How to add FAQ schema to a Squarespace site

Key takeaways:

• Schema markup, or structured data, is a way to describe your content to Google
• Schema markup is not a directly ranking factor but it does play an integral part to SEO
• FAQPage schema contains a list of questions and answers pertaining to a particular topic. When FAQPage schema markup is implemented on a web page, it may be eligible to have a rich result on Search
• You can add a JSON-LD code snippet to any page via the Squarespace dashboard to be eligible for rich results.

FAQ rich results are available in all countries and languages where Google Search is available. This feature is available on desktop and mobile devices.

Google content guidelines specify that all FAQ content must be visible to the user on the source page. That is, every question and answer in the markup must be reflected in the content of the corresponding page.

Let’s get started.

How to add FAQ schema in Squarespace.

In this tutorial, you will learn to generate JSON-LD markup via a schema generator and insert the code via Page Header Code Injection.

1. Log into your Squarespace account.

2. Select a page to add FAQPage schema. Whilst you can choose to add FAQ schema to your homepage, please be aware that rich results will not appear for the homepage. I recommend adding FAQ schema to an About, Contact or FAQ page.

3. Write at least 3 questions and corresponding answers on the selected page. If you have an existing frequently asked questions section, leave the content as is. All you will have to do is to generate the markup code.

When adding questions and answers to your page, format it so that the information is easy to read. For example, you may consider using <h3> or <h4> tags for the questions or applying bold formatting to the question.

Answers can be one sentence long or span multiple paragraphs. In the below screenshot, you can see that we have included a number of relevant questions and answers about Ovolo Woollomooloo.

4. Publish the page. Once you are done with inserting the questions and answers on your selected page, click SAVE to make the changes live.

5. Use a schema markup generator. In a new tab/window, go to https://technicalseo.com/tools/schema-markup-generator/. This is ensure that the syntax of the JSON-LD is accurate.

In the top drop-down box, select FAQ Page.

6. Copy/paste the first FAQ question into the Question #1 field. Go back to your Squarespace tab/window and copy and paste the first question into the provided field. Do the same for the Answer field.

7. Click on + ADD QUESTION button to add more question and answers. Repeat this process until you have covered all FAQs on your web page.

8. Copy the completed JSON-LD. Once you have filled in all your question and answers, click on the blue icon (shown below) to copy the completed JSON-LD markup. With the JSON-LD in your clipboard, go back to your Squarespace window/tab in your web browser.

9. Access the page’s settings panel by clicking on the cog wheel symbol. Navigate to the Advanced tab. On this tab, you will see PAGE HEADER CODE INJECTION. This is where you will paste the JSON-LD from the schema generator.

10. Paste the completed JSON-LD and click SAVE. Once you click SAVE, the markup will be published. You will want to do two things: (i) check that your FAQPage schema is correct by using Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool, and (ii) re-crawl the web page in Google Search Console.

How to verify that FAQPage schema has been implemented properly.

Once you have followed the above steps, the first thing you should do is to validate that the JSON-LD markup is free of errors.

Google has a structured data testing tool that you can use to verify the markup. You may also use the Rich Results test.

Simply copy/paste the URL into the tool and it will inform you of any syntax errors. If you use a schema generator, there shouldn’t be any errors.

I like to then request Google crawl/re-crawl the web page via Google Search Console. Once crawled, Search Console will identify FAQPage schema (as seen in the below screenshot).

You can also preview what the rich result will look like on Google SERPs by using Google’s Rich Results Test tool.

Grab the URL of the page that has JSON-LD FAQ schema markup and paste it into the box, then click TEST URL.

Unlike the Structured Data Testing Tool, the Google Rich Results Test checks whether the accordion-style FAQ rich results will show up underneath your link on SERPs.

Click PREVIEW SEARCH RESULT to get an idea of how the FAQPage schema renders as rich result (as shown in the below screenshot).

However, this tool doesn’t always work.

As a final step, I like to do a manual search on Google to see if the rich result comes up. If your page is not yet ranking, type in the main keyword + your site or use the site:yoursiteurl search modifier.

Frequently asked questions.

How long does it take for FAQ rich results to appear in the SERPs?

Assuming that you have followed all the steps in this guide, FAQPage rich results will appear once Google has recrawled your webpage. Sometimes this can happen within minutes of the page being crawled and sometimes, it may take weeks.

Why isn’t my FAQPage structured data markup not showing?

Google does not always show rich results and they are constantly testing what to show in the SERPs. Follow Brodie Clark on Twitter to stay abreast of all the things that change in the SERPs.

Here are a few reasons why FAQ schema is not showing for your page:

1. You have implemented FAQPage schema onto your homepage. Rich results do not work on homepages. They only show up for internal pages.
2. The content on your page does not match the content in the schema markup. Make sure that all the questions and their corresponding answers are exactly the same.
3. Google has chosen to not show it.
4. You have less than 3 Q&As. You must have a minimum of three Q&As.
5. You have conflicting rich result schema on the page and Google has decided to prioritize one over the other.

Does text formatting work in the answer box of FAQPage schema?

Certain HTML text formatting does work in JSON-LD. For example, text in bold regularly works as does italicized text.

• You should have success with bullet lists.

But that’s not all.

1. As well as ..
2. Numbered lists.

Links also work too.

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