Amidst the sea of SEO jargon, one term may have caught your attention recently – schema markup.
It’s been touted as a game-changer, a key to unlocking higher search engine rankings and driving traffic from Google’s coveted featured snippets (and even by getting mentioned within its new AI).
Yet, the technicality and perceived complexity often make it seem like an intimidating mountain to climb.
If you find yourself in this boat, don’t worry. You’re not alone.
Many agency owners are on the same journey, searching for clarity and actionable steps to leverage schema markup for their clients’ benefit.
By the time you reach the end of this article, you’ll have a clear understanding of schema markup, its importance, and how to implement it effectively to enhance your clients’ web presence.
Whether you’re just getting started or are looking to refine your current strategies, this guide will provide you with the insights you need to take your clients’ SEO game to the next level.
What is Schema Markup and Why Should You Care?
Schema markup, also known as “structured data” helps search engines understand the content on a webpage better.
It’s basically extra code that provides context to the information on a page, allowing search engines like Google to display more informative and relevant results for users.
One of the biggest benefits of schema markup is that it can help your clients’ content appear in featured snippets, getting those special call outs in “position 0” at the top and on the sides of results pages.
Featured snippets are highly visible search results that display a summary of the answer to a user’s query directly in the search results.
Contrary to a common misconception, getting a featured snippet does not result in fewer clicks. In fact, featured snippets receive significantly more clicks than other search results because they offer users a quick and relevant answer to their query.
As an agency owner, implementing schema markup for your clients can result in:
- Enhanced search engine result listings: Rich snippets, knowledge graphs, and other visually appealing features can increase click-through rates and drive more traffic to your clients’ websites.
- Improved search rankings: Although not a direct ranking factor, schema markup can indirectly contribute to higher search rankings by improving the overall user experience and increasing click-through rates.
Types of Schema Markup You Can Implement
While there are hundreds of different types of schema markup that you can implement for your clients, depending on their niche and the content they produce, some of the most common schema types include:
- Organization: Provides general information about a company, such as its name, logo, and contact details. This schema type is suitable for any business with an online presence, as it helps search engines display essential company information in search results.
- Local Business: Offers specific details about a local business, like its address, opening hours, and reviews. This schema type is ideal for businesses with a physical location, such as restaurants, retail stores, or service providers, as it helps users find local businesses more easily.
- Product: Displays information about a product, including its price, availability, and ratings. This schema type is perfect for e-commerce websites and online retailers, as it helps potential customers find relevant product information in search results.
- Article: Presents data about a blog post or news article, such as the author, publication date, and headline. This schema type is suitable for content-heavy websites like blogs, news publications, or online magazines, as it helps search engines understand and display article information more effectively.
Pro Tip: Use Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper to generate the appropriate schema markup for your clients’ content. Simply select the content type, highlight the relevant sections on the page, and the tool will create the necessary code for you.
How to Add Schema Markup to Your Clients’ Websites
There are a few different methods to add schema markup to your clients’ websites, depending on their preferred content management system (CMS) and your level of expertise.
- CMS plugins: Most popular CMS platforms like WordPress, Ghost, and Webflow offer plugins that simplify the process of adding schema markup. This is often the most user-friendly option for agency owners who aren’t as familiar with coding. We personally use SEOPress Pro for all of our WordPress sites.
- Manual JSON-LD or Microdata: For those with coding knowledge, adding schema markup directly to the HTML of a webpage using JSON-LD or Microdata is an option. Be sure to test your markup using Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool to ensure it’s error-free.
JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data) is currently the preferred method for implementing schema markup, as it’s easier to understand and maintain than Microdata. Consider using JSON-LD whenever possible for the best results.
Monitoring the Impact of Schema Markup on Your Clients’ Websites
After implementing schema markup, it’s crucial to monitor its impact on your clients’ websites. The best tool for tracking the performance of your schema markup efforts is Google Search Console.
It provides valuable insights and allows you to identify any errors or warnings related to your schema markup.
By addressing these issues, you can optimize the markup for better search results.
Google Search Console: Check the Performance and Rich Results reports to identify any errors or warnings related to your schema markup. This allows you to address issues and optimize the markup for better search results.
Providing Additional Value with Schema Markup
To truly set yourself apart as an SEO expert, it’s essential to go above and beyond when implementing schema markup for your clients.
Here are some tips to help you provide additional value:
Optimize for voice search using Speakable markup
With the rise of voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, optimizing schema markup for voice search is crucial.
Use “speakable” markup to indicate sections of content that are particularly suited for audio playback.
By being quoted in voice search results, your clients’ websites can benefit from increased brand exposure and recognition.
Although voice searchers may not always visit the website directly, having their content featured in voice search results can still positively impact a business by positioning them as a trusted and authoritative source of information.
This, in turn, can lead to increased traffic, conversions, and revenue in the long run.
When optimizing for voice search, focus on providing concise, informative answers to common questions. This increases the likelihood of your content being featured in voice search results.
Stay updated with schema.org
Keep track of new schema types and updates on the schema.org website.
Implementing new and relevant schema types as soon as they become available can give your clients a competitive edge in search results.
Test your schema markup
Before deploying schema markup on a client’s site, always test it using Google’s Rich Results Test tool. This ensures that the markup is valid and error-free.
Conclusion
For agency owners looking to provide top-notch SEO and content marketing services to their clients, understanding and implementing schema markup is vital.
By mastering schema types, following best practices, and providing additional value through voice search optimization and staying updated with schema.org, you’ll be able to demonstrate your expertise and authority in the field.
Remember to maintain open communication with your clients, stay informed about industry trends, and continuously refine your schema markup strategies based on performance data and feedback.
If you have any questions or need further assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out.
-Justin
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