Structured Data

Stand out from the crowd with structured data

With structured data, you can stand out from the crowd by providing additional information, thereby increasing both your click-through rate and your ranking. At WeMarket, we help you get started with structured data and other activities that boost your online visibility and improve your ranking.

What is structured data?

Structured data is fundamentally about helping search engines understand – and more importantly – categorise the content on your website. When you implement structured data – also known as schema markup – you ensure that the most relevant information is displayed directly in search results when users search for keywords or phrases related to your website. This could include product information, recipe details, store information, and other attributes concerning businesses, locations, reviews, and much more.

Structured data not only helps Google understand the content of your website; it also gives you the opportunity to occupy more space in individual search results. This can increase your visibility and, as a result, potentially boost your click-through and conversion rates. It is, therefore, well worth investing your time in structured data as part of your SEO efforts.

For a concrete example, you may have noticed that when searching for a cake recipe, you see extra information such as ingredients and baking time. Or you might have spotted that some websites display reviews in the form of star ratings. These are called Rich Snippets and are a part of structured data – they help your website stand out from the competition.

What impact does structured data have on your SEO?

First and foremost, structured data helps Google understand the content of your website, which the search engine uses not only to rank your content but also to display the most relevant information to users searching for something related to your site. Since Google uses structured data to pull out extra information, it can help to generate more clicks because your page stands out from the other search results.

So, even if you have a strong title tag and meta description with the right keywords and a clear call to action, structured data could be the extra element that persuades the user to click on your site instead of a competitor’s – simply because the stars catch their eye or the additional information reassures them that they’ll find exactly what they’re looking for with you and your business.

Structured data is therefore a highly effective tool for capturing attention in the search results and getting ahead of your competitors in the ranking queue. The better your CTR (click-through rate) becomes, the more your ranking in Google will also improve, thanks to user behaviour.

Which pages should use structured data?

When we work with structured data for our clients, we always recommend at a minimum implementing structured data for your best-selling products or services. Ideally, you should apply it to all your products or services, as this gives Google a better chance to understand your content and present the most relevant information to users.

When you contact us to implement structured data on your website or webshop, we will work with you to create a plan for which pages you want to enhance with structured data – and, just as importantly, which types of structured data you wish to use, whether it’s product information, reviews, or something else entirely.

We will take good care of the task in close collaboration with you, ensuring you achieve better results exactly where you want them. Once the structured data has been implemented and indexed by Google, we will provide you with ongoing insights into improvements in your search rankings and what this means for your traffic and turnover.

What types of structured data are there?

Work with structured data is typically divided into the formats ‘Rich Snippets’ and ‘Google Knowledge Graph’.

The former typically displays extra information in search results such as images and reviews shown as a certain number of stars out of five. This makes your result stand out because a picture or star ratings are included to catch the eye.

Have you ever noticed an information box on the right side of your Google search, describing what you searched for? This is known as the Google Knowledge Graph. However, it is challenging to appear in the Google Knowledge Graph, as Google must view your content as authoritative in its field. As a result, information is usually drawn from highly content-rich sites – Wikipedia is a good example.

Nevertheless, whether your structured data appears as Rich Snippets or in the Google Knowledge Graph, it can be categorised into many different types, as it is possible to specify data for locations, businesses, creative works, products, and much more.

Structured data can therefore be used for:

• Local businesses
• Articles
• Blog posts
• Book reviews
• Films
• Products
• Events
• Ticket information

These are just a few examples of the hundreds of types of structured data available. Most types of structured data can be further specified, offering great opportunities to refine your data.

Structured data is therefore relevant for the vast majority of businesses serious about online marketing.