UGC Uncovered: Turning traveller stories into actionable Q&A

You know that moment when you're finally on a trip, Eiffel Tower ticket in one hand, croissant in the other..and suddenly a thought hits you:

“Wait, How much time is ideal to fully enjoy and explore the visit?”

Or maybe it’s something like:

“Is the evening slot better for pictures?”

That’s the thing about planning, the big questions get answered, but it’s the small ones that often matter the most.

Asked & Answered, a Q&A space on Headout powered not by travel writers or AI chatbots, but by real travellers who’ve actually been there. From queues struggles to some quick tips, it’s a space for the kind of wisdom guidebooks usually forget.

How it all started 💜

This idea wasn’t born from a brainstorm doc or a ticket metric. It started with a feeling, that moment of uncertainty right before a booking where you think:

“I just wish someone could tell me what to expect.”

We’d been collecting so much UGC (user-generated content) post-experience..reviews, ratings, feedback. But hidden in those responses were goldmine questions being answered in the most authentic way possible by — people like you.
So we zoomed out and asked:

That’s how this started. A hypothesis, a few messy spreadsheets, and a deep belief that user-generated content could be one of the most underused forms of trust on the internet.

The Problem We Were Solving ‼️

Booking an experience, especially in a new city comes with a ton of uncertainty. While product pages cover the basics (what’s included, cancellation policy, timings), they often miss the nuanced, day-of details that actually shape someone’s decision.

We called them micro-questions:

• Why choose a guided tour over an entry ticket or an audio guide? 
• What is the best time to visit?
• What's the best and most convenient way to reach?

These aren’t questions you'd find in marketing blurbs. They’re contextual and personal.

Our goal was to:

• Help users feel more confident before booking
• Reduce friction around uncertainty (especially for families, older travelers, or first-timers)
• Create a new kind of user-generated content that could aid both UX and SEO

From Review Forms to Real Help 🤝

Here’s how we did it:
We began by tweaking our review forms, prompting users not just to rate, but to answer specific, helpful questions that would benefit future visitors.

These insights were then split into small Q&A units. Think of them as little information nuggets- short, visual, and contextual.
We experimented with three layouts in two different phases:

1. In the hero section – a carousel of attribute-specific insights (e.g., "Travel Highlights")
2. Between product cards – to catch the eye mid-scroll
3. As an independent section – a full accordion-style unit right after all the product cards.

Each version tested how, when, and where users would engage most.

The Release Rollercoaster 🎢

We launched in two phases, starting small to test performance and SEO impact. Let’s just say... things didn’t go as smoothly as our roadmap said they would 😅

Phase 1: The Snippet Experiment

We launched a brand new Q&A section on the landing pages to let users discover real guest feedback -  kind of like getting travel advice from a friend who’s been there. This wasn’t just about SEO or conversions (okay, it kind of was), but about building trust through real voices. 
We introduced a snippet at the top of the page, showcasing a few responses with attribute-specific tags, with easy access to more answers via a bottom sheet or popup.

We also introduced a Long-Form Content (LFC) unit placed right after all the product cards — essentially a fuller version of the Q&A snippet, but presented upfront in an accordion format for easier scanning.

The result? Crawling activity picked up, scroll rates improved, and a few users clicked through. But we also saw some bumps, especially on iOS mWeb, where conversions dipped slightly. Not a failure.. more like a “This has potential, let’s refine it.”

Phase 2: Reimagining the Format

In Phase 2, we didn’t want to just tweak things, we wanted to elevate them. We kept the same idea but made it bigger, better, and more visible.
We adjusted the Q&A placement, made the questions more upfront, and gave the carousel a little more personality with auto-scrolling. We also shifted things around for better positioning and added a fresh CTA for more Q&As.

The LFC section stayed the same as it was working well, so why mess with a good thing? The changes in Phase 2 were all about making the content more dynamic and integrated.

What we learned? This time, the signals were a bit mixed. We saw more users engaging with the content. However, the click-through rate on the Q&A snippet stayed fairly low, and while the conversion rate didn’t drop dramatically, it did show a slight decline.

It was clear:

Where we landed 🫣

The idea had heart and it showed promise. But its performance was… nuanced.
After both phases, we chose to pause further expansion- not because the idea failed, but because we hadn't found its best form yet.
Here’s where things stand:

• The Q&A snippet widget was sunset for now
• The Q&A section in Long-Form Content (LFC) remains live  for the SEO value.
• Structured Q&A collection via review forms continues, so we have a growing repository of useful guest content
• Learnings from this project have started shaping how we approach content, not just on product pages but across the broader journey

No dramatic wins and drops. Just a quiet, thoughtful experiment that opened up new ways of thinking.

What’s Next?

We’re letting this one breathe.
There’s no immediate plan to relaunch or rebuild. But the insights are already reshaping how we think about content- not just as SEO bait, or UX garnish, but as shared knowledge with a real human tone.
And who knows? The next iteration might not look like a Q&A block at all, LOL.

Shoutouts 🙌

Huge thanks to the incredible folks who made this project happen — Amit Agarwal for leading with clarity and conviction, Sakshi Bhutra and Ramakrishna V for their continuous support and invaluable feedback throughout the journey, Gautam and Hritik for building and iterating at lightning speed, and James and Siddhesh for backing it all with solid data and SEO insights.

…and everyone who tested, reviewed, shipped, and unshipped with grace ❤️

0

Loved it