Leveraging the powers of Structured Data ✨

@izzionﬁre #SMX
Leveraging the Powers of
Structured Data
✨

@izzionﬁre #SMX
(from a realist / optimistic
SEO perspective)
✨

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I’m in a great mood today.

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Let’s get Ryte to it

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Structured Data is an area that is
constantly developing and evolving

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Some Hot Structured Data News of 2020
Google ends Rich Results
for data-vocabulary
New Results for Image Licenses
& COVID announcements
FAQ Rich Results will be
shown less frequently
Jan 2020 April / May 2020 July 2020
💀 💬
Stronger updates to
Documentation
✍
Reﬁnement of Result
Type requirements
🌟

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& Google made a bold move in July 2020

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So long SDTT 👋😢

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“Even without the structured data leading to rich
results, our systems proﬁt by understanding the pages
better when they use structured data,”
09.10.19 - #AskGoogleWebmasters

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Entity
Knowledge
Cards
Entity
Knowledge
Panel

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Speculative
Fiction
Is Author of
Is Based on
actor
Starred in
Ottawa,
Canada
Born in
18.11.
1939
has Birth date Dystopian
Fiction
May,
2003
Published on
L.A.,
USA
The Knowledge
Graph

@izzionﬁre #SMX
Speculative
Fiction
Is Author of
Is Based on
actor
Starred in
Ottawa,
Canada
Born in
18.11.
1939
has Birth date Dystopian
Fiction
May,
2003
Published on
L.A.,
USA

@izzionﬁre #SMX
Structured Data is a crucial aspect
behind enriched Semantic Search

@izzionﬁre #SMX
To align this crucial process, schema.org was developed

@izzionﬁre #SMX
But ~9 years later, is Schema.org markup still needed?

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Countless systems are in place for Entity recognition...

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… and for extracting facts from unstructured text.

@izzionﬁre #SMX
But we need to markup our properties and deﬁne intrinsic connections
as an additional step towards data accuracy
Your
Data
Structure Data Interchange
Format

@izzionﬁre #SMX
Especially to provide reliable nested connections for our item types
https://schema.org/Recipe
https://schema.org/Organization
https://schema.org/VideoObject
https://schema.org/Review
https://schema.org/Person

@izzionﬁre #SMX
To give businesses a better chance and easier way of
building their own connected Knowledge Graphs
https://izzi.com/tshirt#product4
https://izzi.com#organization
part of brand:
https://izzi.com#person/izzi
founded by:

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Rich Results and Entity Features also greatly assist with
Google’s Search Experience and thus their market dominance
>

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Structured Data, is breathtaking.

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Is it a “ranking factor” then?

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Google: Structured Data isn’t a
ranking factor
SEOs:

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However, maybe this would assist with getting the darn thing implemented!

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How to best implement useful
Structured Data

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The basic formula towards Structuring Data for Search Engines
Your
Data
Semantic
Vocabulary
Data Interchange
Format

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(Of course with correct nesting in place)
https://schema.org/Recipe
https://schema.org/Organization
https://schema.org/VideoObject
https://schema.org/Review
https://schema.org/Person

@izzionﬁre #SMX
👩‍💻
But there is a strong difference between writing up
fancy JSON-LD blobs and actually getting them
validated and live

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Getting it applied site-wide depends on many factors!

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Plugins help automate Schema generation in popular CMS’

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JS / Google Tag Manager can be a good workaround,
although not the ideal solution
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/guides/
generate-structured-data-with-javascript

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Manually - creating scripts yourself and directly pushing to pages

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Manually - creating scripts yourself and directly pushing to pages
Can be time
consuming
and messy

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👩‍💻
The most efﬁcient and reliable way usually requires
assistance from our beloved developers!

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It depends (sorry) on many factors!

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To get the buy-in,
we need justiﬁcation and results!

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Understand the
Problem

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Understand the
Problem
Can Structured
Data resolve
this?

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Understand the
Problem
Can Structured
Data resolve
this?
Don’t bother
no

@izzionﬁre #SMX
Understand the
Problem
Can Structured
Data resolve
this?
Don’t bother
Deﬁne the
primary goal to
achieve
no
yes

@izzionﬁre #SMX
Understand the
Problem
Can Structured
Data resolve
this?
Don’t bother
Deﬁne the
primary goal to
achieve
Implement
Minimum
Viable Markup
no
yes

@izzionfire #SMX
Understand the
Problem
Can Structured
Data resolve
this?
Don’t bother
Define the
primary goal to
achieve
Implement
Minimum
Viable Markup
Were the
results at all
beneficial?
no
yes

@izzionfire #SMX
Understand the
Problem
Can Structured
Data resolve
this?
Don’t bother
Define the
primary goal to
achieve
Implement
Minimum
Viable Markup
Were the
results at all
beneficial?
Roll-out
no
yes
yes
no

@izzionﬁre #SMX
1. Identify if Structured Data is the
solution to your issues

@izzionﬁre #SMX
@JohnMu says it best!
(And this is something we need to properly consider more)

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💡 Remember: 💡
Delightful Structured Data is not always a priority for many websites

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What can Structured Data assist with
Irrelevant trafﬁc🤔
● Provide details of the page’s attributes in
Rich Results
● Give meaning to ambiguous content
Navigational results🧭
● Enrich Knowledge Graphs
● Factually accurate Entity Results
Subpar CTR👆
● Improve click-through-rate with Richer
Results
Lack of clarity🔮
● Attempt to make connections become
clearer, e.g. to prove E-A-T signals

@izzionﬁre #SMX
Today’s focus:
Irrelevant trafﬁc🤔
● Provide details of the page’s attributes in
Rich Results
● Give meaning to ambiguous content
Navigational results🧭
● Enrich Knowledge Graphs
● Factually accurate Entity Results
Subpar CTR👆
● Improve click-through-rate with Richer
Results
Lack of clarity🔮
● Attempt to make connections become
clearer, e.g. to prove E-A-T signals

@izzionﬁre #SMX
👆 Subpar CTR 👆

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That’s just sooo
2015

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Google
Searchers

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We need to stand out as best as we can to drive more clicks

@izzionﬁre #SMX
Not only just from paid results!

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Article Recipe FAQs

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Breadcrumb Carousel CourseArticle Book
Dataset
Employer
Aggregate Rating
Estimated Salary
COVID-19
Announcements
🧪
Critic Review
FAQ How-to Image License 🧪Event Fact Check
Local Business Logo MovieJob Posting Job Training 🧪
Recipe Review
Sitelinks Search
Box
Product Q&A
Subscription &
Paywalled content
VideoSoftware App Speakable 🧪

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COVID-19 Announcements
(April 2020)
Image Licensing
(July 2020)

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https://developers.google.com/search/reference/overview

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How to start with improving
👆 Subpar CTR 👆

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Find examples to test on, e.g. with high positions yet low CTR
(only if click intent is there)

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Locate your CTR Underperformers, and roll out necessary actions

@izzionﬁre #SMX
💡 Remember: 💡
You don’t always need Rich Result powering Schema
markup to enrich your snippets!

@izzionﬁre #SMX
Clear menus and navigation can assist with one-line sitelinks

@izzionﬁre #SMX
Plain HTML tables or <div> containers can be taken
to bulk out SERP Snippets

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Don’t forget Featured Snippets! Which are the outcome of high quality
resources with relevant structure

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🧭 Navigational Results 🧭

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Self-Owned
● Your domain’s own Featured Snippets that you can amend if needs be
Google-Owned
● Knowledge Graph results & Entity Features that may require some pushes
SERP Competitor Owned
● Reach out to them to update the incorrect information in a Featured Snippet
● Attempt to overtake the Featured Snippet location
Categories of your Branded / Navigational Results Ownership

@izzionﬁre #SMX
Categories of your Branded / Navigational Results Ownership
Self-Owned
● Your domain’s own Featured Snippets that you can amend if needs be
Google-Owned
● Knowledge Graph results & Entity Features that may require some pushes
SERP Competitor Owned
● Reach out to them to update the incorrect information in a Featured Snippet
● Attempt to overtake the Featured Snippet location

@izzionﬁre #SMX
displayed for key
brand searches
1. Brand
Knowledge
Panels

@izzionﬁre #SMX
displayed for navigational and
informational branded searches
2. Branded
Knowledge
Cards

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Structured Data provides us with ways of creating /
taking control over these types of results.

@izzionﬁre #SMX
I know what you’re thinking!
Why give Google all the answers?

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These can be some worthwhile advantages:
Representation > Exclusion
Be in control of facts > Misinformation
On-SERP Satisfaction > Quick website visits
Quicker Conversions via Google Integrations

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No in-person attendance
Incorrect date

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1
2
Das Problem:

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How to start with improving
🧭 Navigational Results 🧭

@izzionﬁre #SMX
First of all, ﬁnd your important branded queries
with aliases & misspellings

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Tip: locate important comparison / navigation terms as these can
sometimes trigger an Entity Carousel

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Check Knowledge Graph Entities Search API tester
https://developers.google.com/knowledge-graph

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More User Friendly: Knowledge Graph Search by Carl Hendy
https://carlhendy.com/knowledge-graph-search/

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Find your Entity Types and discover data conﬂicts

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Aim to take control by claiming your Knowledge Panels
with the required criteria

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Improve your Entity results with Organization* Structured Data

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Improve your Entity results with Organization* Structured Data
*Or the most speciﬁcType

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https://izzi.com/tshirt#product
https://izzi.com#organization
part of brand:

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Aim to create clear graphs that provide intrinsic connections
Product
Created /
manufactured by:
Reviewed by: Is Consumable for:
Organization Person Product

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🤔 Irrelevant Trafﬁc 🤔

@izzionfire #SMX
Utilize properties that bring you qualified and retainable traffic
This looks naughty 😏
But I’m on a diet! 😢

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E.g. Item Availability for out-of-stock products

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Rather than trying to “hide” your seasonal products 😉

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Understand if there are high bounces caused by irrelevance

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🔮 Lack of clarity 🔮

@izzionfire #SMX
Remember: Structured Data not only helps define meaning, but can
solidify connections across topics and entities
alumniOf
award
jobTitle
honorificPrefix
hasCredential
sameAs
Dr. Izzi MD

@izzionﬁre #SMX
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/how-to-
use-structured-data-to-support-e-a-t/362946/
Thanks
@lilyraynyc!

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Why should Google (& why should I!?) trust this Python course?

@izzionﬁre #SMX
Check in Google’s Cloud Natural Language API tester if
important entities are recognizable

@izzionﬁre #SMX
2. Lay out some clear, quantiﬁable goals
you aim to achieve

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What is your objective and which Structured Data types
will help you reach that goal?
Increased nB Clicks
Increase branded query CTR
Reduce bounce rate
Increase conversions

@izzionﬁre #SMX
“As a potential customer, I need to be able to trust the website before I
click on their result and visit their page. Therefore, I want to see
Product Rich Results that are generated by Schema markup.”
Prepare requests as User Stories to aid with
ticket planning & prioritization

@izzionﬁre #SMX
3. Roll out Minimal Viable Markup

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Check the Google documentations for guidelines

@izzionﬁre #SMX
And the required markup to generate a Rich Result!
These are
must-haves
to win a Rich
Result

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Manually create test scripts and insert with a quick workaround

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Using a crawler you can extract the required data with custom settings
Ryte - Website Success

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Export the data to Excel / Google Sheets and clean it up

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Create and validate your script template
https://search.google.com/test/rich-results

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In a seperate tab, build concatenates to combine the
template with the extracted data!
<30 minutes of
work!

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Ideally: control the test by applying to 50% of a similar set of pages
Control GroupTest Group
www.izzi.com/product/1/

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4. Tracking beneﬁts and changes

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Create Page Segments to properly track changes over time

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Then you can compare your real GSC Search Performance
Schema No Schema pages
Schema
No Schema pages

@izzionﬁre #SMX
Not seeing any Rich Results? There might be a reason for that:
1. You might have a Manual Rich Results Penalty for SD manipulation
● This means your website can’t display any SERP features. Fix the offending issue and submit via GSC.
2. A Rich Result simply isn’t relevant for this query
● Google will not display a Rich Result if they don’t see it as providing any general value to a searcher’s interaction
3. There are syntax errors or parsing problems
● Validate with the Rich Results Testing Tool to troubleshoot any bugs that need to be ﬁxed
4. The site has been perceived as being low quality
● Google’s algorithms may have evaluated your domain as too low-quality. Perform a site: search to check.
5. Google has updated their requirements for the Rich Result to be displayed
● Occasionally Google will add new requirements for Rich Results. Check the documentation.

@izzionﬁre #SMX
🎉 Success? 🎉
Roll that bad boy out!

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You will now have justiﬁcation, and results to present!
We need proper
Structured Data on our
pages and here’s why:

@izzionfire #SMX
It may take time but now you have the results & justification
Your proposed
solution to a
problem
Setting
quantifiable
measurements
First proof of
concept
Proving results
to decision
makers
Roll-out planning

@izzionﬁre #SMX
Once you have a working process in place, you can then start to test
even more Structured Data awesomeness:
● Additional properties that keep uplifting clicks / user engagement
● Product conversions via Surfaces on Google features
● Google Actions that further enrich your services
● Building wonderful, connected Knowledge Graphs
● Using Structured Data types for Analytics
● Even more things I forgot to mention!

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🔥 Happy Structuring 🔥

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Don’t forget to install the Ryte Structured Data Helper Plugin!

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Don’t forget to install the Ryte Structured Data Helper Plugin!
bit.ly/ryte-helper

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❤ Thanks for listening ❤

@izzionﬁre #SMX
Stay in touch!
Izzi Smith
Technical SEO Analyst,
Ryte
@izzionﬁre
izzi@ryte.com

Leveraging the powers of Structured Data ✨

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