Structured data is code that you use to mark up your content. This helps search engines better understand your content. By using structured data, you send a positive signal to search engines. This helps your business stand out in that long list of organic search results.
By no means does every website have its content marked up with structured data. Sometimes this requires technical knowledge, or the CMS isn’t suitable. Also, the benefits of structured data aren’t always well known.
In this article, you’ll learn about the benefits of structured data and how to properly mark up your content with structured data.
For an increasing number of clients, we use structured data as part of technical SEO. In the test shown in the example below, we added the (review) structured data to the website.
Adding structured data resulted in an improvement in the CTR, from 0.7% to 1.1%. In addition, rankings, impressions, and clicks also increased. This clearly demonstrates the value of structured data.
Adding structured data (also known as Schema markup) offers several benefits. Below, we list the 5 benefits of using structured data.
Google wants to show the best answers immediately after a search query. Structured data ensures that your search result is enriched with additional information in the form of rich snippets.
This could include photos, reviews, or additional text information accompanying the search result. The extra lines and additional information will help your result stand out.
Structured data has a major impact on your click-through rate. In our own test, we saw the CTR increase from 0.7% to 1.1% in just 28 days—a rise of no less than 57%. Because your search results stand out more, visitors are more likely to click on them.
Structured data doesn’t just improve your visibility in search results and drive more traffic. Visitors are also more likely to click on your search result and purchase your service or product right away when you stand out by using Schema markup.
For example, if there are good reviews or an attractive photo of a product at a good price, customers will quickly choose your company.
Structured data can help ensure that search engines display your business in a featured snippet. A featured snippet appears above the organic search results and often contains only one search result or a short list.
Your business will then have a free premium spot in the search engine. Potential customers also view this as a trustworthy search result, which will contribute to a higher CTR and more traffic.
The search results that Google displays for a voice search are taken from the featured snippets. This means that your business will be the only search result displayed or read aloud during a voice search.
Marking up content with structured data is called “markup.” When creating this markup, you need to consider the markups for different content types, which are defined by Schema.org. These depend on the nature of your business and what you want to achieve with your content.
There are a wide variety of Schema markup options available; you can find a complete overview of the different markups on the Schema.org website. Below, we’ll cover the most commonly used markups: those for products, company-specific information, local businesses, and service providers.
To highlight content from your online store, use the product markup. This structured data markup allows search engines to add product information to search results. This creates additional opportunities for selling your products.
If you want search engines to provide users with company-specific information more quickly, you can use organization markup. The search engine will then display a Knowledge Graph for your company in the list of search results.
If your business’s physical location or its local presence is very important, use the localbusiness markup. This allows you to mark up the physical location with structured data, which helps your business appear more quickly in local search results.
Service-based businesses can also mark up their services with structured data. Structured data for services helps search engines understand what services your business provides and what area you serve.
It is important to apply a service markup to each service page. For each service, add an additional type and describe the service.
It’s important to choose the right markup for the content you want to apply Schema markup to. When you properly mark up your content with structured data, you’ll reap the benefits mentioned earlier.
Just make sure you only add structured data that is truly relevant to your content. Google may view irrelevant data as spam, and you could be penalized for it.
Also, be sure to update your structured data regularly as needed. If you want to test your structured data for functionality, you can use the structured data testing tool. You can enter the code you’ve created or enter a URL to your web page.
The tool shows you whether the code is correct and, where necessary, points out what’s wrong with it. This makes it easy to test your structured data code.
Structured data is of great importance to every business and can have a significant impact on everyone. By using structured data, you can:
With a passion for SEO and an unmatched drive for results, Jarik Oosting is the driving force behind SmartRanking. With over 15 years of experience in the field, he has built an extensive body of knowledge spanning technical SEO to complex site migrations. As the founder of SmartRanking, he has assembled a team of like-minded SEO specialists who help businesses achieve sustainable online growth.
His academic background in information science at the University of Groningen, with a specialization in natural language processing, gives him a unique perspective on the world of SEO. For Jarik, it’s not just about visibility in search engines, it’s about sharing knowledge and guiding businesses toward sustainable online success. That mission also led him to write a Dutch book about GEO.