Large FAQ post Vs Individual question/answer per page?

Speaking as an end user, I find large FAQ pages infuriating. Think of a query like "what color is mars?". I want a 1 word answer to this, not a 2000 word monster FAQ that answers 50 common questions about Mars. Somewhere in this page is my answer but I have to search for it. This often drives me to search for "my question" followed by "reddit" because I know if it has been asked here, someone will have left a quick answer that will be easy to read and find and won't be optimised for SEO using Yoast traffic lights. (for programmers, think of stack overflow and how you just want quick answers, not an answer hidden within an essay).

The vast amount of SEO guides I have read will always say that big 2000 word info pieces are the king and the best way to rank. A few backlinks to this page will help you rank for all 50 keywords as the authority of this page builds up. If you have 50 separate Q/A pages, a backlink to one won't benefit all 50 keywords spread across multiple pages.

So I find myself with a conflict. I know I am not alone in not wanting to read 2000 words for a 1 word answer to my query. As someone who has read a lot about SEO, it is crazy annoying to see keyword stuffing, excessive H2 titles with keywords and images everywhere that likely have alt tags for keywords. I just want answers! Massive posts just arent user friendly and this is why Google is killing sites with featured snippets.

What is the most effective approach here?

I always feel like, if it warrants it's own page, and answers a users query quicker - then it's a good result.

I think 50 is on the short side though, and Google don't seem to understand the above as well as they should... So bulk it out to 300 if you can.

These might put you in the right direction:

I find listing all questions on a page and making a table of contents works best for me

Mxty said:

I always feel like, if it warrants it's own page, and answers a users query quicker - then it's a good result.

I think 50 is on the short side though, and Google don't seem to understand the above as well as they should... So bulk it out to 300 if you can.

Click to expand...

When I say 50, i meant 50 questions rather than 50 words. Shouldnt be too hard to pad a question/answer to give 200-300. I was thinking more of jamming X number of questions into a 2000 word post rather than 1 post with a question/answer that is as optimised as well as it can be without stuffing keywords and excess fluff

danoseo said:

When I say 50, i meant 50 questions rather than 50 words. Shouldnt be too hard to pad a question/answer to give 200-300. I was thinking more of jamming X number of questions into a 2000 word post rather than 1 post with a question/answer that is as optimised as well as it can be without stuffing keywords and excess fluff

Click to expand...

But like you say, as a user, you don't want that, you have to search for your answer.

If it's on a unique page, you can also be more competitive due to the title tag etc.

Sometimes it doesn't always work that way, but I like to think with Googles emphasis on usability, it's at least going that way

This is the reason why Google introduced featured snippet.
If a web page has optimized his h2 tags for your target query, Google will scape his content and show you as result #0

sabhan said:

This is the reason why Google introduced featured snippet.
If a web page has optimized his h2 tags for your target query, Google will scape his content and show you as result #0

Click to expand...

Being a featured snippet is never a good thing for something like this. If someone needs a quick answer, they won't click into your website if Google gives them the exact answer that they stole from your site. This is surely an additional nail in the gigantic FAQ post argument. 2000 words sucks for user experience and Google will just snatch your content resulting in a loss of traffic anyway

danoseo said:

Being a featured snippet is never a good thing for something like this. If someone needs a quick answer, they won't click into your website if Google gives them the exact answer that they stole from your site. This is surely an additional nail in the gigantic FAQ post argument. 2000 words sucks for user experience and Google will just snatch your content resulting in a loss of traffic anyway

Click to expand...

No you can get click from such a featured snippet if your post title is enticing user to check the full article because he will get more information

I just asked myself the same question as the OP, so what should I do? Answering multiple questions in the same article or making several different articles?

No you are doing it wrong.

Padding a 50 word answer into 2000 words is wrong.

I think you have it the wrong way around as well. If you are looking to build your page around a question..

You should build your page like this:

Q: Whatever the question is.
A: Direct answer to the question which is either yes or no with a quick 1-2 line summery.

Then you use the rest of the content to expand upon your answer. Show or use examples or references that back up your answer or ideally have your own table of data that shows why you answered the way you did.

You can split the extended content or the "evidence" section of your reply into sub headings that can then target other search queries or introduce other questions and internally link to those pages.