Schema markup helps search engines better understand the content of your website. Adding schema markup to your website can improve its visibility and ranking in search engine results, leading to more traffic and potential customers. This blog will explore schema markup, how it works, and why it’s important for your website. Keep reading to learn more!
What is Schema Markup?
Simply put, schema markup is code that helps identify what is on your page (schema.org) that can be added to your website’s HTML. Defining each element on your web pages to Google and other search engines gives them the ability to understand information about your business, products, and content on your website. This allows Google and other search engines to better understand what is on your page, and hopefully rank you for more relevant queries and rank your website for position zero.
For example, if you have a restaurant website, you can use schema markup to provide information about your menu, location, hours of operation, and more. This information can then be displayed in search results, helping users find your restaurant and decide whether to visit it.
There are many different types of schema markup, including:
- Product
- Event
- Recipe
- Video
Each type of schema provides specific information relevant to that type of content. For example, product schema can provide details about the price, availability, and reviews of a product, while recipe schema can provide information about the ingredients, cooking time, and nutritional information of a recipe.
Below is an example of what schema markup looks like. RankMath, a popular SEO plugin, makes it quite easy to create and implement different types of schema.
Why Is Schema Markup Important For SEO?
Schema markup is what powers rich snippets, which are featured results on search engines. If you don’t implement schema markup, your site will never gain rich snippets on the search results page. It also helps Google understand your information which helps them rank your site better for related queries. As previously mentioned, rich snippets often have higher CTRs, especially if your competitors are using schema markup. The end result is that your website will receive more traffic.
Using schema also makes the website eligible to be included in voice search results. This includes Alexa, Google Home, Siri etc.
So, schema markup doesn’t just help get more traffic to your website but also helps search engines provide users with more relevant search results.
What are Rich Snippets?
Rich snippets are Search Engine Result Page (SERP) features that happen as a result of sites using structured data (schema) which also increases the chances of showing up in SERP with featured snippets. Below is an example of a featured snippet that can be achieved by implementing FAQ schema. This schema includes frequently asked questions on the search result with drop down options for the answers. There are different types of rich snippets suitable for different web pages.
Types of Schema
There are many different types of schema out there!
Some of the most commonly used schemas are:
- Article: used for blog posts and articles
- FAQ: used for frequently asked questions
- Howto: for more detailed questions with step by step explanation
- Local Business: highlights the elements of a local business
- Q&A: similar to FAQ, however with Q&A, each question can have multiple answers, rather than one
- Review: any webpage that receives user-generated content (e.g. product reviews from customers), it’s a must to be using product schemas, otherwise you’ll be at a great disadvantage