How to Improve Your Google Search Results through Schema Markup

How to improve Your Google Search Results through Schema Markup

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What is Schema?

Schema.org is an initiative that was launched on June 2, 2011, by Google, Bing, and Yahoo. A collaboration of the world’s most significant search engines creating and supporting a standard collection of schemas for data markup on web pages. 

Schema Markup is microdata, which, when added to your webpage, amplifies the description in the search results. These enhanced descriptions are better known as rich snippets.

 

What makes structured data or schema markup important?

-> 90 % of customers report that they use search at each of the following stages of the customer life cycle:

 

  • Awareness 
  • Research 
  • Comparison
  • Purchase
  • Retention

Schema markup is becoming increasingly important in the era of a user-centric market. Google focuses more on the user in all its algorithms and updates. What are users looking for? What are their needs and requirements?- These are the fundamental questions that underlie the basis of every search algorithm.

Hence contextual search has become the need of the hour. Schema Markup helps get an insight into the context of a query. You can get faster and more accurate results based on the query at each of the stages of the customer life-cycle.

->Schema markup drives results not only at the beginning of the funnel through impressions and click-through rates but right through the customer journey.

 

Google Case studies

 

  • Monster witnessed a 94 % increase in organic traffic on job details pages.
  • Eventbrite saw a typically 100% growth in the year over year growth of traffic, according to Google Analytics.
  • Traffic on Rakuten recipe pages soared 2.7 times, and the average session duration was now 1.5 times longer.
  • Jobrapido- In Spain, Nigeria, and South Africa, JobRapido’s organic traffic grew by 115%, and they have over 270% increase in new user registrations from organic traffic since the launch of the new job experience on Google Search.
  • Ziprecruiter increased its overall conversion rate 4.5 times.

 

How do Google and other search engines find you the best answer to answer your question?

Search engines crawl the web looking for relevant and reputable results. Many things account for your rank in the search engine results. These are:

 

  • Keywords
  • Crawlability
  • Page speed
  • Content
  • Descriptions
  •  meta tags
  • And Schema markup

Now the two different terms schema markup and Structured data can be used, as they are both the same thing. The reason why we like to use the term schema markup is that it is more precise. Structured data can be many different things.

Schema markup gives context to an otherwise ambiguous webpage. Schema markup has enhanced the quality of search results because search engines are now able to interpret the context of the search result more precisely.  

 

Schema.org

It is a vocabulary used to provide information about a web page.

 

  • It is founded by the search engines.
  • Maintained by a community group and chaired by a representative from Google.

When you add the code- Schema markup to your website, you provide the search engines with clarity about the content. We can say that we translate content into the language of the search engines, which is schema.org.

So, Schema markup is code that delivers a standardized format for providing information about a page and classifying the page content.

 

Scope and importance of schema markup

In the current scenario, more than one-thirds search results incorporate rich snippets, including schema markup.

 

However, millions of websites have abstained from the huge SEO potential offered by schema markup.

Schema markup helps optimize all types of content. There is data markup for:

 

  • Articles
  • Local businesses
  • Restaurants
  • TV episodes and ratings
  • Book reviews
  • Movies
  • Software applications
  • Events
  • Products

 

Using schema markup automatically boosts your rankings by four positions. Let us discuss how to use schema on your site.

 

1. Go to Structured data markup helper

Structured data marker helper will show up a list of data types to choose from:

 

  • Articles
  • Local businesses
  • Restaurants
  • TV episodes and ratings
  • Book reviews
  • Movies
  • Software applications
  • Events
  • Products

This tool helps you add structured data markup to a sample web page.

 

2. Select the type of data that you intend to markup

Choose the type of content from the list above that you want to markup.

Paste in the URL of the page or article that you want to markup.

If you have just HTML, you can paste that and Start tagging.

 

Select the type of data that you intend to markup

 

3. Start tagging items

When you click “Start tagging,” you are directed to another page wherein you are provided with a workspace to start tagging the items from your webpage.

Your page appears in the left panel, and a list of items to be tagged appears in the right panel.

 

4. Select the elements to be marked up.

The item or elements that you think will convey a clear picture of your website have to be highlighted and selected in this section. When you select the items in the left panel, they get enlisted in the “Data Items” in the right panel. Continue adding the items that you want to markup.

 

5. Create HTML

Once you have selected all the items to be marked up, you need to create an HTML of your page. Click Create HTML. An HTML of your page gets created with microdata inserted for all the items that you had previously selected.

 

Create HTML

 

6. Add Schema markup to your web page.

Go to the source code or CMS of your site to add the highlighted snippets in the relevant places. The yellow markers on the scroll bar are for the schema markup code.

Click Finish when you are done, and you will be presented with a few steps.

 

7. Use the Structured Data Testing Tool.

Analyze te code generated by the tool for any errors. You can have a preview of your data item to see how it will appear in the Google search results.

You can also check all the markups that you have added with the help of the testing tool.

 

Suggestions for using Schema markup more effectively.

 

1. Find commonly used schemas best suited to your business.

Your goal is to gain visibility on search engines and highlight your basic business information. Your NAP should appear on every page of your site. You can also use schema to mark up testimonials.

Visit the Organization of schemas for a list of schemas. Here you can choose the type that is best suited for your business. You can also use MicrodataGenerator.com or Raven Tools Generator to generate schemas specific to your business needs.

 

2. Markup as much content as you can 

Mark up as much visible content on your page as possible. With the availability of the vast array of item types, there is no limit to the content that you can mark up.

 

3. Settle the problem of vague” itemtype”

The first line in your blob of Schema reads 

<div itemscope itemtype=”http://schema.org/LocalBusiness“>

Local business sounds very vague and gives an impression to Google and other search engines of an unidentified brand in the market. Try improvising the itemtype. The itemtype should be more specific to your brand and should describe your business

 

http://schema.org/Lawyer or https://schema.org/ Chartered Accountant.

If you use MicrodataGenerator.com to generate your NAP blob, this task will be easy for you.

 

Conclusion:

 

In recent times the need to adapt to new content marketing strategies is becoming more evident. Search engines are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their search algorithms. If you wish to keep pace with the competition, you need to harness the untapped potential of Structured data or schema markup. Karma Technologies pays avid attention to all our customer queries, and will be happy to help you.

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