Structured data explained simply

Admittedly, the topic of "structured data" is very complex. And in the course of the research work for this article, I also took a closer look at this topic.

Structured data is very confusing at first. However, once you have understood the principle, it is actually quite logical. With a little programming knowledge or knowledge of programming languages, you can then use structured data yourself.

There is also a great test tool to make sure that you have done everything correctly. We'll talk about this later in the article.

Especially in search engine optimisation, structured data can give you an advantage over your competitors. This is mainly because the topic has not yet reached everyone and structured data is therefore often not used.

Structured data can have a positive ranking effect and should therefore definitely be taken into account when implementing SEO measures. For this good reason, we will also deal with the matter in detail below.

What is structured data and what is it used for?

In simple terms, structured data is information or content on a website that is specially labelled for search engines. This makes it easier for the bots from Google and other search engines to categorise the data. Structured data helps search engine crawlers to better understand the content of a website.

As the name suggests, structured data brings the content in the background of a website into a structure. For example, recipes can be labelled as "recipe", addresses as "address" and a person as "person". This helps the various search engine bots, e.g. Googlebot, Googlebot Image or Bingbot, to categorise the content and assign it accordingly.

The principle is simple! The more Google knows about my website, the easier it can be evaluated and the ranking position can improve as a result.

Search engines also reward the addition of structured data with an increased presence in the SERPs. The relevant search results are often given more space. For example, the presentation of rich snippets or rich results in the SERPs is enhanced with information on price, rating or availability.

For which areas is Structured Data Markup suitable?

Here are some examples:

• Creative work
  • Creative work
  • Book
  • Film
  • Music recording
  • Recipes
  • TV series
  • Media objects
    • Audio
    • Data Download
    • Image Download
    • Music Video
    • Video
  • and many more
• Events and events
• Organisations
  • Airlines
  • Companies
  • Educational institutions
  • Government organisations
  • Local businesses
  • Non-governmental organisations
  • Groups (theatre, orchestra, band
• People
• Places
  • Landscapes
  • Special places
  • Government areas
  • Public buildings
  • Residential areas
  • Tourist attractions
• Customised products
  • Customised products
  • Product model
  • Vehicles

Whether the additional information is actually displayed in the Google search is ultimately decided by the search engine. Of course, the search intention also plays a role. Only relevant information appears in the search results.

What does structured data look like?

Structured data is a standardised format. The Schema.org initiative was founded to find a standardised and cross-browser solution. The companies Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Yandex joined forces to create a common standard.

They have agreed on three different approaches to structuring data: Microdata, JSON-LD and RDFa. In all three variants, the respective codes are placed directly in the website.

• With JSON-LD - recommended by Google - the code can be inserted as JavaScript in both the head and the body of the page.
• Microdata, on the other hand, is placed as HTML around a page element. It is therefore not so obvious or clear afterwards where the code is located.
• RDFa are HTML5 extensions. The application is the same as for microdata, but supports additional elements.

A note at this point: You should only create structured data for pages with content. Also, the information for which structured data is created must be visible to your users.

General guidelines for the use of structured data can also be found on Google's Developers page.

How can you add structured data to your website?

JSON-LD (JavaScript)

As already mentioned, JSON-LD is the variant recommended by Google for storing structured data. The corresponding vocabulary is stored anywhere in the website code using JavaScript. The various tags can therefore also be written in a coherent script and are therefore easier to find. In addition, fast data exchange with Google and other web applications is guaranteed.

For an event, the JSON-LD code could look like this, for example:

Microdata (HTML)

Microdata is the oldest form of structured data. The effort required for this variant is higher compared to JSON-LD and RDFa. If you still want to use this form of structuring, you can find the right vocabulary to enrich your data on Schema.org.

For an event, the microdata code could look like this, for example:

RDFa (HTML 5)

In contrast to microdata, XML and SVG files can also be labelled using RDFa. Vocabularies of different types can also be combined with each other. Nevertheless, the method of storing structured data with RDFa is not the same as the JSON-LD variant.

For an event, for example, the RDFa code could look like this:

Adding structured data with the Google Data Highlighter

The above-mentioned variants for adding structured data all require programming knowledge or knowledge of programming languages. With the Data Highlighter, Google offers an easy way to structure the content of a website. However, this method only works for Google and not for other search engines. After a website relaunch, the structure must also be reorganised.

You can find more information about this tool here.

Examples of structured data

To give you a small insight into the possibilities of structured data and its presentation in the Google search results pages, I have summarised a few examples below.

Company data

Companies in particular endeavour to present themselves in the best possible way in Google search results. With structured data, there are many ways to increase your presence, e.g. with the logo, contact details and much more.

On developers.google.com or on schema.org you will find the right template for structured data under "Company data" or "Organisation".

Information on events

If you frequently announce events on your website, it pays to add the relevant detailed information. You can add the name of your event, the venue, the date and other information.

On developers.google.com or on schema.org you can find the right template for structured data under "Event".

Breadcrumbs & sitelinks

The breadcrumb navigation can also be emphasised separately in the search results using the structured data. In addition to further information, the navigation of the page is also displayed.

On developers.google.com or on schema.org you will find the appropriate template for structured data under "Navigation path" or "BreadcrumbList".

In the example shown above, you can also see the addition of the sitelinks. You can find out how to add these as structured data on schema.org under "SiteNavigationElement".

How to test whether you have correctly added the structured data to your website

Last but not least, it is of course important that the structured data has been correctly integrated into your website. Google offers a test tool to check the correctness of the code. Here you can see any errors and correct them straight away using the Google Developers platform for structured data.

Click here for the Google test tool for structured data

Structured data in emails and databases

In addition to websites, structured data can also play a role in emails and databases. For example, emails can contain schema markups that make it possible to highlight specific content such as event details or flight information. Databases, on the other hand, often use structured data to optimise the search and retrieval of information so that the desired result can be retrieved more quickly and efficiently. This shows that the importance of structured data goes far beyond the realm of websites.

Conclusion

There are a variety of ways to structure the content of your website for Google and other search engines and thus make it recognisable. Just think about what would interest you as a customer when searching for your company or product. It is precisely this information that you should prepare using structured data to increase your online presence.

Although structured data is a very complex topic, you can do a lot of it yourself with research and intensive study of the subject matter. And if you get stuck and can't make any progress, we are of course happy to help you as experts! Just give us a call on +43 1 353 2 353 or send us an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

FAQs: Frequently asked questions about structured data

What is structured data?

Structured data is information or content on a website that is specially labelled for search engines. This makes it easier for Google and other search engine bots to understand and categorise your website.

Does structured data help my website to rank better in search results?

There is no clear answer to this question, as there are countless other factors that search engines use to rank your website. However, there is a consensus that using structured data on your web pages helps Google & Co. to better understand your site. This can help to improve the visibility and ranking of your website in the search engine results pages (SERPs), but it doesn't necessarily have to.

What different formats of structured data are there?

• JSON-LD (JavaScript)

• Microformats (HTML)

• RDFa (HTML5)

How do I create structured data?

Call up "Structured data: Markup Help - Google", select a suitable data type and add the appropriate URL. Select the desired content and add tags. Insert the generated HTML code in the header or in the CMS and test it on validator.schema.org.