How To Use Google’s “People Also Search For” To Improve Your SEO

Most people think Google is a search engine. In reality, it’s an advertising company that uses its search features to attract users and generate sales for its advertisers. 

Google’s foremost priority is to show the most accurate, relevant, and high-quality websites in its search results so that people keep using it as their preferred search engine. This is why it keeps experimenting with new features in its Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS). 

“People Also Search For (PASF)” is an often overlooked but important feature in Google’s search results.

Never heard of it? No problem.

In this article, I’ll tell you how PASF works, why it’s important, and how you can use it to improve your site’s search rankings.

Let’s dive in.

What Is “People Also Search For (PASF)” In Google Search

People Also Search For (PASF) is a Google Search feature that aims to help searchers find the information they’re looking for.

Here’s how it works.

When a user searches for a keyword, Google Search shows the most relevant and high-quality web pages on that topic. If the user clicks on one of the search results but bounces back to the search page in a few seconds, Google assumes that its search result did not satisfy the searcher’s query.

This is when it shows the “People also search for” snippet under the search result the user previously clicked. This snippet contains other relevant keywords users have frequently used while searching for this topic.

Let me explain this with an example.

When I searched Google for the keyword “what is email marketing”, it showed me the following results on the first page.

As you can see, there’s nothing unusual about these results, and they’re displayed in the standard Google search results format.

Now, I scrolled down and clicked on one of the pages from the results that seemed relevant to my search. But after browsing the page for a few seconds, I clicked the back button to return to Google’s search results.

This time, Google shows the “People also search for” section below the search result I previously clicked.

As you can see, this section contains different keywords related to my original search “what is email marketing”.

But if you notice, these keywords are almost the same as the “Related searches” shown at the bottom of the search results pages.

What does this tell you about the “People also search for” snippet? Is it the same as related searches?

Almost the same.

However, there are a few differences.

Differences Between Related Searches And People Also Search For 

1. The biggest difference is in the positioning of the two sections. PASF appears directly under the search result you click. On the other hand, related searches appear at the bottom of the search page.
2. PASF’s position means it’s likely to get more clicks than Related searches.
3. PASF contains fewer keyword suggestions, and some of them aren’t a part of Related searches.

Why “People Also Search For (PASF)” Is Important For SEO

So why should you care about “People Also Search For” when developing your SEO strategy?

The keywords in PASF come directly from Google’s database. They’re the search queries your target audience frequently uses to learn more about your topic. So keeping an eye on these keywords is crucial to understanding your audience’s preferences and interests.

You can find PASF keywords for any topic by manually searching it, clicking a result, and returning to the search pages. However, a neat free Chrome extension called Keywords Everywhere shows you the PASF keywords for every search query on your search results pages.

Using this tool, you can quickly find PASF keywords and use them to improve your SEO strategy.

5 Ways To Use “People Also Search For (PASF)” To Rank Higher In Google Search

So, we’ve discussed what PASF keywords are and why they’re important. But how do you actually use them to rank higher in search results?

Here are a few ideas for you.

1. Use PASF For Keyword Research

People Also Search For is a keyword research goldmine. This data comes directly from Google’s search records which means it is highly relevant to your topic. Ranking for these keywords would help you generate additional traffic and improve the overall topical authority of your site.

Here are a few ways to use them for keyword research.

• Search for the keyword you’re trying to rank for and note down its PASF keywords. Now search Google for each PASF keyword in a separate tab to find more PASF keywords. If your topic doesn’t have much depth, there will be repetition in the PASF keywords. However, this method will often help you uncover new search queries you hadn’t thought of before.
• Plug these keywords into Ahrefs or any other keyword research tool to analyze their search volume and ranking difficulty, and see if they’re worth targeting. This is an easy way to uncover hidden keywords with a decent search volume that you can target in your content.

2. Use PASF To Find Content Ideas

If you’re struggling to find content ideas, using PASF keywords is an excellent method to help you. 

Search for your target topic and find its PASF keywords. Then search for each PASF keyword in a different tab and analyze the top-ranking pages to find new and unique content ideas.

The biggest advantage of PASF keywords for content idea generation is that it helps you increase your site’s topical relevancy by covering your niche from all the possible angles.

This ultimately increases your site’s authority on your topic and, as a result, helps you rank for additional keywords related to your niche.

3. Use PASF As FAQs

Adding an FAQs section at the end of your articles or informative pages is an easy and highly engaging way to communicate with your audience and rank for multiple search keywords.

PASF keywords are ideal terms for FAQs since they’re the topics your audience is already searching for. 

There are a couple of ways to create FAQs using PASF keywords.

• Analyze the PASF keywords for your topic and see if you could find any descriptive long-tail keywords with clear search intent. These keywords are often in the form of questions and are ready-made FAQs. For example, here are the PASF keywords for the search query “freelance writing tips.”

If you notice, PASF keywords like “freelance writing salary” and “examples of freelance writing” are easy to turn into FAQs since you know what the search is looking for.

Their question version could be

“What’s the average freelance writing salary”

“What are examples of freelance writing”

• The other method is even more straightforward. Just search for your PASF keywords one by one and note down the questions in the “People Also Ask” section. 

Like PASF keywords, PPA questions also come from Google’s database and are highly relevant questions that can drive additional traffic to your site.

4. Use PASF To Improve On-Page SEO

If you want to improve your site’s on-page SEO strength, use PASF keywords to optimize your content.

Here are a couple of ways to do it.

• Note down all the relevant PASF keywords and use them naturally throughout your content wherever it makes sense.
• Use PASF keywords in H2 and H3 tags.

5. Use PASF For Long-Form Content

PASF keywords come in handy for writing long-form blog posts and articles.

How? A long-form article generally ranges from 2500-5000+ words. Therefore, you need to cover multiple sections, sub-headings, and topics if you want to write a valuable long-form post.

By using PASF keywords, you can easily construct a long-form post, find sub-headings, and discover relevant topics to cover in your content.

Are You Using “People Also Search For” In SEO?

People Also Search For seems like a simple Google Search feature. However, you can use it to drastically improve your site’s on-page SEO, perform keyword research, find new content ideas, and several other SEO goals.