Structured Data & Schema
Used to mark up elements on a webpage, structured data (or schema) helps search engines further understand the content which is contained on a website. Structured data is also used to generate further rich results and featured snippets within search results. Our SEO Office Hours Notes below cover recommendations for the implementation of structured data / schema, as well as insights from Google.
To learn more about structured data’s impact on SEO, check out our additional resources:
Structured Data Manual Actions Don’t Change Rankings
If you get a structured data manual action penalty, the structured data will be removed from search results, but it doesn’t affect the ranking of pages
Markup Doesn’t Make the Sitelinks Search Box Appear
If Google doesn’t show a searchlink search box, the markup won’t make it appear. It just allows searches to take place on the site instead of Google.
Don’t Mix Different Structured Data Markup for the Same Items
You can use any of the supported markup types, but you shouldn’t mix types for a single item.
Structured Data and Hreflang Need to be Added to Mobile Pages
When Google moves to mobile first, the rel alternate and canonical tags won’t need to be changed, but the mobile pages will require dedicated structured data and hreflang tags.
Use Site: to Test Rich Snippets
The Rich Snippet testing tool only checks the syntax is valid. Use Site: to check how your rich snippets will be displayed and confirm they conform to the policy requirements and meet the quality criteria.
Apply Product and Aggregate Review Markup to Dedicated Product Pages
Product markup and aggregate reviews markup should be applied to pages dedicated to a single item, and should not be applied to generic pages which include multiple items, like category pages.
Marked Up Reviews Must be Visible on the Page
Review content which is marked up, must be visible on the page with the markup. You should not use the reviews markup if you don’t actually display the review. If they are coming from a 3rd party site, you should link to the original source.
Markup and Content can be Loaded with JavaScript
Reviews and markup can be included on the page via JavaScript if the pages can be fully rendered by Google.
The Structured Data Testing Tool Reports Warnings as Errors
The Structured Data testing tool reports some issues such as incomplete markup as errors instead of warnings which can be misleading.
Repeated Reviews Should be Marked-up Once
If you repeat the same reviews in multiple places, only include the review markup in a single place.