Introduction to structured data marking for Google

Introduction to structured data marking for Google

Google Search is actively working to understand the content of the page. You can help the search engine by providing obvious tips about the value of the page by adding structured data to your site. Structured data is a standardized format for providing information about the page and classifying its content. For example, on the recipe page, you can specify the ingredients, the time and temperature of the cooking, the number of calories and other parts.

Why add structured data to your Google site?

Adding structured data can lead to more attractive search results that can motivate users interact with your site. Such results are called "rich results." We give several examples of sites that used structured data:

  • One site added structured data to 100,000 unique pages and received a 25%increase in clicks for pages with markings compared to conventional pages.
  • Another site converted 80% of its pages to use the search functions, and recorded an increase in attendance by 35%.
  • In one project, it was found that users spend 1.5 times more time on pages with structured data and have 3.6 times a higher level of interaction with the search results.
  • For another site, the pages with rich results showed 82% higher clickable compared to conventional search results.

How structured data work in a Google search

Google uses structured data to better understand the content of the page, as well as collect information about people, books, companies and other objects. For example, when a JSON-LD structure is used on the recipe page, which describes the name of the recipe, author and other data, Google can display this information as a rich search result:

Since the structured data mark each separate part of the recipe, users can look for your ingredients recipe, calories, cooking time and other parameters.

If you use CMS, such as Wix, WordPress or Shopify, you may not be able to edit directly. In this case, you can use the search engine settings page or install a plugin to add structured data. To obtain detailed instructions, look for information, for example, "Add structured data to WIX" or "Structured data plugin for WordPress".

How does the structured marking work on your site for Google?

Structured data are encoded by marking on a page that refers to the contents of the page. Do not create empty pages only in order to place structured data on them. Also, do not add structured information about information that is not visible to the user, even if it is accurate. For more detailed recommendations, see the General Rules of the structured data.

What is structured data in the search in Google? Structured data for your site

To verify and debug the structured data, use the “Checking Rich Results” tool, which will help you make sure of the correctness of the marking and, in some cases, first view how the result will be displayed in searching for Google.

Supported formats for structured data on the site for searching for Google

Google Search supports the following structured data formats. In general, it is recommended to use the JSON-LD format, since it is easier for implementation and scaling, especially if your site is integrated with dynamic elements:

  • Json-ld (Recommended) - notation JavaScript, introduced into the tag