How to Utilize Google’s Structured Data to Maximize SEO
What is Structured Data and Why Should I Use it?
Google, as we all know, is the most popular search engine in the U.S. Not only is it popular, it also carries one of the most useful and valuable tools for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Structured data, defined by Google, is a standardized format for providing information about a page and classifying the page content; for example, on a recipe page, what are the ingredients, the cooking time and temperature, the calories, and so on. Google Search aims to understand the content of a webpage, and it helps to provide specific directions and information within a page’s structured data. The more Google understands about your website (its meaning and content), the stronger your online presence will be. Think of it like this — structured data is another way to direct traffic to your website or webpage by organizing how your website can appear via search results.
Usually, you can’t control how your website pops up in searches, but in this situation, you can! It’s a unique opportunity for website owners to take charge of how and when their website can appear within search. In addition to that, not many know of structured data so, this is also another opportunity to get ahead of the competition!
What Should I Consider Before Diving In?
Before getting started, consider what type of data your website offers. Google lists articles, local businesses, music, recipes, reviews, TV/Movies, and videos to be qualifying data types. If your site’s contents fall within these types, structured data helps in highlighting them within search results.
After identifying, your content type, you can begin marking up the content properties and implementing changes as needed. Here is an example of a markup and some of the structured data that Google displays in search results:
However, in order to utilize structured data effectively and maximize its benefits at your expense, you might need the assistance of a web developer since structured data requires coding and time to test out the structured data. To ensure that structured data helps you increase traffic and does what you want, getting started will involve lots of building, testing and releasing, just like every other tool or feature.
How Do I Monitor These Changes?
To monitor the changes and what the effects of structured data, having a search console! Google’s Search Console is a no-charge web tool designed by Google for website owners. This tool specializes in optimizing your website visibility, to observe changes in online performance and foot traffic. Recently, Google released a URL inspection tool for Google Search Console. It will indicate if the page was successfully indexed, any AMP errors, structured data errors, and indexing issues.
It’s important to keep track of your website’s performance to ensure your website is at its best when other people explore it. Keep in mind that these changes in performance will depend on how you utilize structured data. In other words, results will vary; it is wholly dependent on what you want and how you want to approach this.