Embracing Structured Data: Unleashing the Power of Schema Markup for SEO

With more and more people turning to the internet to find products and services, search engine optimization (SEO) is an increasingly important part of a comprehensive marketing strategy. Companies can benefit from embracing structured data. A schema markup can improve your SEO. Within this article, our business digital marketing professionals explain what a schema markup is, how it works, and why it can take your SEO to the next level.

What is a Schema Markup?

The Search Engine Journal explains that a schema markup “enhanced description” of a website or a webpage. You will also frequently hear a scheme markup referred to simply as “structured data” or a “rich snippet.” It is effectively a form of microdata that is a code that search engine algorithms can use to better understand and categorize a webpage.

Why Does a Schema Markup Help With SEO?

Structured data (schema markup) can be a great tool for enhancing your SEO. It is important to know that modern search engines use schema to better understand your content and its context. With the right schema markup, a search engine—such as a Google—more accurately matches your page to search queries. This matters. Although the schema markup itself is not a direct ranking factor, it can indirectly boost SEO by making your content more relevant and easily indexable. Further, schema markups can produce rich snippets that stand out from the crowd amongst the usual search results and can improve click-through rates.

 How Do You Implement Effective Schema Markup

How do you develop structured data that delivers better SEO results for your business? There are some basic steps, and some best practices companies can use for schema markup:

• Identify the Most Relevant Schema: Depending on your content, choose the schema type that best represents it. Is your content an article? Is it a local business? Is it an event? Make sure it is properly marked with the right microdata.
• Use Google's Structured Data Markup Helper: Google has tools available to make it easier to add schema markups to your content. You do not necessarily need deep coding knowledge to use structured data.
• Use the Proper Format: Format matters for microdata. For example, if you are marking schema with Google, it is imperative that you use JSON-LD. It is Google’s recommended format
• Avoid Spam: Spam is a big deal in SEO. All modern search engines are designed to downrank—potentially even de-rank—content that is deemed “spam.” Why does this matter for structured data? Do not try to manipulate search results with misleading or irrelevant schema. Doing so will likely backfire and undermine your SEO results.

Get Help From Our Digital Marketing Team Today

At Fuel Web Marketing, we provide solutions-driven digital marketing support to law firms and other businesses. If you have any questions about how a schema markup can unleash the power of SEO, we can help. Contact us today to arrange a fully confidential initial consultation.