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Have you noticed how Google’s been getting smarter lately? It’s like they already know what we are looking for. Remember when you were planning that surprise party & needed the perfect chicken korma recipe? Or when your friend was asking a million questions about space? Or even when you just wanted to know if that new coffee shop around the corner was open on Sundays? Well, instead of just giving you a bunch of relatable random information, Google now presents these fancy little boxes with all the info right there.
They call ’em rich results, can you believe that? It’s like having a personal concierge who keeps updating us about everything we need to know. And do you know the secret? Behind the scenes? It’s something called Schema Markup. Think of it as a special code present at the website backend that tells Google, ‘Hey, this part is a recipe, this part is a how-to guide, & these are our opening hours.’
So, Google gets it, crawls the information, understands what it’s about, and then boom, you get served with awesomeness.
Now, you’re wondering how Google sees these fancy results, right? You might think Gandalf is at play here, but it’s something called structured data. It’s a simple code websites use, to tell Google, ‘Hey, I have all this much-needed information, please show it up’ For instance, imagine trying to explain a cake recipe to someone over the phone versus just handing them a detailed recipe guide, easy, right? That’s what structured data does for Google.
To help you better, imagine a scenario – Describing your favourite movie to a friend without talking about the actors, plot, spoilers, or even the genre, confusing, right? That’s what a website without structured data is doing to Google. However, with structured data, you confidently tell Google, “Hey, this part is about a movie, these are the main characters, and here’s the plot.” Now, Google does their magic & you get served with awesome movie listings with posters, ratings, & release dates, now it’s pretty cool, right?
Perhaps these examples will help you understand easily:
What are Rich Results?
We all have seen those fancy search results right? The ones with pictures, ratings, & all that extra stuff? Those are called rich results. They’re like the premier subscribers of the search results, grabbing most of the attention today. Imagine, you are searching for a recipe, instead of just a boring blue link, you get a result with a picture of the finished dish, cooking time, & even some ratings. Wouldn’t you click on that over a plain text link?
This is the reason they get way more clicks than regular old links. But here’s the million-dollar question: how do you get your content to be one of those rich results?
Let’s see how Google does this & help you increase your chances to feature on the rich SERP features.
It’s all about a little something called structured data. Think of it like a special language only search engines can understand.
With structured data, you’re translating your content into a clear & organized format. It’s like adding labels to your website, telling Google exactly what kind of information you have – a recipe with cooking times, a product with reviews, or a profile listing with a biography. To make it work, you need to add code in a standard vocabulary & that’s where Schema.org comes in.
By using Schema.org, you can create this structured data in a way that pretty much all search engines understand. Schema describes the contents of your page such as products, reviews, job postings, articles, locations, recipes, business listings, profiles, guides and so on.
Once Google can see your content clearly, it can use that information to create those rich results you see in search. Pretty neat, right?
What have we learnt so far? How structured data works in a nutshell. Now, let’s break it down. What is structured data, schema & rich results?
Schema
Think of Schema.org as a shared language between you and major search engines like Google. It provides a set of labels & definitions for the information present on your website. It’s like a pre-made menu with all the categories search engines care about, like reviews for your apparel products. You can go to Schema.org & find what you need to describe your pages.
Structured Data
Now, the actual information you provide about your website is called structured data. Using Schema.org, you can describe information like your business’s opening hours, what type of services you offer, & even client testimonials. This is the actual input you give search engines like Google to get a better understanding of the information on your pages.
Rich Results
By using structured data & Schema.org, search engines can understand your website much better & will know what information you have to offer to the users. Allowing them to show your content in a more attractive & informative way in SERPs.
How Does Structured Data & Rich Results Work?
Alright, let’s break it down, How does Google find your stuff?
Do you know how they say Google knows everything? Well, it’s definitely not Gandalf. They have these little minions called crawlers. Imagine them as tiny robots zipping around the internet, always checking out the websites. They visit a website and follow links from one page to another. These crawlers are always on the lookout for new pages & updates.
Crawlers keep on visiting your website from time to time, much like that relative who shows up unannounced, once they find something valuable to Google &search users, they save a snapshot of it in this massive library called the index. Think of it as Google’s filing cabinet for the whole internet. When someone searches for something, Google looks through this giant cabinet to find the pages that match your query.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Google & its minions are smart, not psychic. They can sometimes have a hard time understanding what a page is about & what it is offering to the users. That’s where structured data comes in. It’s like adding little tags to your content that tell Google exactly what’s going on & what difference this makes for the user. Based on this structured data. Google defines whether your website should show up on Google or not.
So, in a nutshell, crawlers find your pages, Google saves them, & structured data helps Google understand your pages better.
What is Structured Data?
Simply put, Structured Data helps Google understand exactly what your page is about, so it can show up at the very top of search results. It’s like giving Google a menu of what is available on the website & to know exactly where to send people when they’re looking for something specific.
And the coolest part? It’s like double-checking your work. You’re telling Google, ‘Hey, look, I said this is what my page is about, and it really is!’ So, Google can trust you more and show your site to even more people.
What Does Structured Data Look Like?
This is a simple example of how you’d describe a blog on a webpage with Schema in JSON-LD. The secret sauce is to be specific & accurate. The more details you give, the better. But remember, it’s all about quality and most importantly, make sure your code is perfect. A single mistake can ruin everything.
"@type":"BlogPosting"
"@id":"https:\/\/brandbhasha.com\/how-to-use-near-me-keywords-in-your-local-seo-strategy\/#BlogPosting"
"mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/brandbhasha.com\/how-to-use-near-me-keywords-in-your-local-seo-strategy\/"
"headline":"How To Use “Near Me” Keywords in Your Local SEO Strategy?"
"name":"How To Use “Near Me” Keywords in Your Local SEO Strategy?"
"description":"Dominate local search results with \"near me\" keywords. Gain maximum visibility, attract more customers, and outrank competitors."
"datePublished":"2024-07-13"
"dateModified":"2024-07-26"
"author":{"@type":"Person"
"@id":"https:\/\/brandbhasha.com\/author\/play11yashgmail-com\/#Person"
"name":"Yash"
"url":"https:\/\/brandbhasha.com\/author\/play11yashgmail-com\/"
"identifier":1
"image":{"@type":"ImageObject"
"@id":"https:\/\/brandbhasha.com\/wp-content\/litespeed\/avatar\/615b63413707b434a8627ca79332db9b.jpg?ver=1721992374"
"url":"https:\/\/brandbhasha.com\/wp-content\/litespeed\/avatar\/615b63413707b434a8627ca79332db9b.jpg?ver=1721992374"
"height":96 "width":96}}
"publisher":{"@type":"Person","name":"Yash"}
"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/brandbhasha.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Brandbhasha-4-1.webp"
"url":"https:\/\/brandbhasha.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Brandbhasha-4-1.webp","height":1080,"width":1920}
"url":"https:\/\/brandbhasha.com\/how-to-use-near-me-keywords-in-your-local-seo-strategy\/"
"about":["Brand Strategy","SEO","Website"]
"wordCount":1466
"keywords":["gmb","local seo","seo"]How Can I Add Structured Data to my Website?
As of now, we are done with what structured data is, how Schema helps SEO, and why there’s so much fuss about getting your site noticed using it. Now, the question is: How? How do I add this stuff to my website? Well, you’ve got two options to choose from.
How To Add A Schema Code Manually? – A Step-by-Step Guide
- Go to Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper.
- Select the Type of Data.
- Paste the URL You Want to Markup.
- Select the Elements to Mark Up.
- Continue Adding Markup Items.
- Create the HTML.
- Add Schema Markup to Your Site.
- Test Your Schema.
How To Add A Schema Code Using Third-party Tools?
It’s pretty simple actually, you can use tools, such as plugins or third-party services, that add structured data on your behalf. The presiding advantage is that you don’t have to be a coder or a developer to do this, these tools take care of everything. Here, take a look at a few of them, for a detailed analysis, follow this link.
Schema Plugins/Apps for WordPress
- Schema Pro
- Rank Math
- AIOSEO
- Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP
- WP SEO Structured Data Schema
Schema Plugins/Apps for Shopify
A word of caution; Using a third-party tool makes you less flexible, you’re kinda tied to what they can do. If you want to change things up, you might be stuck waiting for them to update their system or something.
Before proceeding any further, I would like to mention, If you wanna shine bright in Google’s search results, structured data is your best bet. But here’s the deal: while it plays a crucial part in getting you those fancy rich results, it’s not a guaranteed win. Google’s the big boss, and ultimately, they decide who gets the spotlight.
So, yeah, structured data is awesome, but don’t forget about the content, okay? That’s where the real deal is. You’re a natural-born wordsmith, right?
Wrapping up the Benefits of Schema Markup
So, that’s the lowdown on schema. Crazy, huh? Like, who knew data could be such a big deal? But there it is – the secret sauce to getting your website noticed.
Anyway, I couldn’t let you go without hearing from Rich Snippet himself. The guy’s got a knack for making even the driest stuff sound interesting. Take it away, Rich!
To sum up the benefits of schema markup, you see, this schema thing is simply like teaching search engines to understand your website & the content in a better way. It’s like giving them a cheat sheet so they can show off your content in the coolest way possible. Not only does it make you look like a total pro, but it also helps people find you faster. Win-Win, right?
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