You learn quickly as a small business owner that there’s always something else to do. It might be focusing on business development tasks, writing your latest blog post, or onboarding a new hire. There is always something that stays on the to-do list month after month and never really gets checked.
One task that many set aside is schema markup. In part, many small business owners do so because they don’t fully understand what it is or how it can benefit them. However, when it comes to maintaining and developing your website as a business asset, structured data can give you that competitive advantage that draws in the customers and helps you reach your goals. And it can be an easier task to tackle than you might think.
Let’s discuss what schema markups are, their SEO benefits, and how you can create them yourself.
What Exactly Are Schema Markup and Rich Results?
Schema markup is a standardized vocabulary that you can add to your website’s code to allow search engines to understand the information on your website better. Search engines will then use that information and offer it to their users in the form of rich results.
Rich results, formerly known as rich snippets, highlight essential information in search results to offer a better experience to searchers. They come in many forms, including carousels, images, review star ratings, and FAQs. You’ve likely seen a wide variety of them before in your online searches.
If the two things were a building, rich results would be the beautifully finished exterior, while schema markup would be the framing that supports it. No one notices a building’s frame, but it is essential for the structure to stand.
Why Should You Add Schema Markup to Your Website?
Rich results are proven to help click-through rates in organic search results, which gets a small business owner like you more business. Information like recipe cook times, product star ratings, or a list of upcoming events can bling out your search listing like the grills on Lil Jon’s teeth. They catch people’s attention and make your search result listing stand out from the rest.
Let’s say you own a roofing company. You’ve done a lot of work to rank well in search engines for the term “roofing companies in eugene or,” and you’ve gotten to the top of the first page of results.
However, your competitor is also on the first page of results for that term, except with rich results. They may have reviews directly on the search listing with a rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars. Your competitor might attract more clicks from searchers because they appear more trustworthy than you.
Structured data and rich results can make the difference between you getting a sale and it going to your competitor.
How To DIY Your Schema Markup for SEO
You understand what schema markup and rich results are and why you need them. Now it’s time to get in there and create them on your website.
Know The Different Types of Structured Data
Various pieces of information require different markups. For example, an FAQ page on your website would need an FAQ Schema, while a landing page about an upcoming event you’re promoting would need an Event Schema.
Different schemas may need certain information as well. For instance, a Local Business Schema will require you to add the physical address of your business.
There are many different types of schema markups that search engines recognize. Some of the most common ones include:
- Articles
- Events
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- How-Tos
- Job Posting
- People
- Product
- Local Businesses
- Reviews
- Recipes
- Medical Conditions
Not every page on your website will have a markup, and some will have multiple markups. It all depends on the information you’re sharing with each webpage. Knowing the types of schema markups you can add is the first step.
If you need assistance learning the differences between the types in more detail, the expert web development and SEO team at Uyo Digital Marketing is happy to help you.
Create Schemas with SEO Plugin Tools
After you’ve decided which type of structured data you want to add to a page, the easiest option is to install an SEO plugin on your website. There are several choices available, each with its pros and cons. Most of them offer a user-friendly way to input the necessary information and then let it create the markup code for you.
At Uyo Digital Marketing, our preference is Rank Math. We’ve found that it offers more types of schemas to choose from and more customization than other comparable tools. They have a great guide to adding schema markups to your website yourself.
Test Your Schemas
Lastly, you want to ensure that the markups you’ve added to your website work properly. Fortunately, Google offers a helpful tool, the Rich Results Test, to do this. With their tool, you can test individual pages on your website to ensure that search engines recognize and read your markups.
Now that you’ve gotten the rundown on all things schema markup, put your newfound knowledge to use and start adding schemas to your website. Don’t allow this task to fall by the wayside any longer.
Of course, a lack of knowledge might not be the only reason you’re avoiding schema markup. Like many small business owners, you simply might not have the time for this task. If that is the case, Uyo Digital Marketing can help. We create custom-tailored web development and SEO solutions that can assist you in meeting your goals. Contact us today to get the conversation started.
