Bright Idea: Answering Common Questions to Build Your Online Marketing
Anyone who has been paying attention to the SEO world in the past 5 years has heard "Content Is King" more times than they can count. Because of this, the team here at Footbridge Media often are on the receiving end of questions from our clients. Questions like "What do I talk about for my content?" "I'm not a writer – what content can I create?" "I don't have any ideas, what content is important for us to make?"
Believe it or not, you are sitting on a wealth of content.
Just like Footbridge Media's situation – If you operate a business, you're going to get questions. Sometimes you'll get the same questions over and over again. To your industry, it is everyday stuff – the in's and out's of your job. But to a layperson, it's all brand new. You probably have answered the same question 100 times over. "Why should I use this material?" "Why does it have to be done this way?" "What do you mean it costs that much?"
These questions can be a gold mine for you and your website. Answering common questions as presented by your potential clients lays the groundwork proving that you are an established industry expert – with the know-how and skill set required to get the job done well. Let's think about a few ways that we can answer your client's most common questions to build your brand.
Start Things Slowly With a FAQ
Not all of your information has to be distilled all at once. Building up an FAQ is like preparing your future blog posts. To start, your Frequently Asked Questions section answers each inquiry with a short, one or two sentence answer. Down the line, you can create more thorough answers and fully elaborate in the form of a blog post.
Providing Answers to Commonly Asked Questions Via Your Blog
If you notice a trend of people asking the same questions over and over, you know that you've got a great topic to write about. Answering common questions for concerned potential clients can help establish you as an expert in the field, and give your prospective customer the confidence they need to choose you.
I recently saw a friend on Facebook who did just this. As cited in the blog description – the business received regular inquiries about a specific topic. The business then crafted a blog post, explaining the benefits of using their company while also answering the question.
Sharing the content to potential clients via the business Facebook page was also great, but the icing on the cake was having the business owner himself share the business Facebook page post to his friends and colleagues to further distribute the content. If you and your business were able to do the same on a regular basis, with equally high quality content, I'd venture to say you would see consistent positive numbers in your Facebook page activity and your website traffic.
Filling Out Your Google Q&A Section of Your Google My Business Listing
Google's Local Questions and Answers section of the Google My Business Listing first showed up in search results in August 2017 – initially on mobile devices and ultimately rolling out to all searchers. Quite honestly, the majority of searches I complete for smaller local businesses have little to no Q&A section to speak of. This gives you an opportunity.
As part of Mike Blumenthal's series on Google Q&A, he advocates that you start off your Questions & Answers section with a few questions and answers of your own. This gives you the opportunity to provide answers to questions you're likely already answering on a regular basis from prospective clients – and gets the ball rolling for additional content by showing a strong example of how other users can communicate with you via Q&A.
Answer Common Questions Via Google "Quick Answers"
The Google "Knowledge Box" section is always growing and evolving. Given that people, as a whole, are getting more comfortable with their computers and smart devices – search queries are becoming more conversational. As always, Google is listening. To best answer a query, Google is trying to determine the best answers – via a Knowledge panel or "Quick Answers" box. This format is an interesting one. While I personally see these answers eventually becoming more locally focused – they currently only answer questions on a national level... which is still okay! In theory, the more that Google understands that your website is an authoritative figure – the better your site as a whole should rank
In practical application – this process can be tricky. Aside from ensuring the site is technically sound – the way you phrase your writing of "the answer" to the question must be informative and conversational, like your site content is naturally answering the question being asked.
Even More Reason to Become the "Quick Answer" Question – Voice Search
With the increase in services that customer's interact with by voice alone (like Apple's Siri, Amazon's Alexa, and Google Assistant) along side the physical products that you interact through (like iPhone, Echo, or Google Home devices) – having a good quality FAQ with useful information and ranking as a "Quick Answer" or "result zero" at the very top of the page means that you can potential spread your business presence to this quickly growing customer base.
Individual Project Posts – The "Can You Show Us Examples" Question
People love to see examples of work. Especially if you are a home building or remodeling contractor, you can be pretty sure that a savvy consumer will want to see samples of your work before they sign on the dotted line and commit themselves (and their money!) to your business operation.
Be proud of the work that you complete. Considering that the smartphone in your pocket takes better pictures than most point-and-shoot cameras from even a just a few years ago – You've got the tools necessary to document the high quality work that you do. So the next time a client asks, you'll be able to wow them with your previous projects.
About Chris Lonergan
Chris Lonergan has over 12 years of contractor marketing experience with Footbridge Media. With a background in web design, print design, content creation, and online marketing, Chris is focused on providing quality marketing and business solutions in the construction and service industries - helping small business owners to more efficiently manage their companies and grow their operations.
Chris Lonergan has previously contributed to and/or been featured in PM Magazine (Plumbing & Mechanical | Contractors x Engineers), theNEWS (ACHR - Air Conditioning | Heating | Refrigeration), Service Roundtable's blog, inPAINT Magazine, the SMB Marketing Agency Show, and the Green Industry Podcast. Chris is also a past SGI/CertainPath breakout session presenter.
