A bit about structured data

Structured data refers to data that has been organised, or ‘structured’. The purpose of structured data is to make it easier for search engines like Google understand what the content on your website is about.

Structured data is mainly used on websites and in emails, and it’s not just Google that cares about it. Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and Yandex all are putting weight on the importance of structured data. 

It’s also good to note that there are three different formats for structured data: RDFa, Microdata, and JSON-LD, which is a Javascript notation embedded in a and is typically the most recommended format. Schema.org contains a collection of information on structured data that explain these three formats in more depth.

Some of the best ways to incorporate structured data is to provide additional context for items on your website, ranging from videos to articles and everything in between. To get an idea of what structured data looks like, you can take read through Google’s guide to structured data.

Does structured data really matter?

Structured data definitely helps your website, and it also changes the way your site looks on search engine result pages (SERPs). This allows you to have more control over how your business appears online.

For most people, the most appealing reason to incorporate structured data are the SEO benefits. So if you’re hoping to rank better, using structured data is one great way to improve your desktop and mobile SEO.

Because you’re communicating in a language that machines understand, you’re increasing the likelihood of having your content be seen as valuable when search engines crawl your site. When you use structured data, you might benefit from some of the following aspects of your search engine results being enhanced and improved:

  • Rich snippets
  • Rich cards
  • Immersive search engine result features
  • Breadcrumbs in your search results (improves the ability to navigate your site)

These are just a handful of ways structured data may enrich your site’s information on SERPs. However, structured data has been gradually gaining more importance since 2011, so as time progresses there may be more benefits to including structured data. 

How you can implement structured data

It can be a bit tricky to understand how to find the right code and adjust it to suit your needs. You can do some basic training to understand structured data. A good place to start is Schema.org. Here, you can read up on more detailed explanations of structured data and get an idea of how to start implementing it. 

If you’re not good with code, there are also plugins that can help you with structured data, including Yoast, which automatically adds structured data to your site so you don’t have to think about it. If you use WordPress, you’ll likely to be able to find a handful of plugins that you can use.

How a developer can help

Don’t use WordPress? Not confident that you can navigate structured data on your own? A web developer can help adapt the code to put it on your site. And if you want to find out more about structured data, they may be able to fill you in on some details of how it works and why it’s important.

Work with a Melbourne website development company

If you need assistance with web development, web design, or web management, Digital Bridge is here to help. If you want to discuss your business or your next project, you can email us at hello@digitalbridge.com.au or give us a call at +613 8658 2434.