Most SEO professionals concentrate their efforts mainly on keyword research, on-page optimization, and backlink building. However, some important SEO aspects like technical SEO optimization are being neglected quite often. One of such valuable SEO techniques is schema markup that many SEO professionals do not utilize properly, having no idea about what is the meaning of schema markup and its influence on business results. Moreover, an even more typical situation is when an SEO professional adds the schema markup but he does not have any idea about what type of schema should be added and where.
In this blog post, we will discuss the major types of schema markup, the correct implementation of schema markup, and all of the advantages that your business can get from using the schema markup for SEO. You will find out all the necessary information about the types of schema markup and its benefits for your business.
What Schema Markup Actually Does and Why It Matters
Schema markup, which is often referred to as structured data, can assist the search engine in getting better insights into your site. Though your website might appear to be very clear to the visitor, Google will need further assistance to distinguish between a price, a review, and other things.
With the use of schema markup, you are providing the search engines with a structured roadmap for the information on your website. In turn, Google is able to show rich results – the ones which contain an image, star rating, prices, etc.
Rich listings will help to increase CTR since the users are attracted by rich listings.
Product Schema – Show Prices and Ratings in Search
Product schema is structured data that relates to the products sold on your site. In Google search results, it is represented by a rich snippet displaying product pictures, prices, availability statuses, and star ratings right below your listing title.
When Is the Product Schema Shown?
It is displayed right under the title in search results along with the price, such as “$25,” and availability statuses, like “In Stock” or “Out of Stock,” as well as star ratings with review counts.
When Should You Use Product Schema?
Add product schema markup to all the individual product pages of your eCommerce site.
The Important Fields To Include:
- Product name and description
- Price and currency
- Product Availability Statuses (in stock/out of stock/pre order)
- Product image URLs
- Product id/sku
- Brand name
- Product Aggregate Rating (number of stars)
- Product Review Count
- Product Condition (new/used/refurbished)
Benefits and Actual Impact of Product Schema
Product schema is extremely useful for increasing CTRs. Users who see product prices and ratings in advance are already pre-qualified. Also, keeping your product schema up-to-date will provide better user experience and higher conversion rates.
Article Schema – Get Featured with Images and Dates
An article schema helps markup your blog post, news article, and other types of editorial content. It is visible in search results with your featured image, publish date, name of the author, and at times, even the headline.
Where You Can See the Article Schema?
It shows right in the search result in the form of a small featured image on the left-hand side of your listing alongside the publish date below your meta description.
When to Use the Article Schema
Use article schema on all of your blog posts, news articles, and how-to guides.
Key Parameters to Include:
- Title of the article (headings)
- Body text of your article
- Feature image with dimension details
- Name of the author
- Publisher details
- Published date
- Modified date
- Article type (Blog Post, News Article, Scholarly Article)
Local Business Schema – Dominate Local Search Results
This is a type of data that enables search engines to understand all about your physical business place. It displays in Google’s local 3-pack (a map with three businesses), Google maps and Google’s knowledge graph (business).
Where is The Local Business Schema Displayed?
You will find it in the Google Maps section that comes up at the top of your search results with your business name, address, contact number and opening hours displayed in the form of a card.
When To Use Local Business Schema?
Every business that has a physical presence needs to have this schema on their homepage and/or location page.
Major Parameters to Include
- Name of the business (exactly as it is listed on Google’s Business Profile)
- Complete address (including street, city, state and zip code)
- Standard phone number
- Geographical coordinates (Latitude & longitude)
- Category/type of business
- Opening hours of the business for every day
- Pricing range
- Payment modes
- Service area (in case you provide services out of your premises)
- URL for location page
Local business schema enhances visibility for ‘near me’ queries. It makes it easier for you to get listed in the local 3-pack of Google and increases the level of trustworthiness too.
Review Schema – Display Star Ratings That Build Trust
Review schema represents the aggregate ratings and reviews count directly in search results using gold stars and number of reviews in parentheses.
It can be seen right below your website URL in search results with star ratings such as ★★★★☆ 4.5 followed by the number of total reviews in brackets.
Usage Cases of Review Schema
Review schema should be used when there are actual reviews from customers that were received in a reliable way.
Parameters for Marking Up:
- Rating value (average rating)
- Best rating (usually 5)
- Worst rating (usually 1)
- Reviews count (number of reviews)
- Details about each review (review author, rating, review itself and its date)
Review Schema increases users’ trust and click-through rate. Users prefer clicking on a result with 4.5 stars compared to no ratings at all. Just make sure that the actual reviews will be marked up since false reviews may result in penalties.
Job Posting Schema – Attract Quality Candidates
The job posting schema helps mark up all the jobs that are listed on your career pages so that it becomes eligible to show up in Google’s job search function with all the details shown in the search results.
Where is the Job Posting Shown?
The schema shows up on Google’s dedicated Jobs tab, located at the top of the search result, showing the job title, company name, location, salary range, and the date of the posting in a card format.
When To Use the Job Posting Schema
You should add the job posting schema to every job posting page on your careers page or job board.
Important Parameters to Include
- Job Title
- Company Name
- Job Location (city, state, and country)
- Type of Employment (full-time/part-time/contract)
- Date Posted
- Salary/Salary Range
- Job Description
- Qualifications Required
- Application URL/Instruction
The job posting schema will help increase the visibility of your open jobs and attract relevant candidates through Google Search.
Video Schema – Stand Out in Video Search
Video schema allows the search engines to better understand video content on your pages. It comes with thumbnail preview, video duration, and upload date information on both general search and video search results.
Where Does the Video Schema Appear?
This will appear in the form of a video thumbnail with play button and video duration on the bottom-right side of the thumbnail in the search results.
Key Parameters to Include:
- Title of the video
- Description
- URL of the thumbnail image
- Upload date
- Duration of the video
- Content URL (the location of the video itself)
- Embed URL (embedding location of the video)
Content with video schema gets prioritized in Google’s video search results and video carousels. It enables users to make their decision on whether to watch the video. With good thumbnails and reasonable duration, the video gets more clicks than before. In the case of tutorial videos, it allows you to rank in Google’s education related search functions.
How to Implement Schema Without Breaking Things
The technical part is much easier than people believe. The recommended method of schema is JSON-LD, that will be embedded into the HTML on your website, without changing any visible content.
On WordPress websites you can use plugins such as Rank Math, Yoast SEO or Schema Pro to embed schema automatically. On any other website you can use Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper.
Do not forget to check the markup on Google’s Rich Results Test tool before launching it.
Common Mistakes That Kill Schema Benefits
The biggest mistake is to tag content that doesn’t appear on your page. If you have an item schema showing the price that isn’t shown to visitors, then Google finds it to be misleading.
Another common mistake is applying a wrong schema type. You shouldn’t use a product schema on services pages. The schema must coincide with the main type of your content. Inconsistencies in visible content and schema markup will confuse search engines. Synchronize everything.
Measuring Real Results from Schema
Monitor your schema results in the Enhancements category on Google Search Console. Check click-through rates on pages using schema markup versus pages not using it; pages using schema will always perform better.
Also monitor any improvement in your ranking results. Although schema does not directly influence rankings, click-through rates can indirectly influence them over time.
Take Action on Schema Implementation
It is not an option anymore if you want to compete with the others for search visibility. In the case where your competitors will have price info, ratings, and rich snippets while you will only have plain text links.
Identify which schema type is important in your organization. For e-commerce websites, product schema is a must-have. For local business, you need a local business schema.
Identify first which pages are more valuable like your best-selling products, most visited blog posts, or main services pages.
The improvement is instant; you get better click-through rates and traffic quality.
