How To Get Better Search Rankings With Schema Markup

An Introduction To Schemas

Hi everyone, I’m Andrew Thorn and I want to talk to you today about an exciting new marketing concept known as Schemas.

Schemas are a way to markup the content on your website that allows your site to communicate with Google.

Schemas tell Google that you are referring to a specific type of data, for instance a phone number. This allows Google and other search engines to catalogue your data much more effectively.

This enables Google to take these specific bits of data off your site and arrange it effectively into search rankings.

If you’ve ever searched for a restaurant in your area and saw their star ranking pop up on your search result that’s because of a Schema at work.

Schemas are still relatively new on the scene as far as marketing strategies go and only about 1% of websites around the world are taking advantage of the technology.

The results driven by the use of Schema are known as “Rich Results.” Rich Results are superior because they contain more information than your standard search results. Over 70% of searches are returning Rich Results so if you’re not taking advantage of it you’re missing out. Schemas are already used very heavily in voice searches, so while you’re shouting at Alexa or Siri, a Schema is hard at work.

For example, if you asked, “Is Dominoes open now?” The answer you get back is being generated from Schema enabled data.

Here’s how you can get more familiar with Schemas and put them to work in your business right away.

By the way, using Schemas absolutely can help you move up through the rankings as Rich Results tend to receive much higher CTRs than standard results.

I’ve simply added Schemas to a website and that alone was enough to boost our rankings.

Most websites have a relevant Schema. The most basic is a “Website Schema.” There is also a “Local Business Schema” which I’m sure will be relevant to a bunch of you reading this piece.

A local business Schema allows you to update information about your business like address, phone number, your customer service rating as well as any awards you’ve won. There are also more niche Schemas like the “Recipe Schema.”

This allows you to mark up the recipes you have listed on your site.

There’s also a “Job Posting Schema” that will then show your open job postings in search results. So they range from generic to industry specific.

There’s a very interesting Schema called “Breadcrumb Schema” that customizes URLs and categorizes them into a breadcrumb that makes them easier for your prospects to find.

One of my favorite Schemas is the “Events Schema.” With this Schema you can tell who are hosting events, this allows them to add the date, venue, start time, and other key information. It’s really underutilized right now, but it can provide a huge boost in traffic.

If you’re a business that has any type of steps in using your products or services marking it as a recipe can be really valuable for your search results.

You can similarly mark up your blog posts with the “Blog Post Schema” and it will show your featured image on your results with an excerpt. These Schemas are perfect for “how to” pages.

Larger businesses have been using Schema for a little while now, but now is absolutely a great time for smaller players to get into the game.

 

Action Steps

1. Find relevant Schemas for your business, whether they are general or niche.
2. Mark up the data on your website using these Schemas.
3. Blog Schema can be used to feature excerpts of your posts and images.
4. Recipe Schema can be used for “how to” content.
5. Events Schema is excellent for virtual and real world events.

 

Result You Will Achieve

Better search ranking and better information available to the consumer through the use of Schemas.

This article is based on an EHQ interview with the mentor.