{"id":140161,"date":"2020-02-20T15:18:57","date_gmt":"2020-02-20T15:18:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.searchenginewatch.com\/?p=140161"},"modified":"2020-02-20T15:20:40","modified_gmt":"2020-02-20T15:20:40","slug":"how-to-make-most-of-googles-people-also-ask-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2020\/02\/20\/how-to-make-most-of-googles-people-also-ask-results\/","title":{"rendered":"How to make the most of Google’s “People also ask” results"},"content":{"rendered":"

Google’s “People also ask” boxes are widely discussed within the SEO industry as they take a lot of SERP real estate while providing little to no organic visibility to the publishers’ sites.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That said, “People also ask” listings are probably helpful for Google’s users allowing them to get a better understanding of a topic they are researching. Yet, whether they do send actual clicks to publishers’ pages remains a huge question.<\/p>\n

While we have no power over Google’s search engine page elements, our job as digital marketers is to find ways to take any opportunity to boost our clients’ organic visibility.<\/p>\n

Is there any way for marketers to utilize this search feature better? Let’s see.<\/p>\n

1. Understand your target query intent better<\/h2>\n

One of the cooler aspects of “People also ask” boxes is that they are dynamic.<\/p>\n

When you click one question, it will take you in a new direction by generating more follow-up questions underneath. Each time you choose, you get more to choose from.<\/p>\n

The coolest thing though is that the further questions are different (in topic, direction or intent) based on which question you choose.<\/p>\n

Let me explain this by showing you an example. Let’s search for something like – “Is wine good for your blood?”<\/p>\n

Now try clicking one of those questions in the box, for example, “What are the benefits of drinking red wine?” and watch more follow-up questions show up. Next, click a different question “Is red wine good for your heart and blood pressure?”. Do you see the difference?<\/p>\n

\"Understanding<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Source: Screenshot made by the author, as of Feb 2020<\/em><\/p>\n

Now, while this exercise may seem rather insignificant to some people, to me, it is pretty mind-blowing as it shows us what Google may know of their users’ research patterns and what may interest them further, depending on their next step.<\/p>\n

To give you a bit of a context, Google seems to rely on\u00a0semantic analysis<\/a>\u00a0when figuring out which questions fit every searcher’s needs better. Bill Slawski did a solid job\u00a0covering a related patent<\/a>\u00a0called “Generating related questions for search queries” which also states that those related questions rely on search intent:<\/p>\n

Providing related questions to users can help users who are using \u00a0 un-common keywords or terminology in their search query to identify \u00a0 keywords or terms that are more\u00a0commonly used to describe their intent.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Google<\/p>\n

Source: <\/em>Google patent<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

For a deeper insight into the variety of questions and types of intent, they may signal, try Text Optimizer. The tool uses a similar process of extracting questions Google does. For example, here are intent-based questions that refer to the topic of bitcoin.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Finding<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Source: TextOptimizer’s search screenshot, as of Jan 2020<\/em><\/p>\n

2. Identify important searching patterns<\/h2>\n

This one somewhat relates to the previous one but it serves a more practical goal, beyond understanding your audience and topic better. If you search Google for your target query enough, you will soon start seeing certain searching patterns.<\/p>\n

For example, lots of city-related “People also ask” boxes will contain questions concerning the city safety, whether it is a good place to live in and what it is famous for:<\/p>\n

\"Finding<\/p>\n

Identifying these searching patterns is crucial when you want:<\/p>\n