Take Advantage of User-Generated Content Part 2: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

This is the second part in a three part series exploring the relationship between UGC (user generated content) and SEO, and how you can take advantage of user generated content to potentially boost your search engine rankings.  Together, we will explore Customer Reviews, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and Problem Solving Issues with UGC.  You can read Part One HERE.

If you have participated in a forum discussion, posted on a blog or message board, or written a review for a product or service, you have created ‘user generated content’.  Other examples of UGC are:  wikis, social networking sites, trip planners or travel sites, customer review sites, experience or photo sharing sites, news sites or any other website that offers the opportunity for a web user to share their knowledge and familiarity with a product or experience.

Adding a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) are to your site is a sure-fire way to add UGC and is also a great SEO opportunity.  Today’s online cilentele are savvy web users and are adept at finding answers to their questions on their own.  A website that affords them this opportunity is making a smart business decision, and can influence their visitors’ purchasing decisions simply offering them a way to help themselves.

By adding a Frequently Asked Questions area to your site that is regularly updated with fresh and relevant content, you are helping your potential customers make decisions about your products or services by simply being able to find answers to their questions.  You are also providing valuable SEO opportunities.  Fresh content attracts search engines like nobody’s business, and by incorporating your keywords in the FAQs, you’re giving your search engine presence and additional boost.

Here are a few great examples of websites using FAQs to provide key information about their products and which use strong SEO strategies to gain placement in the search engines:

• Serenity Health
• Cardio Renew
• Ecreativeworks

An additional FAQ strategy is to incorporate the feedback you receive via reviews or direct client contacts directly into the FAQ.  By answering the most common questions and issues, you are not only providing a valuable service to your clientele, you are also easing the load on your techinical and support staff.

Next week, we’ll look at Problem Solving Issues with User Generated Content.

Source material: “The Dynamic Duo of User Generated Content & SEO”  Search Marketing Standard, Spring 09

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