{"id":4985,"date":"2025-06-16T18:04:16","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T18:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/?p=4985"},"modified":"2025-06-17T13:34:25","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T13:34:25","slug":"the-seo-friendly-knowledge-base-why-making-your-help-pages-searchable-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/16\/the-seo-friendly-knowledge-base-why-making-your-help-pages-searchable-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"The SEO-friendly knowledge base \u2014 Why making your help pages searchable matters"},"content":{"rendered":"
An SEO knowledge base does everything a typical knowledge base does and more. It supports customers, ranks in Google, brings new traffic to your site, and builds your E-E-A-T.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s tempting to de-index knowledge bases because they interfere with SEO, complicating keyword maps, impacting rankings, and causing cannibalization. But, done right, they\u2019re a powerful SEO asset. I make knowledge bases part of my SEO strategy. With an indexed SEO knowledge base, I get even more data in Google Search Console and G4, showing what people are searching for and the problems they\u2019re trying to solve. These insights help me support my audiences better, identify new content opportunities, and prioritize what to write next. I share this data across marketing, sales, and customer service, too.<\/p>\n In this article, I\u2019m sharing everything I know about SEO knowledge bases, from what they are to how to gather and utilize data, and tips for incorporating an SEO knowledge base into your website.<\/p>\n In this article:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n If your knowledge base isn\u2019t indexed, you\u2019re losing out on traffic.<\/p>\n An optimized knowledge base will rank in Google and receive clicks from keywords your target audience is searching for.<\/p>\n While your knowledge base naturally covers topics specific to your product, it can also rank for broader subjects, capturing potential buyers during the awareness or consideration stages of the marketing funnel.<\/p>\n Beyond serving customers, your SEO knowledge base can also:<\/p>\n Here\u2019s an example from HubSpot\u2019s knowledge base<\/a>.<\/p>\n Source<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n The page ranks for \u201clink redirect,\u201d a keyword with 1,000 monthly searches, according to Semrush. A significant bonus, considering the knowledge base is primarily designed to assist HubSpot\u2019s users.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve annotated the screenshot above so you can see two opportunities to support buyers and potentially upsell to them.<\/p>\n If your knowledge base is indexed, then it\u2019s an opportunity to strengthen your SEO and build a trove of data in Google Search Console.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a peek at one of my client\u2019s Google Search Console graphs for an SEO knowledge base.<\/p>\n The knowledge graph has received 3,370 clicks, and I can dig into specific queries to see what people are looking for when they find our knowledge base. In the next section, I share a step-by-step guide on how to find questions and inspiration for additional topics.<\/p>\n Many keywords ranking on a knowledge base will be specific, long-tail keyword opportunities.<\/p>\n Because these queries are so specific, they often come with lower competition, making it easier to rank.<\/p>\n By indexing your knowledge base articles, you can capture traffic from hundreds (or even thousands) of these long-tail searches, bringing in users who are highly motivated and already problem-aware, often just one or two clicks away from becoming customers.<\/p>\n When your knowledge base is indexed and generating traffic, it provides a direct insight into the real questions and frustrations your users face.<\/p>\n These insights can:<\/p>\n Instead of guessing your audience\u2019s struggles, you get real data.<\/p>\n Next, let\u2019s look at how you can discover this data.<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n Creating an SEO\u2013friendly knowledge base is primarily achieved through the preparation and planning of the knowledge base. Here are some key steps.<\/p>\n The structure of the SEO knowledge base will depend mainly on your wider content strategy, so it\u2019s difficult to say exactly how you should plan the structure. However, there are a few things that I\u2019d almost recommend.<\/p>\n Pro tip:<\/strong> If you use URL parameters on an indexed knowledge base, it is essential that you correctly canonicalize your pages. Parameters generate many variations of the same page, and canonicalization avoids duplicate content. Here\u2019s an article on URL canonicalization<\/a>.<\/p>\n For the purpose of this article, I\u2019ve provided some brief recommendations for managing keywords and your SEO knowledge base. There are also great articles on how to do keyword research here<\/a> and keyword mapping here<\/a>. I recommend reading both of these to get the details on how to do keyword research for your SEO knowledge base.<\/p>\n Pro tip:<\/strong> Managing your knowledge base keyword research ensures that keywords on the knowledge base do not interfere with your wider SEO plan. You don\u2019t want your knowledge base and blog to cannibalize each other.<\/p>\n Once you know all the elements likely to appear on your SEO knowledge base, you can plan which schema you might use.<\/p>\n The schema included will vary, and you should conduct your own research to determine what can be included. However, here are some common structured data elements that might be used on an SEO knowledge base.<\/p>\n Pro tip:<\/strong> You can use schema.org<\/a> to explore schema options.<\/p>\n Once you know what you\u2019re doing with SEO, use this information to inspire design. Too often, design comes first, and then SEO is left without the necessary modules or page elements to succeed.<\/p>\n For example, if SEO performs a SERP analysis and finds that videos are prioritized, it helps the page to have the functionality to embed videos. If this element is included in the design, then developers know how to build the functionality.<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n There are two primary ways to utilize internal tools to gather data on what your audience is searching for. With this information, you can choose topics to write next.<\/p>\n First, let\u2019s look at finding queries using Google Search Console. For this to work, your knowledge base must be indexed.<\/p>\n First, load Google Search Console, then head to Performance > Search Results report. This report shows all the pages ranking and how many clicks and impressions they\u2019re receiving from Google.<\/p>\n Within the performance report, you can filter the report by<\/p>\n For this exercise, filter by pages.<\/p>\n If your knowledge base lives in a subfolder, such as \/knowledge-base\/, this becomes super easy. Just filter by pages containing that subfolder, and you\u2019ll only see data for your knowledge base pages.<\/p>\n Pro tip: <\/strong>Want to see what questions people are asking to find your knowledge base? Try adding a regex filter to show only queries with words like \u201chow,\u201d \u201cwhat,\u201d \u201cwhy,\u201d or \u201ccan.\u201d It\u2019s a quick way to surface question-based, long-tail keywords that could inspire new content.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the filter I use:<\/p>\n Who|what|when|where|why|how|is|are|can|does|do|should|could|would|will|did|was|were<\/em><\/p>\n And here\u2019s where to add it in GSC.<\/p>\n Once done, the graph will change to reflect keywords containing those words, and the queries below the graph will be question queries.<\/p>\n If you prefer, you can analyze the data within the table in Google Search Console, but I prefer to export the report to Google Sheets because it allows for more detailed filtering.<\/p>\n I add filters to columns or use conditional formatting to highlight words or phrases.<\/p>\n It\u2019s tricky to tell you exactly what to analyze, as it will depend on your site and what people are searching, but here are some things I might look for:<\/p>\n This next tip will work if you<\/p>\n Let\u2019s walk through using GA4 to find data about topics.<\/p>\n On G4, you can create a free-form exploration that allows you to track URL parameters containing specific keywords, provided your SEO knowledge base is set up to include them.<\/p>\n Navigate to \u201cExplore\u201d in the left side menu and click \u201cFree-Form.\u201d<\/p>\n To set up the form, you need to add \u201cPage path + query string\u201d dimensions.<\/p>\n Then, you need to add the metrics that are most meaningful to you. One metric you will certainly want to add is views.<\/p>\n To view specific URLs, filter the data to URLs containing only the search parameter.<\/p>\n For this demonstration, I\u2019m using HubSpot\u2019s parameter as an example. Let me show you what I mean.<\/p>\n When you go to HubSpot\u2019s knowledge base<\/a> and use the search bar, the page changes, and the URL includes a parameter. See screenshot below.<\/p>\n This is really helpful because every search contains the formula search.<\/p>\n In the screenshot below, I\u2019ve filtered by \u2018search?\u2019 and then the keyword. You might use it if you set up your SEO knowledge base in the same way HubSpot\u2019s knowledge base works<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you know your URL parameter structure, you can configure your free-from exploration to see all URLs containing \u201csearch?\u201d. Then, you can filter the URLs by the most viewed URLs to determine what people are searching for the most.<\/p>\n If you know what users are searching for, you can create topics within your SEO knowledge base to answer commonly asked queries or keywords.<\/p>\n Pro tip: <\/strong>HubSpot\u2019s Knowledge Base<\/a> does this, so if you\u2019re in the early stages of building a knowledge base, check it out.<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n SEO skills are very transferable to creating an SEO-friendly knowledge base. Many of the rules and tactics apply. Let\u2019s review some of the most important ones here.<\/p>\n Ranking your knowledge base requires traditional SEO practices such as<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
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Why is SEO important for knowledge bases?<\/h2>\n
SEO increases views and traffic to your knowledge base.<\/h3>\n
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SEO knowledge bases bring data.<\/h3>\n
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Rank for specific, long-tail keywords.<\/h3>\n
Discover common challenges.<\/h3>\n
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How to Create an SEO-Friendly Knowledge Base<\/h2>\n
1. Plan the structure.<\/h3>\n
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2. Do keyword research and mapping.<\/h3>\n
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3. Do a schema markup.<\/h3>\n
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4. Allow SEO to inform the design of the SEO knowledge base.<\/h3>\n
How to Use Internal Search Data to Choose Topics<\/h2>\n
Use Google Search Console<\/h3>\n
Step 1: Open Google Search Console.<\/h4>\n
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Step 2: Filter the report.<\/h4>\n
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Step 3: Export the data to Google Sheets.<\/h4>\n
Step 4: Analyze the data.<\/h4>\n
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Use Google Analytics.<\/h3>\n
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Step 1: Go to G4 and explore.<\/h4>\n
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Step 2: Set up the free-form.<\/h4>\n
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Step 3: Filter using your search URL.<\/h4>\n
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Tips for Adding SEO to Your Knowledge Base<\/h2>\n
Follow good SEO practices.<\/h3>\n
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Let keyword research guide you.<\/h3>\n