{"id":14597,"date":"2022-06-28T13:49:29","date_gmt":"2022-06-28T13:49:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.searchenginejournal.com\/google-structured-data-markup-helper\/455265\/"},"modified":"2022-06-28T13:49:29","modified_gmt":"2022-06-28T13:49:29","slug":"how-to-use-googles-structured-data-markup-helper-via-sejournal-brianfr07823616","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marketingnewsbox.com\/?p=14597","title":{"rendered":"How To Use Google\u2019s Structured Data Markup Helper via @sejournal, @BrianFr07823616"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you drill down to the very core, every search engine optimization (SEO<\/a>) strategy has the same aim: convincing Google your webpage is the best answer to a user\u2019s query.<\/p>\n

There are a lot of tactics you can and should employ to achieve this, but that\u2019s the goal.<\/p>\n

And, as the Google brain has grown more complex, it\u2019s able to display increasingly more detailed and helpful answers.<\/p>\n

For example, if you\u2019re looking to book a flight from Chicago O\u2019Hare to LAX, Google can now show you options in rich snippets<\/a> on search results pages.<\/p>\n

Likewise, if you run a concert venue, you can add code known as structured data<\/a> to your website that will encourage Google to display your events when they\u2019re relevant to web searchers.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not familiar with the term \u201cstructured data,\u201d don\u2019t fret \u2013 there are a lot of SEO professionals and web marketers who aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n

In this article, we\u2019ll set that right, plus give you tips on using the Structured Data Markup Helper<\/a> to easily add it to your site.<\/p>\n

What Is Structured Data?<\/h2>\n

As defined in this post<\/a>, structured data is information (data<\/em>) that is organized (structured<\/em>). Organized information<\/em> is basically what structured data is.<\/p>\n

For SEO purposes, structured data is a specific type of formatting that gives Google information about the meaning of a page.<\/p>\n

Following a standardized vocabulary outlined by Schema.org<\/a>, it is used across several search engines, including Google, Bing, Yahoo, and Yandex.<\/p>\n

Structured data can use syntax like JSON-LD, RDFa, and Microdata, among others.<\/p>\n

Why Is Structured Data Important?<\/h2>\n

There are several reasons why webpages use structured data.<\/p>\n

For one thing, it makes navigation easier for both search engine crawlers and human users.<\/p>\n

This is because it provides the information that can then be displayed on search engine results pages (SERPs) in the form of rich snippets, video carousels, and other special search result features and enhancements<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This leads to faster indexing by search spiders and enhances your site\u2019s search visibility. This can also help improve your click-through rate, increase conversions, and grab more voice search traffic.<\/p>\n

In an article for Search Engine Journal<\/a>, Winston Burton, Senior Vice President of SEO at global search and marketing agency Acronym, detailed the results of adding structured data to the client\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

With no other optimization strategies employed, the client saw a 400% net growth in rich result organic traffic and a 140% growth in impressions for the company\u2019s answer center.<\/p>\n

Even if this is a statistical outlier, it still highlights the massive potential of using structured data.<\/p>\n

What Is Structured Data Used For?<\/h2>\n

Now that we\u2019ve covered what structured data is and why it\u2019s important, let\u2019s look into some of the ways it can be used.<\/p>\n

In an April 2022 Google Search Central SEO office-hours hangout<\/a>, Google Search Advocate John Mueller dove into structured data and its uses.<\/p>\n

If you have 30 minutes to spare, it\u2019s well worth the watch. If you\u2019re in a hurry, the part that\u2019s relevant to the current topic begins at 27:19. Or better yet, read Roger Montti\u2019s coverage of it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In this hangout, Mueller was asked a question about how to choose the best format for structured data.<\/p>\n

His answer was that it\u2019s not so much about what format a page uses, but rather what kind of rich result is available for the page.<\/p>\n

Structured data is very versatile and provides a lot of opportunities for businesses to use it to drive clicks. Some of these you may wish to take advantage of include:<\/p>\n

Knowledge Panels<\/a><\/h3>\n

Used for things that are part of the Google Knowledge Graph, they provide a quick overview of information about a topic.<\/p>\n

\"KnowledgeScreenshot from search, Google, June 2022<\/span>\"Knowledge<\/div>\n

As a business, you can use knowledge panels to give users at-a-glance information about your brand name, logo, and phone number, among other things.<\/p>\n

Rich Snippets<\/a><\/h3>\n

Sometimes referred to as rich results, this is the additional data Google shows users in addition to normal search results. This may include things like music, events, or recipes.<\/p>\n

\"RichScreenshot from search, Google, June 2022<\/span>\"Rich<\/div>\n

For commercial purposes, this is where reviews can be shown. It can also highlight things like products, addresses, and special offers.<\/p>\n

Hosted Carousels<\/a><\/h3>\n

Common on mobile devices, this shows multiple \u201ccards\u201d from the same site.<\/p>\n

Not to be confused with ordinary carousels, which can include images, video, and other data pulled from multiple sites, hosted carousels use content from only one \u201chost\u201d site.<\/p>\n

Google currently supports the following types of hosted carousels:<\/p>\n