Google has evolved the layout of its search engine results page (SERP) over the years. No longer is it limited strictly to paid ads and traditional organic listings. You’ll now find other contents displayed in Google’s SERPs, including People Always Ask (PAA) boxes. By targeting PAA boxes with your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy, you’ll achieve higher visibility for your business’s website, allowing you to generate more traffic from the world’s largest search engine.
PAA Boxes Explained: What You Should Know
In case this is your first time hearing about PAA boxes, let me explain what they are and how they work. For certain keyword searches performed on Google, you’ll find a see a box with several lines of text — three on mobile devices and four on desktop and laptop computers — within the organic search listings. Known as related questions or PAA boxes, each of its three or four lines contains a question that’s related to the original search query.
To the right of each question in the PAA box is a downwards-pointing arrow, which you can click to see an answer in the form of an excerpt from the linked website. Of course, clicking the website title at the bottom of the answer will take you to the linked website where you can find more information about the subject.
If you’re able to get your business’s website listed in a PAA box, you may notice the following:
- More traffic from Google
- Increased visitor engagement
- Higher average time on page
How to Rank Your Business’s Website for PAA Boxes
PAA boxes aren’t paid ads or other forms of sponsored listings. They are curated organically by Google’s algorithm. As a result, there isn’t a 100% effective, foolproof method to rank a website in PAA boxes. By using the right SEO tactics, however, you can encourage Google to rank your business’s website in relevant and meaningful PAA boxes.
To get started, find out which PAA box or boxes you’d like to rank for. Go to Google and search for your website’s target keywords. If you see a PAA box, take note of the questions listed in those boxes. Depending on which keywords you are trying to rank, you may have to restructure them as a question, as PAA boxes are more common with question queries.
After creating a list of questions, build content on your website around those questions. You can create a unique page for each question, or you can compile the questions into a single page, such as an FAQ page. Assuming the answers are detailed and accurate, Google may rank your business’s website in PAA boxes for those questions.
