The Importance of Structured Data & Schema Markup for SEO
Structured data is organising pieces of information in code snippets, helping search engines understand the context of your web pages. These can appear as rich snippets on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Structured data is an important aspect of on-page SEO, improving your online presence. It helps search engines understand your content, while improving visibility and click through rates for your web pages.
The purpose of structured data is to help search engines understand the context of your content. Search engines understand structured data over normal text. It helps convey the meaning behind your content to search engines, helping them rank your pages accurately.
Structured data may appear in rich snippets within SERPs, increasing your click through rate (CTR). When search engine crawlers visit your pages, they look for structured data that can be used in snippets on SERPs. These rich snippets are often the main reason website owners add schema markup to their pages.
It's important to note that structured data is not a ranking factor for Google, though it can help improve visibility in search results and increase click through rates. It does ensure your web pages are displayed in relevant search queries.
Schema markup is a computer language used to describe the content of your pages in an organised manner, that is understood by search engine crawlers. It contains a language that search engines understand and can display the content in an efficient and appealing manner in SERPs.
Schema.org was developed by the three biggest search engines in 2011. Google, Bing, and Yahoo developed schema markup to provide and support a universal format that can be used by website owners.
Various types of schema markup may appear in rich snippets, including:
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the structured data that may appear as rich snippets.
Remember implementing structured data does not guarantee you will be selected for rich snippets. Having a solid SEO strategy in place that aligns with SEO best practices, and adding schema markup to your website pages can improve your chances of appearing in rich snippets.
Structured data and schema markup are essential to your SEO success, helping search engine crawlers understand the context of your website content, increasing the chances of you appearing in rich snippets. If you need assistance implementing schema markup to your web pages, get in touch with Genie Crawl today.
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