What’s the most effective way to increase your content’s visibility in Google’s ‘People Also Ask’ (PAA) feature?
This is a key question for SEO professionals and content creators seeking to maximize their organic reach.
To provide answers, we turned to the experts.
In this post, we’ve compiled insights from leading SEO and business leaders, asking them to share their go-to strategies for PAA optimization.
Their responses offer a range of practical approaches, providing valuable guidance for anyone looking to leverage this powerful SERP feature to enhance their content’s visibility and attract targeted traffic.
Read on!
Will Wright
If you want to show up in People Also Ask then you need to both Ask and Answer the questions around your keywords within your content, but also show why YOU are the authority on that information.
Give Google verbatim Asks and Answers with SEO optimized copy, but also show the profile of the person behind the answer.
Give data, including Schema Data, behind the personality. Explain why they are able to answer it as an Expert.
Have a profile of that person showing their bona fides and accomplishments. The more the content can appear to come from a source of authority, the more Google will return it, time and time again, in PAA.
To get those questions you can use Tools that compile lists of questions, but you can also get smart with your marketing.
What are the questions that customers and potential clients ask when they are on a discovery call with your business?
What questions does your customer service team get via email?
Do your competitors have a tech support forum?
Those questions are ripe for building People Also Ask content on your site that you can both Ask and Answer with real, shown, authority.
Will Wright
Lead SEO Strategist, Direct Online Marketing
John Frigo
To increase content visibility for Google’s People Also Ask (PAA) feature, I focus on answering common questions directly within my content.
I optimize for featured snippets by structuring answers clearly with bullet points, numbered lists, or concise paragraphs.
Including related questions throughout the page also helps improve the chances of being pulled into PAA boxes, as Google looks for content that addresses user queries in a straightforward way.
John Frigo
eCommerce Manager, Best Price Nutrition
Georgi Petrov
Optimizing for Google’s “People Also Ask” (PAA) feature requires a structured, question-driven approach.
I focus on identifying relevant queries using keyword research tools and analyzing SERP trends.
Structuring content with clear, concise answers in a Q&A format improves the chances of being featured. In my agency, we’ve seen success by using subheadings formatted as questions and providing direct, informative responses within 40-60 words.
Another key strategy is optimizing for featured snippets since Google often pulls PAA answers from snippet-worthy content.
We also refresh content regularly to align with evolving search intent. By leveraging schema markup and internal linking, we ensure Google understands the context and relevance of the content.
This strategy has significantly improved rankings and organic traffic for both our agency and e-commerce brand, proving that answering user queries effectively leads to greater visibility.
Georgi Petrov
CMO, Entrepreneur, and Content Creator, AIG MARKETER
David Holman
The ‘People Also Ask’ box has become a much sought after SEO goal, but getting this spot requires a bit of work. We have a strategy just for this.
First, use SERPs to find PAA questions.
Second, format responses in a Q&A structure, using subheadings phrased as exact-match queries.
Third, be sure to keep answers short and to the point.
Our secret weapon is using A/B testing snippets for engagement. If a PAA result isn’t driving clicks, we tweak the phrasing and compare results.
The bottom line is that Google favors content that mimics human curiosity.
David Holman
CEO, Weepli
Evgeni Asenov
My go-to strategy for optimizing content to appear in Google’s People Also Ask (PAA) feature revolves around crafting concise, question-and-answer-style content.
I once worked on a blog post that wasn’t gaining much traction despite having valuable insights. To address this, I researched long-tail question keywords related to the topic and structured the content around answering those questions directly in the first few sentences of each section.
One key adjustment was adopting a conversational tone and writing answers that were clear and focused, generally around 40-60 words.
For example, if the question was “How does X improve productivity?” I would ensure the answer was precise and immediately useful. This approach not only captured PAA placements but also improved the content’s overall clarity.
What I’ve realized is that Google values content that serves users quickly and effectively. If you can answer their questions directly and keep the layout scannable, you increase your chances of being featured, while also enhancing the user experience on your page.
Evgeni Asenov
SEO & Content Lead, Resume Mentor
Scott Gabdullin
Consider what’s already ranking and set your content out in a similar way — even to the order of words and how headings are formatted.
Google loves clear, direct answers, so make sure your response is easy to read and gets straight to the point.
Having a FAQ section in your posts also helps, as this naturally reflects how people ask questions online.
Treat it like a conversation — anticipate what someone might ask next and respond in a way that feels intuitive and helpful. Make sure your content is the best possible answer to the question.
Scott Gabdullin
Founder, Learo
Francis Angelo Reyes
We need to write content as conversational, direct, and short as possible to target Google’s ‘People Also Ask’ feature.
The start of your blogs needs to answer the question being asked. Don’t sugarcoat or add fluff to your content. Google scrapes and takes the first part of the content so it’s in our best interest to answer queries as quickly as possible. Use active sentences.
We can increase the likelihood of our content being featured in this side of the search results by using this approach. It drives more traffic to our website. Then users quickly read and appreciate the usefulness of the content which can lead to higher conversion rates.
Francis Angelo Reyes
Founder, Lupage Digital
Tooba Jamal
I start by using Google search, Ahrefs, and logical analysis to identify questions my target audience is likely to ask.
To optimize for PAA, I incorporate these questions as H2 or H3 headings when appropriate or include them in an FAQ section at the end of the article.
I also analyze the SERP to understand the format of answers that rank in PAA and ensure my responses are clear, well-structured, and formatted with bullets, tables, or images when necessary.
I also align my answers with search intent and provide more depth than competing content to increase visibility.
Spencergarret Fernandez
An extremely powerful technique for boosting PAA performance on Google would be to listen to what your audience is asking and to provide them with the brief and straightforward answers they need.
For starters, look for prevalent questions in your niche using AnswerThePublic or SEMrush’s keyword analysis to hunt down popular queries that involve questions.
Consider your answers to be short, snappy pieces of content like the content in a PAA section, and then expand on these answers for a fuller content analysis.
We know header tags (H2, H3) make the text relevant to search engines when they are in question-phrase form.
Moreover, make your content voice search-friendly; voice queries are a big source of PAA.
Finally, use schema markup so that search engines can understand the context of your response and help demonstrate your eligibility for these prized SERP features.
Our healthcare clients have benefitted from this approach, which consistently gets users interested in organic traffic.
Spencergarret Fernandez
Founder and CEO, SEO Echelon
Khan Muhammad Imran
Going beyond basic keyword research, I like to use an NLP approach and study actual conversations.
I look into how users ask questions on niche forums, open questions on Reddit, and run voice searches. I gather this list of questions and then provide answers with a length of 40–60 words. This length is pocket-sized to fit perfectly into Google’s featured snippet.
I use Q&A blocks with a special cue signaling search engines that my answers are clear, useful, and complete.
In fact, the PAA feature seems to favor detailed examples that address “Why?” and “How?” questions rather than just “What?” questions.
As I continually improve my answers and closely monitor user interaction, I ensure my content keeps up with evolving search behavior.
On behalf of the BoostMyDomain community of readers, we thank these leaders and experts for taking the time to share valuable insights that stem from years of experience and in-depth expertise in their respective niches.
BoostMyDomain invites you to share your insights and contribute to our authoritative publication. Reach a wider audience, build your credibility, and establish yourself as a thought leader in an industry that caters to every business with an online presence!
