methodology / SEO & Discoverability / #41
FAQ / HowTo schema (where applicable)
#41 · Variable · Web Quality · weighted · SEO & Discoverability · weight 0.7% · impl implemented · method v1.2.0
Web Quality factor
This factor is part of Web Quality — the weighted 0..100 score that sits above Web Standards. Its weight depends on what kind of site is being measured. Web Standards items take priority; this factor only enters the score once Web Standards passes.
- Base weight
- 0.4 applied to every site type unless overridden below
- Why this weight
- FAQ/HowTo schema — applicable only when content matches. Connector emits n/a when no candidate.
Per-site-type overrides
| Site type | Weight | Δ vs base |
|---|---|---|
| Blog | 0.5 | +0.1 |
| News / Publisher | 0.7 | +0.3 |
| Local business | 0.6 | +0.2 |
| Personal site | 0.0 | -0.4 |
| SaaS / Product | 0.3 | -0.1 |
| Media / Streaming | 0.5 | +0.1 |
Site types not listed inherit the base weight.
What this means for your business
When your FAQs are formatted the way Google likes, your answers can show up directly in search — sometimes before anyone even clicks. That's free real estate competitors are taking from you.
Plain title: Common questions answered in a Google-friendly way
What we measure
FAQ schema can give your page expanded results in Google with each Q&A directly in the snippet. HowTo schema does the same for step-by-step content.
How to improve your score
Add `FAQPage` JSON-LD where the page is genuinely Q&A; don't fake it (Google penalizes pages that mark up non-FAQ content as FAQs).
Facts
Implementation notes
Detect `FAQPage` and `HowTo` types in JSON-LD blocks.
When this applies
FAQ / HowTo schema is only graded on content-led sites.
- Marked n/a for site types: Personal site, SaaS / Product.
Scoring
Scoring formulas are versioned with the methodology. The current method (v1.2.0) maps raw measurements to pass, warn, fail. Factor weights determine how much each contributes to the composite — see the methodology index for the full table.
Cited by these standards
Standards in the Standards Library whose satisfiedBy requirement tree references this factor. Each link goes to the standard's full entry — methodology, scope, and the other factors it relies on.
Version history
| Version | Change | Date |
|---|---|---|
| v1.2.0 | Factor introduced. Status: live. Scoring impl: implemented. | 2026-04-25 |