Schema Markup For SEO

Getting Started With Schema Markup

Using schema markup is a valuable way for a website to increase its visibility in the search results through rich snippets. Whilst schema is not a ranking factor, it can help search engines understand web page content, which can directly affect SEO performance.

What is Structured Data?

Structured data is a form of code snippet used to organise information. While the terms structured data and schema markup are commonly used interchangeably, they are not the same thing. Think of structured data like how you would organise a library catalogue: by title, author, publication date, and so on. Schema markup is the labels on those books or sections that help the system better understand and present that data (based on the title, author, publication date, etc).

In short, structured data organises the content, and schema markup clarifies how that content should be interpreted and displayed.

What is Schema Markup?

Search engines crawl this standardised information to interpret the content more clearly. This can also influence the amount of information displayed in SERPs (search engine results pages).

Whilst search engines are very advanced tools with complex algorithms, they still need help to organise and interpret the content because, unlike humans, they do not have the same intuitive capabilities. For example, they cannot see a picture; they have to read it.

If you are looking for a brownie recipe, in the example below you can see that three websites have had their recipe featured as a rich snippet. The image, website name, aggregate rating and ingredient list have been pulled through and take up more space than a regular organic listing.

Below is some of the recipe schema markup that has been used by Google to display the above information and you can see the difference between what a human sees versus a computer:

Types of Schema Markup

There are different types of schema to represent the vast range of content and services available on the internet. Each type of schema is designed to help search engines better understand and display specific kinds of information, such as products, events, articles, reviews, and more.

According to Schema.org, their vocabulary has 811 types of schema, but the 35 most popular (and supported by Google) are:

Article	Book Actions	Breadcrumb	Carousel	Course Info
Course List	Dataset	Discussion Forum	Education Q&A	Employer Aggregate Rating
Estimated Salary	Event	Fact Check	FAQ	Image Metadata
Job Posting	Learning Video	Local Business	Math Solver	Movie
Organisation	Practice Problem	Product	Profile Page	Q&A
Recipe	Review Snippet	Service	Sitelinks Search Box*	Software App
Speakable	Subscription and Paywalled Content	Vacation Rental	Vehicle Listing	Video

By having different schema types, websites can provide more structured, detailed, and relevant information about their unique content. This improves search engine accuracy and enhances user experience through rich snippets and better search result presentation.

Benefits for SEO

Even as recently as five years ago, the goal was to attain the highest organic position as this visibility enhanced website traffic and, subsequently, conversions. Now, the goal of SEO is to dominate as much of the SERP real estate as possible. As Google is constantly changing how different types of information are displayed based on a user’s query, you want to ensure that your website meets as many of those query demands as possible depending on their relevance to your business.

Taking the time to implement structured data makes it easier for search engines to understand your website’s content and display that content as rich results for users. The more room you take up on the SERPs the higher the probability of someone clicking through to your website and ultimately converting.

Source: Search Engine Journal

Why is Schema Markup Necessary?

Schema markup is now more essential than ever because it helps websites stand out in an increasingly competitive and evolving search landscape. As search engines prioritise rich search features like Featured Snippets and Knowledge Panels, schema enables websites to qualify for these enhanced displays, thus improving their visibility.

With the rise of voice search and AI-driven assistants, structured data ensures that content is easily understood and delivered in response to user queries. By enhancing relevance and improving click-through rates, schema markup not only boosts rankings but also future-proofs SEO strategies against ongoing changes in search algorithms.

Popular Schema Types for SEO

Among the 35 schema types mentioned, a few are more commonly used by SEO professionals. For local businesses looking to boost visibility in their area, the Local Business schema is ideal, while larger, national organisations should use the Organisation schema.

E-commerce sites should apply Product and Review schemas across their product catalogues, while those in the publishing industry will benefit from Article, Profile Page, and Speakable schemas.

Additionally, all websites can enhance user experience and search visibility with Image, Video, Breadcrumb, and FAQ schemas. Be sure to review Google’s guidelines to choose the most suitable schemas for your site.

How Schema Influences Rich Results

Rich results are generated when a page has been marked up by schema thus allowing the search engine to pull ‘richer’ results to display for a better user experience. Rich results can also be determined by the intent of a person’s search, such as asking a question, whether they are using a short or long keyword, or looking for tutorials and more.

Below are some examples of the type of search results you could receive based on your search query:

• Looking for a recipe = Recipe schema
• Asking a question = FAQ schema
• Requiring a statistic = Dataset schema
• Breaking news = News or Article schema

Note: Adding structured data to your website does not guarantee that the information will be used as a Rich Result – just to manage expectations here.

Best Practices for Schema Implementation

Now that you know what schema markup is and why you should use it, it is time to implement it on your website (or send this article to someone who can do this for you). Like any programming language or technology, there are explicit instructions in the form of code to use – a standardised language for which there are three formats.

Schema Markup Formats

JSON-LD: A lightweight Linked Data format that makes it easy to add metadata in a way that’s human-readable and writable. Instead of adding attributes to existing HTML like Microdata and RDFa, it uses inline script tags to include structured data separately.

Microdata: A format within the HTML standard that adds metadata to web pages using groups of name-value pairs called items. Each item contains properties that provide additional information about the content.

RDFa: A format that adds metadata to HTML, XHTML, and XML documents using attribute extensions. It provides extra details about the content within web pages to make it easier for machines to understand.

Microdata and RDFa are the oldest formats for implementing schema but are more error-prone due to their method of integration. While JSON-LD is the recommended format for its ease and flexibility, it’s not always feasible to implement, especially on websites with outdated architecture and old content management systems.

Following Google’s Guidelines

Following Google’s General Structured Data Guidelines is important to ensure that your schema is correct, eligible, and does not violate any of their policies. Some structured data issues can result in a manual action disallowing it from appearing in a rich snippet although it will not stop it from showing as a general search result.

Avoid Common Mistakes

Whilst adding schema markup to your website is not overly complicated, there are certainly some common mistakes that are made and which should be avoided.

These include:

• Using Incorrect Schema Types: Applying the wrong schema type for the content (e.g. using Product schema for a blog post) can confuse search engines and reduce the effectiveness of the markup.
• Incomplete or Missing Properties: Not including all the required properties for a specific schema type (e.g. missing the name or price in Product schema) can make the markup invalid or less useful.
• Conflicting Data: Adding schema markup that contradicts the visible content on the page, such as inconsistent business hours or contact details, which can cause confusion for both users and search engines.
• Incorrect Placement: Placing schema markup in the wrong section of the HTML document, such as outside the <head> or <body> tags, can lead to errors or cause the markup to be ignored.
• Overloading Pages with Markup: Applying too many schemas on a single page without a clear purpose can dilute the page’s focus and make it difficult for search engines to understand the information correctly.
• Failing to Test Markup: Not using testing tools (like Google’s Rich Results Test) to verify schema implementation can result in unnoticed errors that prevent search engines from properly reading the data.
• Mixing Schema Formats: Combining different formats like Microdata, RDFa, and JSON-LD on the same page can lead to confusion and errors, so it is best to stick with one format for consistency.
• Forgetting to Update Markup: Not regularly updating schema markup as the content changes (such as product pricing or business hours) can result in outdated or inaccurate data being fed to search engines.

Even if you avoid making mistakes and have everything set up correctly, other variables such as the website’s authority, trustworthiness, and history can influence whether or not rich results will appear.

Adding Schema to Your Website

Whilst it can be challenging to categorise content into a few of the schema markup types, choosing the most appropriate types is considered best practice.

Generate Schema Markup

To generate schema markup, there are a few ways you can do this.

Manually Write The Scripts

Writing schema markup manually will give you the most flexibility and allow you to write complete structured data, but it does increase the margin of error.

This process can be very time-consuming but websites like schema.org can provide a frame of reference.

Markup Generators

Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper is a great place to start if you are unsure of how to begin this process. First, you select the type of schema you want to markup and choose the applicable URL. Add that URL to the box and select [Start tagging].

This will take you to the URL you selected and using the panel on the right-hand side, you can see all of the different attributes. Select an element on the page and a list of tags will appear for you to select the right attribute.

As you go through the process of selecting elements on the page and selecting the attribute, the information on the right-hand side begins to populate:

When you are happy with all of the information that has been populated, click [Create HTML] and it will generate a JSON-LD markup script.

Structured Data Markup Helper is just one of many free tools you can use to help generate your schema markup. Some of my favourites include:

• Technical SEO for generating a variety of schemas
• Kalicube Pro for Company, Organisation and Local Business schema
• Saijo George for FAQ schema

Once you have generated your schema, it is crucial that you test the code snippet with a Schema Markup Validator before adding it to your website or Google Tag Manager.

Schema Plugins

If you are not a developer but want to try this for yourself, there are some ways to implement schema markup that are not as technical. Adding header scripts or plugins built for schema markup implementation is the way to go. WP Code is a fantastic WordPress plugin that allows you to add structured data to the Header and Footer of a website easily.

For WordPress users, these are some of the most common schema plugins:

• Yoast SEO – A popular SEO plugin that automatically adds schema markup to your content thus improving search engine visibility with structured data integration.
• Schema App Structured Data – A comprehensive plugin that supports all schema.org types and allows you to create and manage custom schema markup for your website.
• All in One RIch Schema Snippets – A plugin that simplifies adding rich snippets and schema markup to your content. With the addition of structured data this enhances how your pages appear in search results.

For those using Squarespace, Wix, Webflow and other website builders, most will have those capabilities integrated into the site’s functionality. 

Structured Data Testing

Validating your schema before adding it to your website is important. It helps you to rectify any errors and also allows you to see how the structured data will look as a rich result.

Take your schema and add it to the [Code snippet] tab and [Run test].

Check the results on the right-hand side. There should be 0 errors and warnings and using the dropdown, you can see in detail all of the information that has been crawled from the code.

Another helpful tool is Rich Results Test which follows a similar method to Validator Schema whereby you can test a code snippet or a URL. The URL method is better to use once you’ve added the schema to your website and you want to test it again.

Adding Markup To Your Website

Implementing structured data is generally a simple task.

If you’re using plugins like Yoast SEO or a CMS with built-in structured data support, the process is automated – no extra steps are needed on your part.

However, these tools may be limited in flexibility or might not include all the markup types you want. As a result, you may want to explore alternative options:

Manually Adding Scripts

If you need more control or want to use additional types of schema markup, JSON-LD is a flexible option that can be added directly to your page’s source code. It can be placed in either the or section of your site, as long as it’s within areas where scripts are permitted.

Since JSON-LD is a script, it won’t work if pasted into a text editor or content box – doing so will either cause it to display incorrectly or make it visible to users in a way that doesn’t make sense.

How you implement schema will vary depending on the content management system (CMS) you’re using. Some schema, like WebPage or Breadcrumb List, is relevant to your entire site and should be added to sections reserved for sitewide scripts. On the other hand, if you’re using a schema specific to a single page, you’ll need to add it at the page level – usually in the header or footer fields within your CMS.

Note: RDFa and Microdata follow different implementation methods compared to JSON-LD.

Google Tag Manager

If you’re working with a small site, adding one or two schema markups won’t significantly affect your website’s speed or performance. However, for larger or more complex websites that require multiple schema markups, a good alternative is to use Google Tag Manager.

Google Tag Manager is not only essential for conversion tracking but also a great tool for managing your schema markup in one place. To use it for schema, you’ll first need to create a Google Tag Manager account and ensure the GTM code is properly installed in your website’s section. You can do this easily using tools like the WP Code plugin.

Once inside Google Tag Manager, you’ll create a new Tag using the Custom HTML type, where you can add your schema markup directly into the HTML field. Then, set the Trigger to Page View so it loads with your page.

This is a simplified overview. For a more detailed guide, I recommend following Search Engine Land’s tutorial.

Monitor For Success

After writing, implementing and confirming that your schema markup works, it is important to monitor it and see the impact it is having on your website.

Monitoring performance can be done through Google Search Console. Under the tab Enhancements, you will find all of the schemas that are applicable to your website. It will tell you how many of each you have and if there are any issues that need to be addressed.

Schema Markup for Improved Performance

Implementing schema markup is a valuable step to improving your website’s visibility and search engine performance. By providing structured data, you help search engines understand your content better, which can lead to enhanced search results like rich snippets, ultimately driving more traffic to your site.

Whether you use plugins, manual scripts, or tools like Google Tag Manager, it’s essential to test and monitor your markup for accuracy and impact. With proper implementation and ongoing optimisation, schema markup can be a powerful tool in your SEO strategy.

If you’re wanting help with implementing Schema Markup, contact us to get started today. As SEO experts passionate about driving client results, come see how we do digital marketing different.