Unlocking the Power of Schema for local businesses: Beyond the Basics
In today’s digital world, it’s absolutely crucial for businesses to stay ahead of the curve, and to use schema when it comes to improving the businesses search engine optimization (SEO). One such strategy is the use of schema markup, which is free, and we would highly recommend adding it your website as it which helps search engines understand the content marketing on your website and present it more effectively in search results. In this comprehensive blog post, we’ll explore why local business schema isn’t enough, the future of schema, and Google’s tools for applying structured data to your website.
Local Business Schema
Local business schema is an excellent starting point for businesses in Wales, which are looking to improve their search visibility. By providing search engines with key information about your business, such as address, phone number, and operating hours, sometimes marketing companies, like ours call this the NAP information, by using schema, it can help your company’s NAP information to show up more prominently in search results. However, relying solely on local business schema isn’t enough for a truly effective SEO strategy.
For one, schema markup extends beyond basic local business information. For example let’s say that your business sells blenders, and there is one blender which is your best seller, out of 700 reviews, it has a five-star rating, you could use schema so that the star rating for this blender, appears in the serps. There are numerous schema types and properties available, allowing businesses to provide search engines with a wealth of information about their products, services, events, and more. By limiting your schema implementation to local business information, you’re missing out on the potential to rank higher in search results for a broader range of queries.
Moreover, as search engines become more sophisticated, they’re better able to understand the context of your website without the need for local business schema. This means that while local business schema can help, it’s no longer enough to rely on it as your sole SEO strategy. To truly stand out from the competition, you need to explore the full range of schema markup opportunities available to your business.
The Future of Schema
Seo continues to evolve, so does the importance of schema markup. Here are a few ways schema is likely to change in the coming years:
Increased adoption: As more businesses here in Wales are recognising the benefits of schema markup, we can expect to see an increase in the number of websites implementing structured data. This will make schema markup even more important as a competitive advantage in search results.
More supported types: Schema.org, the organization responsible for developing schema markup, regularly adds new types and properties to better support the diverse range of content on the web. As the web grows and new industries emerge, we can expect to see even more schema types available.
Voice search and virtual assistants: With the growing popularity of voice search and virtual assistants like Google Assistant, Alexa, and Siri, schema markup will become even more crucial in helping these devices understand and present your content.
Artificial intelligence , or AI and machine learning: As search engines develop more advanced AI and machine learning capabilities, they’ll become better at interpreting the context and meaning of your content. However, schema markup will still play a vital role in providing these algorithms with structured, machine-readable data.
Google’s Tools for Applying Structured Data
Google understands the importance of structured data and provides two user-friendly tools to help site owners make the most of it: the Data Highlighter and the Structured Data Markup Helper.
Data Highlighter
The Data Highlighter is a point-and-click tool that allows you to highlight and tag elements of your website, such as titles, dates, and images, to create structured data, it’s very simple to use. This tool is particularly useful for those who may not have coding knowledge, as it doesn’t require any changes to your website’s HTML. Instead, the structured data is stored in your Google Search Console account and used by Google when displaying your content
in search results. The Data Highlighter currently supports several content types, including articles, events, movies, and local businesses.
To get started with the Data Highlighter, follow these steps:
- Sign in to your Google Search Console account.
- Choose the website you want to work with.
- Under the “Search Appearance” section, click on “Data Highlighter.”
- Click “Start Highlighting” and enter the URL of a page on your site that you’d like to add structured data to.
- Select the content type that best matches your page and start highlighting and tagging elements.
Once you’ve completed the process, Google will use the structured data you’ve created to enhance your search results listings.
Structured Data Markup Helper
The Structured Data Markup Helper is another tool that’s provided by Google, it’s free and it’s very easy-to-use that helps you create structured data for your website. Unlike the Data Highlighter, this tool generates HTML code with schema markup that you’ll need to add to your website’s source code.
To use the Structured Data Markup Helper, follow these steps:
- Visit the Structured Data Markup Helper website.
- Choose the content type that best matches your page.
- Enter the URL of the page you want to add structured data to, or paste in the HTML code.
- Highlight elements on your page and assign the appropriate schema properties.
- Once finished, click “Create HTML” to generate the new HTML code with schema markup.
- Add the generated code to your website’s source code and publish the changes.
By using these tools, you can ensure that Google and other search engines have access to the structured data they need to better understand and display your content in search results.
TL;DR
Schema.org emerged as a collaborative effort between major search engines Bing, Google, and Yahoo! to standardize structured data markup. Local business schema is an essential starting point for businesses looking to improve their search visibility, but it’s crucial to explore the full range of schema markup opportunities available. The future of schema includes increased adoption, new supported types, and greater importance for voice search and AI-driven search algorithms. Google offers two powerful tools, the Data Highlighter and Structured Data Markup Helper, to help site owners implement structured data with ease.
Further Reading
Here are seven resources to help you learn more about schema markup and its benefits for your business:
- Schema.org – The official website for schema markup, featuring documentation, examples, and a full list of supported types and properties.
- Google’s Introduction to Structured Data – A comprehensive guide to structured data and its importance for SEO, provided by Google.
- Moz’s Guide to Schema Markup – An in-depth guide to schema markup and its benefits, along with practical tips for implementation.
- Search Engine Journal’s Guide to Structured Data for SEO – A detailed guide covering the basics of structured data and how it can improve your website’s search visibility.
- Schema App – A paid tool that simplifies the process of creating and managing schema markup for your website.
- Google Search Console Help: Data Highlighter – Official documentation for using Google’s Data Highlighter tool.
- Google Search Console Help: Structured Data Markup Helper – Official documentation for using Google’s Structured Data