How to Improve SEO with Schema Markup: The Easy Guide

How to Improve SEO with Schema Markup: The Easy Guide. Schema markup could be one of the most underrated tools for online businesses. 

Despite the fact it helps improve SEO results, not all website owners and marketers are applying it to their websites. 

It’s actually quite simple to add and it can provide a lot of value for your audience. 

Even if you’re found on the first page of Google, some people need a bit more of a push to take action. With the properties behind a schema markup, it’s easier to get your searcher’s attention and make them curious. 

In this guide, we’ll be going over what it is and how to apply one to your website step-by-step (without too much technical jargon). 

What is SEO Schema Markup? 

Schema markups are coding of semantic vocabulary (also referred to as structured data). 

This language of code then gets applied to a website.

As a result, Google can show more results and information on the search engine results page (SERP).

If Google understands what you do better, it enhances the search results of your website whenever someone looks up a relevant keyword. That’s the main reason why it’s an influential SEO factor. 

6 Common Schema Markup Examples

When you embed a schema markup HTML, you unlock additional features that help you stand out and establish your online presence. 

For instance, rich snippets that include extra informative details so you can appeal directly to your audience and improve the way your website gets presented on the search engines.

To get more clarity on what schema markups are, let’s look at a few examples and break down how some of these attributes are effective. 

Example 1: Blog Article Schema Markup

As the name suggests, this type of schema markup is used for blog posts and media outlets providing written content, such as news and articles.

In some cases, you’ll also find relevant images and videos. 

Example 2: Star Ratings Schema Markup

The screenshot above shows an example of the star rating schema on the search results. 

According to a study by CXL, they found that this type of schema applied to a website can increase click-through rates as high as 35%.

The reason it’s considered a rich snippet is because it provides more information on the SERP alongside your title tag and meta description for searchers. With visuals like this, it helps put your website on the radar and boost your visibility as you’re more distinguishable compared to your competitors.

Example 3: Organization Schema Markup

Whenever someone opens up a browser and directly enters your company name, then chances are, the search intent is to know more about you.

Using the organization schema markup, Google can bring up a similar search result format as shown in the image above. 

By embedding this schema markup coding to your website, Google can immediately bring up key information about you briefly for your audience.  

Example 4: The Person Schema Markup

This is similar to the previous example.

Except for this time, it’s for a person. 

You may have come across this type of schema by searching for celebrities on Google.

This type of schema gives you a brief background along with any relevant information about the person who’s been searched up, such as:

• Full name
• Net worth
• Birthdate
• Family relations
• Nationality
• Job occupation

In other words, the searcher could find out what they wanted to know about the person on the results page after one search.

Example 5: Product Schema Markup

In this example, we’re looking at the ever-so-popular heads and shoulders shampoo. 

With the product schema, you’ll notice the additional information that’s been included in the rich snippets about the shampoo itself. On the SERP from the screenshot above, it tells us about the product:

• Ingredients
• Hair type
• Liquid volume
• Item weight
• Reviews
• Price
• Stock availability

Without a markup for your product, users won’t be able to see these extra details at first glance, as it would only contain the basic title tag and meta description. If you’re able to save your audience’s time and immediately show that you have what they need, they’re more likely to click on your website for more information before making a purchase.

Example 6: Local Business Schema Markup

In this example, searchers may go on Google to look for cafes in the area and your organization may show up on the list. 

As a result of using the local business markup, it increases your local discoverability since people can find your location easier on the search results.

This also includes information such as your opening hours, contact information, etc. 

And this works for all types of local businesses. Here are a few examples:

• Barbershops
• Beauty salons
• Convenience stores
• Hotels
• Restaurants

Why is Schema Important For SEO?

From all the schema samples earlier, one thing they all have in common is that Google improves its display and appearance on the SERP.

With that in mind, some of the main advantages include:

• Standing out in the SERP 
• Higher click-through rates
• Allowing Google to fully understand your website

One of the main reasons why schema markups are important for SEO is that it increases the likelihood of reaching your audience. 

That’s because you enable Google to get a greater capacity for your company, product, or service offering when it crawls your website. Therefore, it’s able to extract the information that’s been integrated through code and have it displayed on the SERP. 

If you have a stronger appeal, then you’ll naturally increase your number of organic traffic and monthly website visitors. 

That being said, the next question you’re probably wondering is…

How Do You Apply a Schema Markup To Your Website?

The element we’ll be creating is the blog article schema. It’s one of the most common types you’ll have seen online.

While you could use paid or free plugins to integrate the schema’s HTML code, we’ll be showing you how to do it with the standard method. 

But, don’t worry if you’re not too familiar with coding or web development. It’s not too difficult and you don’t need to be a tech wiz. 

Simply follow these 7 steps and you’ll be able to apply schema markup to your website in no time.

1. Go to Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper

When you go on Google’s structured data markup helper, you’ll be taken to the page shown above.

You’ll see two tabs: website and email. 

Stay on the website tab (which you should be on by default), then follow the next step.

2. Choose The Appropriate Type of Data to Markup

There are different elements of data to markup that you can choose from. Since we’ll be creating the blog article schema, that’s the option we’ll want to pick. But as you can see, there’s a variety of alternative data you could select. 

3. Copy and Paste The URL or HTML Code

Next, get the URL of the page that you want to markup.

If you already have its HTML code, then you can use the HTML tab instead and paste it into the provided space. 

Once you have entered the URL or HTML, press the “start tagging” button.

It should lead you to your chosen webpage and provide you with a list of options for your markup. Here’s an idea of how this should look:

4. Highlight The Content You Want To Include For The Markup

Click on specific parts of the article that you want to include for the schema markup. In this example, we’ll use the introduction:

You’ll also see how it pops up on the right-hand side of the page after you click on “name”. This shows that it’s been added to the list.

5. Add More Items To Your Data List

Now, repeat the process of the previous step and add more items to your list of data.

These should be the things that you want to add to your schema markup.

However, you may not be able to use everything that you’ve included.

Either way, just add everything you can that’s necessary to the list.

6. Create The HTML 

There’s a button located towards the corner of the right panel labeled “Create HTML”. When you click this, you’ll generate an HTML code as shown below.

Afterward, you should be led to a notes page with the microdata required (HTML):

The notes page that includes your unique HTML code should look similar to the screenshot above. Naturally, it won’t be the same one as ours, but it will contain all the elements you’ve added to your data list from earlier.

7. Add The Schema Markup HTML To Your Website

Finally, the last step is to add the HTML to your website. Simply click the “finish” button on the top right corner:

Finally, you’ll be taken to a page where you can follow another set of simple step-by-step instructions.

Another option is to press the download button instead. With this method, you’ll instantly download the schema markup HTML directly so then you can add it to the site yourself. 

Once you’ve done that, you’ll have the blog article schema markup ready. 

Free Alternative Tools to Use For Applying Schema Markup 

At this point, you know how to add schema markup to your website for a specific page or article. 

But as we’ve mentioned earlier in this guide, there are free resources that you can use for adding these rich snippets to the search engine results page. 

Here’s the list of free schema markup tools you can implement for your site:

• Yoast SEO
• WP SEO Structured Data Schema
• All in One Schema Rich Snippets

Additionally, you can find an online generator or a premium plugin or tool to use. These will also need to be embedded into your site for it to work. 

Is Schema Markup Necessary?

It’s not necessary, but you’ll be missing out on major competitive advantages.

By putting together an internal structured data system, Google will have a stronger comprehension of your website. Which makes it easier to serve both you and your searchers better. 

Even though it’s not found to be related as a direct factor that affects your rankings, it’s a proven resource that has increased other key metrics such as click-through rates.

Therefore, it accelerates your growth through SEO by establishing your presence on the SERP and increasing the chances of someone clicking on your website. In one project from Google’s case studies, an online magazine improved its CTR by 1.2% with the use of rich snippets. 

If you’ve managed to make it to the first page of Google, that’s great. Unfortunately, it doesn’t guarantee that searchers will click to read the rest of your article.

Conclusion

Schema markups are one of many influential SEO factors. 

There’s no magic involved. It’s more about how well you do the micro than the macro that leads to good, consistent business results. 

What’s more important is not just outranking your competitors. But, to actually bring in new unique website visitors and get discovered by a targeted readership who are looking for answers related to your product or service offering. 

References:

• https://cxl.com/research-study/review-stars-google-help-click-rate-study/

• https://www.google.com/webmasters/markup-helper/u/0/

• https://developers.google.com/search/case-studies/stylecraze-case-study

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Author bio for this guest post:

Astley Cervania is a freelance writer and content marketer.

He focuses on creating content that ranks high on Google and helps to scale user growth for B2B and B2C companies.

You can find him online via his website or LinkedIn.