How to use structured data to improve your SEO

Implementing structured data can be an intimidating and in-depth task, but luckily SEO strategist Adam Šapić, working with The Wedding Insurance Group, is here to give you step-by-step instructions. 

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the practice of making changes to your website to improve the quantity and quality of traffic received from unpaid results in search engines like Google.

More high-quality traffic means more business opportunities!

There are many things you need to do to improve your rankings. Ensuring your web pages contain the right content, improving your website loading speed and adding structured data to your pages are typical SEO practices.

What is structured data?

Structured data is essentially organised data. For example, say you supply a list of props for weddings. You can create a table detailing all the different styles of weddings and you sort each prop according to what style they are most suited for.

This is structured data on a basic level. The table helps you understand the relationship between the types of props and each style of wedding. This is how search engines use structured data to understand your web pages and their relationship with other things on the internet.

How does structured data improve SEO?

Since their inception, search engines have found it challenging to understand exactly what pages within a website are about. Machines still have trouble understanding the context of our search keywords. Here is an example.

I type ‘wedding planner’ into Google and the result page displays a mixture of products a wedding planner may require and actual wedding planning businesses. Google doesn’t know if the people searching that keyword are wedding planners or couples looking for a planner that’s why it displays both kinds of results.

To combat this problem, search engines like Google and Bing came together in 2011 to agree on a standardised way of using structured data to help them understand the web pages they display.

By using this standardised structured data, you are indicating to search engines what your web pages are about and how they relate to other things on the web. This improves the likelihood of your pages ranking higher for related keywords.

Please note, adding structured data to your pages will not automatically increase your rankings. SEO is a holistic practice meaning you have to do everything that is required such as content optimisation and ensuring your site loads quickly. However, mastering structured data is one step towards SEO success. Let’s get stuck in.

Structured data templates

The Wedding Insurance Group ran a competition with Guides for Brides to give away a structured data prize created by their SEO strategist Adam Šapić who also works with FTSE 100 companies.

Butterfly Bridal Boutique was chosen as the lucky winner. Here’s what their structured data looks like, which you can use as a template.

Before you go ahead, please peruse this quick guideline on how to use these templates.

1. Each template is available to download as a PDF.
2. Copy and paste the template code into an editor like Notepad (if using Windows) or TextEdit (if using Mac). Avoid using Microsoft Word because it can lead to formatting problems.
3. Edit all the fields highlighted in green EXACTLY like the examples.
4. DO NOT insert content that does not exist on the page. Don’t try to fool Google, it’s very sharp.
5. If you are removing a field, you need to delete up to the closing comma. Here is an example: "name": "Butterfly Bridal Boutique",
6. Some fields contain multiple lines enclosed with { } or [ ] brackets then a comma at the end. When removing, you need to remove the field name preceding the opening bracket right up to the comma after the closing bracket. Here is an example detailing how "@type" "latitude" and "longitude" are all part of the field "geo"
   

   "geo": {

   "@type": "GeoCoordinates",

   "latitude": "51.896700",

   "longitude": "-1.149070" },

7. Test your code using Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool
8. Insert your code into your website.

Structured data for the home page

TEMPLATE

Here are the guidelines when editing the home page template:

• @type – In this instance, we have used "Store" because the business is a bridal boutique. You could use "ProfessionalService" if you are a photographer or planner, "EntertainmentBusiness" if you are a DJ or musician or "LocalBusiness" if you do not fit into any of the above categories. You can remove the following fields if you do not have an address that is publicly available:
  • "address"
  • "hasMap"
  • "geo"
• "image" and "logo" – This is your business photo and logo. In Google Chrome, right-click on your business photo and logo then select ‘Copy Image Address’. Only use an image that is displayed on your home page.
• "@id" and "url" – Both of these properties should be your website address as it appears in the browser bar. Type your address into a browser, then copy and paste.
• "name" and "description" – This is your business name and description.
• "address" – This is your publicly available business address.
• "hasMap" – Go to Google Maps, type in your business name, then select ‘Share’ and copy and paste the ‘Link to share’.

• "GeoCoordinates" – Go to latlong.net, type in your business name and copy and paste your latitude and longitude.

• "telephone" – This field uses international numbers so enter +44 and remove the first 0.
• "email" – If you don’t want to display an email address, simply remove this entire line.
• "sameAs" – This is your list of social media profiles. You can also include your Wikipedia address if you are fortunate enough to have one. Remember to NOT include a comma after the closing " of the last web address.
• " openingHoursSpecification" – Use the "@type" fields to enter your days and hours. You can input multiple days into "dayOfWeek". Remember to NOT include a comma after the closing " of the last day. Remove or add more "@type" fields if required. Again there is no comma after the closing } at the end of the last "@type"
• "award” - Enter the names of any awards you have won. For multiple awards, add a comma and enter on the next line. Remember, you don't require a comma after the " of the last award. Here is an example:
   "award": [
  "Guides for Brides Customer Service Awards 2019 Bridal Wear Winner",
  "Guides for Brides Customer Service Awards 2018 Bridal Wear Winner" ]\n
   

Structured data for product pages with a price

If you are selling products that have either one price or a price range, this is the template for your product pages.

TEMPLATE – For product pages with one price

TEMPLATE – For product pages with a minimum and maximum price

Here are the guidelines when editing the product page with a price template:

• "name" (underneath "Product") – This is the name of the product.
• "image" – In Google Chrome, right-click on your image and select ‘Copy Image Address’. Only use images that are displayed on the product page. Remember to NOT include a comma after the closing " of the last image address.
• "description" – This is the product description.
• "brand" – This is where you will insert the name of the product’s manufacturer or designer and their web address in the field "sameAs"
• "url" – This is the address of your product page.
• "price" (for pages with one price) – Always use 2 decimal places.
• "minValue" and "maxValue" (for pages with price range) – Always use 2 decimal places.
• "itemCondition" – Use one of the following:
  • "DamagedCondition"
  • "NewCondition"
  • "RefurbishedCondition"
  • "UsedCondition"
• "availability" – Use one of the following:
  • "Discontinued"
  • "InStock"
  • "InStoreOnly"
  • "LimitedAvailability"
  • "OnlineOnly"
  • "OutOfStock"
  • "PreOrder"
  • "PreSale"
  • "SoldOut"
• "@type" (underneath "seller") – Remember to input whatever type of business you have used in the home page template such as "ProfessionalService" "EntertainmentBusiness" or "LocalBusiness"
• "image" (underneath "seller") – This is the same image you have used on the home page template.

Structured data for product pages without a price

If you are selling products and you are unable to detail the price, this is the template for your product pages.

TEMPLATE

Structured data for product pages usually requires a price. If you don’t include one, Google will show an error when you are using their testing tool. There is one way around this. If you can find a review of the product you are selling from a reputable source such as a magazine, you can include data about the review score and author.

If you have a product page without a price and you cannot find a credible review, then it’s not worth creating structured data for that page.

Here are the guidelines when editing the product page without a price template:

• "name" (underneath "Product") – This is the name of the product.
• "image" – In Google Chrome, right-click on your image and select ‘Copy Image Address’. Only use images that are displayed on the product page. Remember to NOT include a comma after the closing " of the last image address.
• "description" – This is the product description.
• "brand" – This is where you will insert the name of the product’s manufacturer or designer and their web address in the field "sameAs"
• "url" – This is the address of your product page.
• "itemCondition" – Use one of the following:
  • "DamagedCondition"
  • "NewCondition"
  • "RefurbishedCondition"
  • "UsedCondition"
• "availability" – Use one of the following:
  • "Discontinued"
  • "InStock"
  • "InStoreOnly"
  • "LimitedAvailability"
  • "OnlineOnly"
  • "OutOfStock"
  • "PreOrder"
  • "PreSale"
  • "SoldOut"
• "reviewRating" – Input whatever the score of the review, for example, if the product was awarded 4 out of 5 stars, the "ratingValue" is 4 and the "bestRating" is 5.
• "author"- Input the name of the reviewer (this could also be a team, for example, Guides for Brides Review Team). It’s also best to input an official web address of the reviewer in "sameAs". This could be their Wikipedia page or their magazine author page.

Structured data for service pages

If you deliver your services to the couple such as a planner, photographer or wedding car operator, this is the template for your service pages.

TEMPLATE

Here are the guidelines when editing the service page template:

• "serviceType" – This is the name of your service.
• "image" – In Google Chrome, right-click on your image and select ‘Copy Image Address’. Only use images that are displayed on the service page. Remember to NOT include a comma after the closing " of the last image address.
• "description" – This is a description of the service.
• "url" – This is the web address of the service page.
• "areaServed" – This is a list of all places you deliver your services. You can use ONE of the following types in multiples, do not use mixed combinations. Remember there is no comma before the closing } bracket on the last location.
  • "City" – for cities, towns or village names
  • "AdministrativeArea" – for counties
  • "Country" – if you cover the entire country
• "provider" – Remember to input whatever type of business you have used in the home page template such as "ProfessionalService" "EntertainmentBusiness" or "LocalBusiness"

What you need to consider if you are using Yoast

If you are using Yoast, it’s recommended you filter out the structured data automatically generated by the plugin and insert your own using the templates above.

The free and premium versions of Yoast only gives the options of creating structured data for organisations or persons. Chances are your business is neither.

The "Organisation" business type is more suited for national brands. The "Person" type is for public figures such as actors, authors and politicians, not photographers or planners operating as sole traders or limited companies.

You will most likely require the "LocalBusiness" business type and their variations such as "Store" as demonstrated in the templates above.

Yoast does have a Local SEO add-on which gives you the option to use the "LocalBusiness" types and a simplified dashboard to enter all the data into your fields such as address and opening hours, however, it costs £69 + VAT a year.

If you would rather not pay this fee, you can filter out Yoast’s automatic structured data. Simply add this line of code into your functions.php file.

add_filter( 'wpseo_json_ld_output', '__return_false' );

You can find functions.php by selecting the ‘Theme Editor’ option from your ‘Appearance’ menu.

After selecting the functions file on the right, we could copy and paste the filter into the line underneath add_image_size.

WARNING - Changing the code of your website is a delicate task. One mistake can break your entire site. If you are not comfortable with the recommendation above, ask your web developer to do this for you.

Once Yoast’s structured data has been filtered out, you are free to input your own template. Before we do that, it’s a good idea to test your structured data.

How to test structured data

Open up Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool and select ‘Code Snippet’. Copy and paste your template and then click ‘Run Test’.

You will see your structured data template code on the left and how Google has read your data on the right including any errors or warnings.

Scroll down to the bottom of the right column to see a list of errors and warnings. The testing tool also shows you on which line the error or warning appears.

Warnings do not mean your data is broken. It’s just a hint as to what Google recommends. I’ve missed out specific fields such as "priceRange" because a lot of businesses do not want to display this data.

The main goal is to ensure your data does not contain any errors. If it does, the tool will give you guidance about what is wrong. Here are the most common reasons for errors:

• A field has been inserted that is not compatible with the template.
• A field name is spelled incorrectly. They must be typed in exactly as you see them in each template.
• You have an extra comma. Commas should not go after the closing " or } or ]

If your structured data test results in no errors, you can then insert the templates into your pages.

How to insert structured data into your web pages

You simply copy and paste your template code between the <head> and </head> tags. Here’s how to do this depending on what type of website you have:

1. WordPress – Install and activate the Header and Footer Scripts plugin. Go to the page you want to insert the template in. You should see a window underneath your main content ‘Insert Script to <head>’ where you can copy and paste your template.

1. Wix – There is an option to add header code to your site as detailed here, however, this will repeat whatever code you put in on all pages. Remember, each page will require its own template. Contact support for guidance on how to insert your template on an individual page NOT the entire website.
2. Manual Site or Other – If your site was built using bespoke code, ask your web developer to insert the templates for you. Be sure to let them know which templates go on each page.

Once your templates are installed, you can then go back to the Google Structured Data Testing Tool and input your URL to see if it is registering correctly.

WARNING – The recommended plugin was tested on a light-weight WordPress site that uses a bespoke theme. Installing new plugins may cause conflictions with your site depending on how it was built. Contact your developer if you require support with conflicting plugins.

Prioritise which pages require structured data

Not all pages require structured data. Typical examples include contact and about pages.

Creating and adding structured data to your web pages is a time-consuming task, especially if you have over 20 product pages. Start out by completing and installing your home page template. Then prioritise which pages are important and do them next whenever you have time.

Structured data requires maintenance

Are any product or service pages changing? Your structured data will also require changing. This means adding structured data to your site increases the time required for maintenance. If your time is limited, consider adding structured to key product or service pages that are unlikely to change.

Thank you to Adam and The Wedding Insurance Group for these brilliant instructions.