per click next to certain questions.
The "search volume" data provides an estimate of the number of times a search is typed by web users.
The free version without registration offers 1 search per day, and 3 with registration.
Elements not to be confused with People Also Ask
When you search on the Google search engine, various features are displayed directly on the results page to enhance the user experience.
These include PAA boxes, but other elements are also added to the SERP. Here are some additional guidelines to help you determine the difference between the different features:
Search suggestions
When you type a query in the search field, search suggestions appear in the input bar, serving as a helpful and free keyword research tool.
They display the queries most frequently typed by internet users, and save you a lot of time. The suggestions that appear are quite similar to the related searches at the bottom of the page.
Related searches
When you reach the top 10 results page and scroll down, you can discover suggested combinations of keywords related to your search.
These are particularly useful for completing the initial request or for providing the user with further research leads.
People Also Ask is a useful feature for web users. It allows you to delve deeper into a subject and discover relevant information in just a few clicks.
In SEO, it can also be very beneficial. Whether you're looking for new topics to write about, want to expand your content or want to improve your site's visibility and traffic, it's in your best interest to take advantage of it!
Kim le 29 March 2024 à 19:50