This translation has not been editorially reviewed yet. The German version is authoritative. Deutsche Fassung →
Question-and-answer blocks: the format answer systems prefer
A question-and-answer block is the form answer systems adopt most reliably: the question names the search query, the answer sits directly below it and is self-contained. The check verifies whether such blocks exist, and whether the questions are real headings.
- What matters is that the question is marked up as a heading. A bolded line looks the same, but it's not a structural level for screen readers or for evaluation systems.
- The questions should be phrased the way people actually ask them — not the way a department would name them. "What does an audit cost?" gets searched for; "terms overview" doesn't.
- The limit: FAQ markup with no visible questions on the page violates the structured data guidelines. What gets marked up is what's actually there.
FAQ
How many questions should a block contain?
As many as there are real questions. Three good ones beat ten made-up ones — you can tell made-up questions because nobody would actually ask them.
Should the same questions appear on multiple pages?
No. The same question on two pages puts the pages in competition with each other. Every question belongs in exactly one place.