Before learning about the benefits of schema markup, it is important to first understand what structured data is, to begin with. Next, we will discuss the types of schema markup and show examples of what changes to expect in your search results
What is Schema Markup?
Imagine being able to converse in the unique language of search algorithms. That’s exactly what Schema markup, also known as structured data, empowers you to do. Using a specialized semantic vocabulary, Schema markup is like a translator, allowing you to tell search engines the details of your site’s content. In this conversation, your website transforms into a comprehensive, personalized, and deeply informative beacon for users on the search engine.
But it’s not just about being understood; Schema markup also gives your website the power to showcase more. Ever seen those detailed snippets of business information in search results? That’s Schema markup at work, turning your ordinary search results into ‘rich snippets‘. These rich snippets are like mini trailers of your site, and they’re proven click magnets, driving up your CTR significantly.
Key benefits of schema markup include:
- Enhanced Visibility: By implementing Schema markup, your site can benefit from increased visibility on search engine results pages, contributing to a stronger online presence.
- Comprehensive Indexing: Schema markup provides search engines with detailed insights about the content and context of your site, improving the indexing and understanding of your pages.
- Elevated User Experience: Structured data can enhance user experience by providing more accurate and relevant results, helping users find exactly what they’re looking for more easily.
- Future-Proofing Your SEO: With the rise of voice search and artificial intelligence, Schema markup helps ensure your website stays relevant and ahead of the curve by facilitating compatibility with these emerging technologies.
- Improved Local SEO: If your business has a local presence, using local business Schema markup can provide essential information to search engines like opening hours, location, and reviews, which can improve your local search rankings.
- Direct Communication with Search Engines: Schema markup serves as a direct line of communication with search engines, helping them better understand your content and represent it accurately in search results.
Perhaps you’ve come across schema.org. It’s not just a website but a groundbreaking collaboration between the big players – Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Yandex, launched in 2011. Their mission was clear: to foster the birth of the semantic web, a digital realm where computers have the power to analyze, synthesize, and interconnect all data on the web.
How did they achieve this? By creating a new encoding language, instructing search engines about the data on a website. It was like handing the internet a road map to the semantic web, and the online world leaped at this opportunity. As a result, the once lofty concept of the semantic web is now our reality.
And with the explosive growth of voice search and predictive search features over the last year, the importance of the semantic web, and by extension, Schema markup, has shot through the roof. The stage is set for a revolution in how we interact with the web, and Schema markup is right at the heart of it.
Why Should Implementing Schema Markup Be Important to Me?
Schema markup has rapidly ascended to an essential role in SEO. If your website is armed with structured data, it frequently outpaces even those with superior domain and page authority that lack this data architecture. Why? Because Schema markup isn’t just a fancy term – it’s a golden ticket to mastering search engine results.
Schema markup holds the reigns on how your website appears in organic search results, dictating your user’s first – and often only – impression. But it goes beyond the aesthetic; it’s a tool that facilitates additional features on your webpage. Ratings? Check. Booking capabilities? Done. FAQs and event promotions? You got it. With these in place, your search engine results page (SERP) doesn’t just stand out, it becomes a magnet for clicks, sending your click-through rates soaring.
But, let’s not oversimplify. The power of Schema markup stretches far beyond how your website appears in search results. The most fascinating, and admittedly complex aspect of it, especially for those new to SEO, is the language it speaks with the search algorithm.
Imagine an enormous library of code, held at Schema.org, available to annotate your website’s content in a language that search engines understand. It’s like giving Google a tour of your site, highlighting key features like the educational background of a blog author, the exact topic of discussion, the interconnectedness of your content, and much more.
This clear communication with Google doesn’t just help your website ascend the search rank ladder. It’s like a handshake with Google’s algorithm, ensuring mutual understanding. Google’s John Mueller himself confirmed that structured data would steer how Google deciphers and employs predictive search features and voice search – the twin rocket engines powering the future of SEO.
In essence, Schema markup enhances the way Google interprets your website’s content quality and provides you with an enriched SERP. It almost invariably leads to a striking uptick in click-through rates. In short, the benefits of Schema markup are myriad.
What Types of Schema Markup are There?
Although there are many more than just these, we have compiled 8 of the most common
schema markup types
Organization Schema Markup
Organization schema markup is arguably one of the most recognizable manifestations of schema markup. Organization schema markup illustrates company information, including business names, social media accounts, contact information, special announcements, and many other things. Of course, business owners may want to personalize these knowledge panels to suit their needs and interests, and that’s entirely possible.
Local Business Markup
Local businesses schema markup makes businesses eligible for rich, organic search results for location-based web queries. The query could be anything from “bait shops near me” to “vegan restaurants in Miami.” When a user searches for a local business online, they may see something that looks that this
This search engine result is made possible by applying local business schema markup. The code allows businesses to display opening hours, descriptions, contact information, geoinformation, and much more. In general, local business schema markup creates a richer and more engaging experience for potential customers.
Breadcrumbs Markup
Although breadcrumb schema markup can be used in a variety of ways, it is most commonly used to illustrate site structure to the website user. This structure may spp something like Home > Product > Product 1 > Style 3. Even when fewer clicks are required, such as in the example below, the improved organic search result is more visually appealing. It will yield a higher CTR than the original result.
Breadcrumb schema markup, besides improving CTR, also decreases bounce rate by better indicating the site structure to the user. Additionally, breadcrumb markup aids Google in understanding site structure, which can be especially good for SEO.
Video Markup
Although video schema markup has been around for several years now, most companies still fail to apply this schema markup at all. However, given the recent rise of video content on Google, experts say that video schema markup will be one of the most crucial schema applications throughout 2022.
Interestingly, video schema markup is just as valuable for search engines as it is for users. This markup provides Google and other search engines with helpful information that clearly explains what a video is about or shows. With video schema markup, search engines can understand what certain video content offers, and if the content is valuable, the search engines will promote the video as a result.
Otherwise, search engines will understand that a page has video content, but search engines tend not to recommend those pages first if there is no markup available. Think of it like this, search engines want to be confident in the quality of the web pages they are recommending, and it is difficult to be confident in the quality of content they can’t fully understand.
Review Markup
People define reviews in multiple ways, but for our purposes, a review will be an aggregate of ratings from various sources. On Google, these reviews are displayed on a scale from one to five. Compare the organic search results below. 
Even though Sears is a more widely known company, the organic listing for Northern Tool appears more enticing, so customers may feel compelled to select Northern Tool’s listing if deciding between the two options. That, in a nutshell, is what review schema is all about — conversion rate. When unable to climb any higher in the SERP due to competition, the best way to drive more traffic to any existing pages is to increase the CTR.
Fortunately, studies have indicated that organic position and CTR benefit from schema markup. Correctly applied schema markup yielded improved traffic of about 25% within a month. Larger companies, like Advent Health, have witnessed up to a 38% increase in CTR.
Event Markup
Event schema markup makes it more straightforward for people to identify and attend events offered on a website. These events may be concerts, trade shows, sports games, or any number of things. Compare the two examples below.
The second result is clearly more visually appealing than the first result. More so, the second result provided valuable and relevant information without the user having to even click on the website. This data transparency goes a long way with a potential customer, and event markup has been shown to significantly increase the conversion rate when correctly applied.
Article Markup
If you’re spending a lot of time carefully crafting content that is just right for your target audience, it stands to reason that you’d want your target audience to see your content in the first place. But, unfortunately, Google has become increasingly reluctant to show search results that the algorithm doesn’t fully understand. This reluctance makes sense, as Google makes money when people are actively engaging with the content being displayed. Google can’t be confident in the displayed content if the algorithm can’t understand it.
Article schema markup acts as a disambiguating, explanatory chunk of code that relays critical information to Google. Schema can clearly explain even strange or obscure topics, and Google will feel much more comfortable ranking article content well as a result. This clarity is essential for any health or law-related businesses and one of the primary benefits of schema markup, as Google is highly wary of advertising such information without schema markup.
Importantly, AMP pages with structured data can appear at the top of the article carousel, as shown below.
AMP is an invaluable feature when writing about recent events or events that otherwise received little coverage.
Schema Encoding Types
Search engines are limited in how much information they can glean from a website without structured data. Adding schema markup indicates what exactly specific content means to the search engines. The most popular search engines allow for three different types of structured data formatting.
- JSON-LD
- Microdata
- RDFa
In the year 2015, Google raised the flag for JSON-LD, declaring it as their preferred method for structured data markup. With its distinct advantages over other methodologies, JSON-LD becomes a logical choice for SEO experts. It fits smoothly into your website without having to tweak HTML elements and can be placed anywhere on your page. We, at Schema Pros, have chosen to harness the full power of Schema markup by utilizing JSON-LD.
Before JSON-LD took center stage, Microdata was the star of the show. Even today, several prominent sites persist with their pre-existing Microdata. However, this method has its challenges, especially for programmers who are not fluent in Schema markup. Each property in Microdata requires an ‘itemprop’, making it somewhat tricky to handle. It’s important to note that Microdata is an open-community HTML specification.
RDFa, an extension of HTML 5, bears a striking resemblance to Microdata. The consensus, however, is that Microdata is easier to implement. But what keeps RDFa in the game? RDFa shares the honor with JSON-LD of being a W3C recommendation. Moreover, both JSON-LD and RDFa serve as RDF serializations. This, coupled with Google’s endorsement of JSON-LD, means that coders who are yet to familiarize themselves with JSON-LD often opt for RDFa due to its similarities.
When to Contact the Professionals
As we’ve journeyed through the dynamic landscape of Schema markup, one thing is clear: the power it holds to revolutionize your SEO strategy is immense. By allowing search engines to understand the nitty-gritty of your website, it not only enhances your visibility but also greatly enriches user experience. In a digital world that’s evolving at lightning speed, Schema markup is your secret weapon to staying ahead.
At Schema Pros, we’re all about harnessing the full potential of this innovative tool with our schema markup services. With our deep expertise and keen understanding of structured data, we’re equipped to turn your website into a magnet for search engines and users alike. As a schema markup agency, we’re ready to guide you into the future of SEO with JSON-LD, the method of choice for structured data markup as recommended by Google itself.
Don’t let your website be just another speck in the digital universe. Stand out, be understood, and climb the ranks of search results. Contact us at Schema Pros today, and let’s transform your online presence together.