The Search Engine landscape is constantly evolving to make it convenient for those who use the platform to search for their queries and others who want their content to be ranked on it.
When you search for something, you get the results in a predicted SERPs layout form. You can go deeper by clicking on a listing and visit the relevant site.
However, getting an accurate result isn’t always guaranteed. Searchers can have a tough time finding answers that are relevant to their questions. And that’s why Google came up with this unique feature to help people expand their searches and discover what they need.
In 2018, most businesses could see Google’s “People Also Ask” feature. A box appears when you click your browser’s back button to return to the SERP from the selected page, and it contains a few questions with drop-down answers relevant to the original search.
Let’s find out what this feature is and everything you need to know about it.
Table of Contents
People Also Search For (PASF) Feature
The PASF feature is only available to those who open a search engine result and instantly hit back on their browser to return to the results page because they didn’t find what they needed. Google offers similar suggestions to help them find what they wanted.
These suggestions are an attempt for Google to understand the user’s intent behind the query and display results to match the search exactly.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies are essential for professionals and business owners to increase website traffic for their page. Google continuously strives to change the SERP landscape to achieve this end, and the PASF feature helps significantly in directing new traffic to websites.
There are several ways to get more exposure and search through SERPs, making SEO much more than a means to rank on the first position. In fact, these dynamic features such as People Also Search For and Featured Snippets show a decreasing trend in the efforts for the highest organic rankings.
With the changes that Google makes to the SERP, it is vital for businesses to aim to be featured in the People Also Search For box for maximum keywords.
PASF boxes feature questions related to the search query at hand; these are the terms and questions previously used by people to look for similar results. Since Google directly provides this data, it is essential for SEO, and all SERP search results are linked with a minimum of six People Also Search For keywords.
How To Prevent People From Bouncing Off Your Site
It is essential to analyze data to determine if people bounce off your pages for some query or keyword. This is to ensure that you provide value or relevant answers to your customers.
Focus on the SERPs and the related questions list to ensure your content answers them, making your page more relevant to your target audience. One of the best ways to add, create, and format helpful content is to see which sites have a higher position than yours. Furthermore, look at your competitor’s content to determine how it differs from yours. Pay special attention to the length, style, topics, language, etc.
Understand what your competitors do and follow that to improve your content instead of copying it. Prioritize the users than the search engine to create relevant content.
Create Relevant Content
It would help if you also focused on including more information and details on your website. Narrow down the topics you want to discuss, beginning with your main topic to create more relevant content. With this information, you can grow your brand more easily and sound more authoritative in your industry’s focal point.
For instance, if potential customers find your business through organic search but don’t get what they were looking for, they’ll probably get annoyed, return to the SERP, and find a related query.
Voila! That’s the result of your powerful marketing.
When someone clicks on a question, the box opens to display text with a short explanation to your inquiry as well as a source URL from the extracted text site. Furthermore, there is a shortcut link as well to perform more Google searches on a specific question.
Initially, there are four questions in the People Also Search For box, but when users continuously click on a PASF question, more items keep getting added to it. As a result, the PASF boxes expand infinitely with new questions in addition to the box.
PASF isn’t related to the keyword patterns, but we might get comparative keywords that may be inclined towards consistent PSAF results.
Important PASF Features
Changes In PASF SERP Positions
Even though it may seem that generally, the PAA boxes will be in the same SERP position whenever Google initiates them, PASF is different from featured snippets. While the latter is only present at the top of the Search Engine Results Page, PASF is found on different pages.
The various positions of the PASF on the SERP are essential to understand because they affect the click-through rates of the organic search results, particularly on the limited spaces in mobiles.
Video Results Triggered
Since you’ll find several queries related to “How to?” “What is/are?” etc., more often than not, there will be videos in the displayed results.
Google will test this continuously to include most keywords that display video results that trigger those in the PASF listings. As a result, it is crucial to also focus on video results and YouTube optimization to increase your probability of appearing in the PASFs.
Featured Snippets Triggered
Another thing that PASF questions trigger is featured snippets. Different keywords can show the same PASF questions and answers. The answer and listing appearing in the PASF for a specific query also trigger PASF questions.
Ways To Rank In PASF Boxes
Scrape PASF Results
You have to determine the questions that pop up in the different PASF boxes for keywords before beginning your page’s optimization. Use a keywords explorer tool to evaluate the keywords and match the questions you get to them.
More Keywords
You cannot find every keyword in the PASF box for a particular question. At most, you can find questions with several keywords that have a high total search volume in a month. To do this, you need to look for pages that rank for several keywords.
Common PASF Questions
Since Google generally shows the answer to a question using the same source for PASF boxes across several queries. You must look for the most common questions for your page because if the same question displays in the PASF box for many keywords, you should optimize for it.
Ranking Eligibility For PASF Box
Generally, Google chooses answers for the PASF box from one of the highest-ranked questions in the top ten positions. As a result, if you are not in the top ten rankings for a question, your page will probably not be an eligible source for the answer. In such a case, you can select some other question and optimize for it.
Ensure You’re Not The Source
It is essential to determine that Google doesn’t already use answers from your page for a specific question. Search for some query where a particular question displays in the PASF box. Press on the “+” icon next to the question to reveal the queries.
Then, copy one of these queries and paste it into the Google search box to display it in the SERP’s PASF box. Then expand and check if your page is the source. If it is, consider some other question you want to optimize for because there is no point in optimizing for one that already has your answer.
Page Optimization
Once you have discovered a popular PASF question, rank in the top ten positions for that question on Google, but are not the answer’s source currently, you should optimize your page to do so. Here’s how you can achieve that:
1. Add The Answer To The Page
If the question you want to optimize for doesn’t have the answer on your page, you must add it because it is impossible to select an answer source if it doesn’t have anything to provide for that question.
You don’t have to use the exact words here to be the answer source. For instance, a page can be a source for a question without using the exact phrasing, but it can have the answer under the introductory section for a similarly phrased question.
However, ensure that you don’t include answers to completely unrelated questions in your content that add no value to your actual page topic.
2. Clean Code
If there is a messy code, it can easily confuse Google. As a result, it is essential to create clear headings and avoiding irrelevant fluff. For instance, if you want Google to pull an answer from your website for a “How to?” question, it is best to summarize all the points in precise steps to be chosen by Google.
3. Google Compatible Format
PASF has various formats such as tables, texts, videos, lists, etc. You must use the format Google prefers by considering the question’s present answer. For instance, if Google wants a list format for a specific question and your content doesn’t align with that, it probably won’t be chosen for the PASF section.
Make some formatting alterations to align your content with Google’s expectations, making it more readable for others.
Conclusion
As a marketer, SEO professional, or business owner, you need to keep up with the SERP features that constantly come up to ensure you make the most of them and reach a wider audience.
The People Also Search For box is a feature that can significantly improve your reach, provided you create relevant content that answers people’s questions. If users don’t find what they are looking for on a selected SERPs link, they’ll return to find this box with similar questions answering their query.
If Google picks your page up as an answer source, you can divert this traffic and get more users to visit your page.
Tim holds expertise in building and scaling sales operations, helping companies increase revenue efficiency and drive growth from websites and sales teams.
When he's not working, Tim enjoys playing a few rounds of disc golf, running, and spending time with his wife and family on the beach...preferably in Hawaii.
Over the years he's written for publications like Forbes, Entrepreneur, Marketing Land, Search Engine Journal, ReadWrite and other highly respected online publications. Connect with Tim on Linkedin & Twitter.
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