How to Use Schema Markup to Improve Your Website’s Structure

Just like the first time The matrixWhen I first heard the term “schema markup” I was intimidated by the technical know-how I needed to understand.

However, just like in the movie, understanding the schema markup isn’t as difficult as you might think.

As a marketer, schema markup is important because you want to make it as easy as possible for search engines to crawl your website.

The easier it is for Google to understand your website, the higher your website can rank in search engines.

Below, let’s review what schema markup is, where it can be added, and how it can improve the structure of your website.

What is schema markup?

Schema markup is code that you can add to your website to help search engines get better results for users. Essentially, it provides search engines with vital information to include in your listing that can improve online visibility as well as click through rates.

In 2011, top search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Yandex worked together to create schema.org. This is a “collaborative community activity aimed at creating, managing, and promoting schemas for structured data on the web and in pages, in email messages, and beyond.”

Ultimately, schema markup is a form of microdata. According to Wikipedia, “microdata” is an HTML specification that nests metadata in existing content on web pages. Search engines, web crawlers, and browsers can extract, process, and use microdata from a web page to provide users with a richer browsing experience. “”

For example, the schema markup creates an expanded description – sometimes called a rich snippet – that appears in search results.

By using microdata, your website’s structure is simple and easy for search engines to crawl, making it easier to appear higher in search results.

1. iPhone 11 example

Below is an example search engine results page with listings with and without schema markup data. As you can see, three of the top four results for the iPhone 11 contain schema markup data, including ratings, reviews, and price.

Although T-Mobile and Tom’s Guide are the third and fourth listings, using schema markup microdata can improve click-through rates. Plus, the listing stands out from the rest.

2. Beta burn example

In the example below, there are three offers for Betabrand yoga pants on Google. Those from Betabrand and Good Housekeeping do not contain any additional information.

However, that from Amazon includes ratings and reviews.

In turn, including this type of information helps search engines provide more information that can entice users to click your listing.

3. Booking.com example

The following example shows how Booking.com uses schema markup to include ratings, ratings, pricing, and FAQs for an Orange County hotel. On their list, they include a drop-down menu that answers questions a user might have.

If someone is looking for and possibly staying at this hotel, they can find out how close it is to the airport, what the average cost is, and what the ratings are.

Where to add schema markup

You can add different microdata depending on the service or product.

For example, they can include:

• reviews
• Star rating
• Pricing
• Availability
• Events
• place
• Price range
• Payment options
• opening hours

The possibilities are endless. Regardless of the service or product you sell, you can use schema markup to improve your search engine listings.

How do you add schema markup to your site?

Scheme markup generator

The process is actually pretty straightforward. All you need to do is use a schema markup generator.

Step 1: Go to the Google Structured Data Markup Helper

Step 2: Select the listing type that you want to add schema markup to. Then copy and paste the url into the form field.

Step 3: In the right pane, add schema markup data by entering the information you want to display.

Step 4: Click the “Create HTML” button.

Step 5: Copy and paste the yellow highlighted code. This is your schema markup code. Alternatively, you can click the “Download” button to get the code.

Step 6: Paste the code into your content management system.

Once you’ve gone through this process, you’ll want to test your schema markup to make sure it is showing correctly in search engines.

If you’re using HubSpot, you can actually use a Schema Helper integration to add schema markup to your posts.

Let’s check out how to test your listing below.

Scheme markup tester

Now that you’ve added the schema markup code to your site, it’s time to test it. You can do this with the Google Structured Data Testing Tool.

There are two ways to test your schema markup: by URL or by code.

To test the URL, all you have to do is copy and paste the URL of the website you want. The tool then shows a preview of your entry.

To test the code, you can copy and paste the code that the structured data marking tool it generated for you created. Your entry will be previewed again.

While the schema markup seems technically intimidating, it’s actually a simple process. By using schema markup code, you can increase the visibility of your search engine lists and improve click rates.