Schema markup helps search engines better understand your website and its content. By providing additional context and information about your content, search engines can more accurately match your page to a user’s search query. This can result in higher rankings for your website and ultimately increase traffic to your site.
In this beginner’s guide, let’s take a look at what schema markup is, how it works, and how it can benefit your website.
What is Schema Markup?
Schema markup is a type of code that you can add to your website to help search engines understand the content on your page. It consists of a set of standardised tags (or microdata) that you place on your page to describe the content. This, in turn, helps search engines to provide more accurate and relevant results for users.
Schema markup can be formatted in several ways. The three main formats of schema markup are JSON-LD, Microdata, and RDFa.
From the screenshot, you can see how the same Persona Schema Markup can be represented in different formats
1. JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data)
JSON-LD is the most recommended format by Google. It is a lightweight linked data format that allows you to embed structured data in your HTML document using JavaScript.
This format allows search engines to easily read and understand the content on your page, without disrupting the visual design or functionality of your website. It also provides a clear separation between the code and the content, making it easier for developers to implement and maintain.
2. Microdata
Microdata is an HTML specification used to nest structured data within HTML content. It’s more integrated with the HTML code than JSON-LD, which makes it somewhat more complex to implement.
3. RDFa (Resource Description Framework in Attributes)
RDFa is an HTML5 extension that supports linked data by introducing HTML tag attributes that correspond to the user-visible content that you want to describe with metadata.
How Does Schema Markup Work?
When you add schema markup to your website, search engines can more easily read and understand the content on your page. This can result in your website appearing higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) because it provides enhanced content for search engines to crawl.
For example, if you had a recipe on your website, you can add schema markup to the page to provide information about the ingredients, cooking times, nutrition information, and more. This would then be displayed in the search results, giving the user more detailed information before they even click on the link.
Types of Schema Markup
According to Schema.org, there are currently 803 types of schema and 1465 schema properties.
Currently, Google supports 32 different types of schema markup, the most common types are:
- Article
- BreadcrumbList
- Carousel
- Course List
- Event
- FAQ
- Image metadata
- Job posting
- Local business
- Logo
- Product
- Recipe
- Review snippet
- Sitelinks search box
- Software app
- Video
How to Add Schema Markup to your Website?
If you are using a popular CMS such as WordPress, there are many plugins that can help you generate the schema markup automatically – the most commonly used ones are Yoast SEO or RankMath.
Alternatively, you can also add schema to your website manually by adding the schema markup code to the <head> or the <body> of your page or inserting the code with Google Tag Manager.
🔖 Read more on how to add schema markup with Google Tag Manager
How to implement schema markup manually
- Identify the type of data you want to mark up: Different types of content require different schema markups. For example, if you’re marking up a recipe, you’ll use a different schema than if you’re marking up an event.
- Generate schema markup and customise your structured data: You can generate the schema with online tools, such as Schema Markup Generator or Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper. Then you can customise based on the generated to include more information if needed.
- Add schema markup to your web page: Once you have the code, you can add the newly generated schema markup to your site. This step might vary slightly depending on the CMS you’re using, so be sure to check for specific instructions related to your platform.
- Validate your schema markup: After publishing the changes, you should always check if your schema markup is implemented correctly. There are various tools, such as Rich Results Test or Schema Validator Tool, which can help you check the schema markup.
What are the Benefits of Schema Markup?
By using markup to provide more detailed information to search engines, you can improve the user experience and drive more traffic to your website.
Here are some of the top benefits derived from various sources:
- Improved Understanding by Search Engines: Schema markup helps search engines understand your site’s content better, which can lead to more accurate categorization and indexing. This is particularly important for websites with complex or technical content.
- Enhanced Brand Presence: Schema markup can improve your brand’s presence with a full Knowledge Graph. This can help to maximize exposure for your brand as organic real estate begins to shrink.
- Rich Snippets and Enhanced Descriptions: Once added to a webpage, schema markup creates an enhanced description (commonly known as a rich snippet), which appears in search results. This can make your website look better in the search results, with extra elements like photos or videos displayed as part of the search result.
- Local SEO Boost: Local businesses can use schema markup to provide specific details, such as business hours, location, contact information, and reviews. This can be particularly beneficial for local search results and Google Maps listings.
- E-commerce Benefits: For e-commerce websites, implementing schema markup for products can display pricing, availability, and reviews directly in search results, potentially driving more sales.
Conclusion
Using schema markup for SEO involves identifying the relevant structured data types for your website’s content and incorporating them into your website’s code.
It is important to carefully consider which structured data types will provide the most benefit for your website in terms of improving search engine visibility and user experience.
FAQs about Schema Markup
What is the recommended format for implementing schema markup?
The recommended format for implementing schema markup is JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data), as it’s easy to implement and preferred by search engines for structured data.
Does schema markup help SEO?
Yes, schema markup helps SEO by providing search engines with additional context about your content, which can lead to better understanding, visibility, and potentially higher rankings in search results.
Why is schema markup important?
Schema markup is important because it enhances search engine understanding of website content, improves visibility in search results, increases the likelihood of rich snippets or enhanced search features, and ultimately enhances the user experience by providing more relevant and informative search results.
Do all pages need schema markup?
No, it’s not mandatory to have schema markup on every page of your website. Focus on adding schema markup to pages that contain valuable structured data, such as product pages, articles, events, and local business information, to maximize its impact on search engine visibility and user experience.
