Adding question-format H2s to 70 pages: did extraction into PAA rise?

Adding question-format H2s to 70 pages: did extraction into PAA rise?

Question: does rewriting subheadings as literal questions increase a page's appearance in "People Also Ask" and featured snippets?

What was done: 70 articles had their statement-style H2s rewritten as the actual questions users search ("How long does X take?" instead of "Timeline"), with a concise 40–55 word answer immediately below each. A matched 70-page set kept statement headings. Underlying facts unchanged.

Outcome over nine weeks: the question-heading cohort gained PAA or featured-snippet appearances on 34 new queries; the control gained on 9. Organic clicks rose 16% in the treatment group versus 5% in control.

Caveat: rewriting headings as questions also tightened the answer paragraphs (we standardized them to 40–55 words), so heading format and answer concision are bundled. Both plausibly drive extraction; we can't split them here.

Method note: matched cohorts on one site, 9-week pre/post, SERP-feature tracking + Search Console clicks.

Confidence: medium — controlled, consistent, but two changes bundled.