An Introduction to Structured Data – How to Help Google Better Understand Your Website
In the world of SEO, there are many ways you can optimize your content so that search engines can better understand it. In fact, there are over200 factors that influence your rankings. Alt text, images, properly sized headings, and the internal link structure are all factors that search engine algorithms can read—but how does a search engine learn to understand,in concrete terms,exactly whatyour website is about?
The answer is:Structured data!
In today’s digital world in 2019, where companies are competing for organic traffic, it’s essential to set yourself apart from your competitors. A catchy meta description or SEO title is no longer enough. In fact, it now appears that more than50% of all Google searches end without a click on the search result in question.
So what does that mean? Well, it means that the user actually finds the answer to their query right in the Google search results. Google retrieves this information from the structured data associated with the highest-ranking search result.
The visual design of SERP (Search Engine Results Page) isstill an obvious opportunity to increase your CTR (Click-Through Rate)and thereby differentiate your website from your competitors’—to do this, you’ll need to use structured data. After all, there are still users who click on search results. Read on to find out what structured data is all about—and how you can implement it onyour websitetoday.
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1) What is structured data?
Structured data is organized in a specific way so that search engines, including Google, can read and understand the content of a given page.Approximately 92% of all search engine traffic comes through Google, so it makes sense to implement structured data on your website.
It consists of HTML code that is embedded in your website’s source code. The HTML code contains various definition types that are associated with a wide range of data. These definition types—or “rules,” if you will—can be read by web crawlers and browsers, which means that search engines will be able to understand the information that can be defined by one or more rules.
From an SEO perspective, it makes a lot of sense to use structured data, since it allows you to display reviews, prices, inventory levels, and moredirectly inthe search results—thereby increasing the CTR for your landing pages.
Let's take an example from our client,permild-rosengreen.dk.
Structured data is especially important when you need to tell Google and other search engines what your website is about.
Without defining to search engines what your website is about, it won’t appear in search results. Through specific “tags” in the structured data, you signal to search engines which information should be displayed in the SERP—this is also called “markup,” which we’ll cover later.
What is the difference between unstructured and structured data?
Unstructured data is data that has not been organized or defined by a set of rules in a specific markup language. Examples include images, infographics, videos, documents, or presentations.
Structured data, on the other hand, is organized according to one or more rules in a markup language—either Microdata, RDFa, or JSON-LD, with Google recommending the latter but still being able to understand the other two.
2) How does structured data work?
As mentioned earlier, structured data is a “language” that can be understood and read by search engines, web crawlers, and the browser you’re using to read this blog post right now.
In order to understand and read a language—not only in a human context, but also when it comes to search engines—two conditions must be met.
- The Grammar of Language
- Vocabulary
When you talk to someone else—whether it’s a computer or another person—you need to use yourvocabulary(words that have specific meanings) andgrammar(a set of rules that define how you can use words and their meanings). The same applies when, for example, Google needs to understand your website. You need to make it clear to the other party what it’s all about.
So is there a specific set of terms we should use when we “talk” about structured data? Yes, there is!
Schema.orgis the most universalvocabularyfor structured data. It was created by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Yandex, and its purpose is to promote schema within structured data. It’s also community-based, so it’s updated with new terms several times a year, which you can easily implement in your existing HTML code. Pretty cool, right?
But what does Schema code actually look like? Below, you can see a code snippet based on this blog post.↓
"@context" : "http://schema.org",
"@type" : "Article",
"name" : "Sådan lærer Google at forstå din hjemmeside bedre – En introduktion til struktureret data"
"author" : { "@type" : "Person",
"name" : "Peter Karlsen" },
"datePublished" : "2019-09-12",
"image" : "https://amplify.dk/wp-content/uploads/logo-black.svg",
"url" : "https://amplify.dk/en-introduktion-til-struktureret-data",
"publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization",
"name" : "Amplify"
In this code snippet, we tell Google what this blog post is about, who the sender is, and when it was published. From a technical standpoint, you’re actually free to choose whichever format you prefer. Google recommends JSON-LD, but it recognizes the other two formats just as well as the first. Ultimately, it comes down to what you or your IT manager is most comfortable with.
3) Examples of structured data
The average Internet user is unfamiliar with the concept of structured data, but still encounters it on a daily basis. Automatically creating calendar events when booking flights, displaying product prices in search results, and showing expanded information about your search are just a few of the things you can do by structuring your data for Google. Structured data can influence the SERP in two different ways—throughcontent features and Rich Snippets.
Rich Snippets/Enriched Search Features
Sitelinks and Sitelink Search Box – Let users search your site via Google
Sitelinks allow you to display multiple links below one of your search results. This enables users to quickly and easily navigate to one of your subpages. Of course, there’s no guarantee that Google will let you include sitelinks directly in the search results, but to increase your chances, it’s a good idea to use proper alt text, anchor text, and a well-structured URL on the page.
The Sitelink Searchbox is an extension of the former, which includes a search bar in the search results. This means that users can search for a specific product on the website directly from the search results. It should be noted, however, that the search bar only appears when the user searches for a brand.↓
For more information on how to create a Sitelink Search Box for your website, check out Google's guidelines right here.
Reviews and Product Information
If you run an online store, a service-based business, or any other type of business where reviews are essential for attracting potential new customers, then this example is a “must-have” for you.
You can actually display reviews of your business, products, or other itemsdirectlyin the search results. This allows you to stand out visually stand out than your competitors and potentially get more clicks to your site.
Below is an example from the bicycle retailer, Saxil Cykler.↓
4) How can you create structured data the easy way?
If you want to keep it simple, it’s actually surprisingly easy to create your own schema code. It’s even easier if you own an online store, since many plugins (such as WooCommerce or Shopify) can automatically generate schema code for your product pages.
Creating schema code might seem overwhelming, especially when it comes to implementing and setting up the code snippet—but Google is here to save the day. TheirStructured Data Markup Helperis a wonderfully easy way to create schema code—especially if your page is already published or you have the HTML code for the page you’re planning to create.
Alternatively, you can use thisSchema Markup Generator, which essentially works the same way. However, you cannot select the data from a website; instead, you must enter it manually.
When you enter the information yourself, you actually have the opportunity to customize the entire code snippet. For example, you can choose your business type, your hours of operation, upcoming events, and much, much more. It therefore offers more “flexibility” in terms of freedom and options compared to Google’s own criteria.
5) How to Test and Implement Your Schema Code
To test whether your Schema code works, we recommend usingGoogle’s Structured Data Testing Tool. On this page, you can check your Schema code for any errors or omissions. If no errors appear, you can safely add it to your website via the backend system.
This blog post is just a brief introduction to structured data and Schema markup in general. In fact, you can go even deeper and specify exactly what kind of data you want search engines to read—down to the smallest detail. If you keep up with our blog, we’ll be posting an in-depth blog post on exactly that topic in the near future.
So, in short… STAY TUNED!
6) Why should you use structured data?
It might seem a littlenerdy, and you might even be wondering if structured data is really relevant to you and your business—especially if your time could be better spent elsewhere.
… However, the answer must still be a resounding yes from us.
Since we’re seeing more and more searches where, in many cases, the user doesn’t click on the search result but actually gets an answer to their query right in the search engine. This happens precisely through the use of structured data, which is why you should start thinking now about how you’ll implement it.
Get help with your SEO strategy
A good start is half the battle. A bad start is… well, not good. If you don’t have the resources to develop a well-thought-out SEO strategy, you’re always welcome to send me an email atseo@amplify.dkor reach out to one of my colleagues atinfo@amplify.dk.
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