Search engines rank sites according to their relevance to a given query and user. You may have already noticed that some results seem more complete or visually appealing than others: the rich snippets. After reading this, you'll know how Google' s richer results help both your search engine optimization and your bottom line. In this article, you will discover the difference between rich snippet and structured data, you will learn different ways to implement these tags on your pages. We will detail the benefits of this work on your natural referencing and the pitfalls to avoid. Let's decipher together the structured data that search engine robots love!
What are rich snippets?
Let's start with a little reminder of Anglo-SEO vocabulary: the SERP or Search Engine Result Pagerefers to the results page of the search engine. These are displayed in small blocks of text. The first line in blue is the title tag, and the summary below is the meta description. These blocks of text are called " snippets ".
A " rich snippet "rich snippet is a snippet with additionalinformation that distinguishes it from other search results. This can include images, notes, sidebars, opening hours, etc.
These SEO assets visible to the Internet user are built with structured data. What is structured data and how can you use it to optimise your e-commerce site?
Structured data, the code behind rich snippets
Structured data is the code behind the rich snippets. Thanks to a precise parameterization, structured data gives a relevance to your contentsthat the " bots " will be able to read and to emphasize to the visitors in the form of rich snippets.
Structured data are standardised and articulated according to a common code. These are code scripts embedded with reference tags.
In short, structured data is understood by robots. If they evaluate your site as relevant for a given query, they will show your results asrich snippets. Users will notice these " rich snippets "than other natural results.
The knowledge graph, a visually impactful insert
The knowledge graph is an insert that appears on the right-hand side of the SERP as a box compiling the most relevant information about the search when it concerns a named entity recognised as such. Being listed in a knowledge graph as a company is therefore a goal for your brand, as the information in this box jumps directly to the eyes of the Internet user. It's a great way to boost your visibility!
The different types of structured data useful for an e-commerce
You can see rich snippets on recipes, movies and events. As an e-tailer, what are the most relevant structured data to fill in? We help you to see more clearly by summarising the essential structured data to be specified to optimise the visibility of your online business.
Corporate rich snippets
The most basic structured data to be filled in are obviously all those that define the identity of your company. Thanks to the "Organization" markup, you can specify the company name, the physical address, the logo and the address of your website. Indeed, search engines favour transparency, and you will gain credibility.
The rich snippet product
To highlight your offer, you will need to "explain" to search engines that your web page is a product sheet. You will then need to include your product information in the form of structured data, such as name, brand, description, price, currency, seller, availability, image and condition.
Characteristics of your offer and price
To complete your product markup, also submit tags about your offer to the robots (price, availability, etc). This information will appear as a rich snippet when a user searches for the product you are offering for sale. There is therefore a good chance that your product will stand out from the competition if you take the time to fill in the offer tags.
The spotlight on an opinion, the " rating" markup
The tag rating tag focuses on a customer review. Often it only includes the name of the user, the rating and the comment left. This is relevant for outstanding reviews (in the good sense of the word). However, it is even more relevant for search engine spiders to know the general opinion of your offer. This can be done by implementing another tag that is even more customisable, the aggregate rating.
A summary of the opinions on your product, the " aggregate rating " tag
The same product will be purchased several times and will potentially generate several reviews. Thanks to the " aggregate rating " tag, you will be able to display the reviews of your products in the SERP in the form of a 5-star rating.
Complete guide to implementing rich snippets on your web page code
Being aware of the competitive advantage of rich snippetsis good, but knowing how to implement structured data on your e-commerce site is better! This article will guide you through the coding of these rich snippets. First of all, you need to know which tags to use and how to implement them on your pages.
the different implementation formats
Three markup formats are recognised by Google: microdata, RDFa and JSON-LD. The latter is preferred by the search engine. The good news is that it is the easiest to modulate! Let's take a look at these three methods that will allow you to fill in the structured data on your site's code.
Microformats and microdata
Microformats are the types of structured data that you want to implement in the code of pages to make the content readable by Google's robots. Microdata is one of the formats used to implement this data on your site. Also referred to as microdata, it uses the " itemprop ", " itemscope " and " itemtype " tags to determine the structured data that Google will be able to decipher and highlight in the SERP.
RDFa
RDFa (or Resource Description Framework in attributes) is an alternative language for expressing structured data to Google bots. It uses part of the HTML syntax, with " class ", " id " or other attributes to define its context. In addition, this extended format of HTML5 also uses other attributes of its own that further specify the information: " content ", " datatype " or " about " are part of this RDFa-specific code.
JSON-LD
It is Google's preferred format, and it is the easiest to modulate in the source code of a page. The JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data format, abbreviated as JSON-LD, is used to link the attributes of structured data to referential tags that can be read by Google 's bots (found on the schema.org website, more on that in a moment).
How is the JSON-LD format better than the previous two?
D’une part, un même bloc regroupe l’ensemble du script. Il est donc facile à modifier ou à supprimer. D’autre part, on peut l’implémenter aussi bien dans le <head> que dans le <body> de la page, c’est un format qui évite de casser la structure d’une page web, le risque d’erreur est réduit.
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org/",
"@type": "Produit",
"sku": "produit-exemple",
"image": "https://www.exemple.com/produit-exemple.jpg",
"name": "Produit Exemple",
"description": "Un produit en exemple pour expliquer",
"gtin14": "12345678901234",
"brand": {
"@type": "Thing",
"name": "MaMarque"
},
"offers": {
"@type": "Offer",
"url": "http://www.exemple.com/produit_offer",
"itemCondition": "https://schema.org/NewCondition",
"availability": "https://schema.org/InStock",
"price": "39.99",
"priceCurrency": "EUR"
}
}
</script>Manual implementation requires real development skills
Your site is not in Wordpress and you want to add your structured data yourself? Choose to use Google 's tool that will help you easily implement this information on your web pages.
You can code your site's structured data yourself using the Google tutorial. All you have to do is find the corresponding referential tags on the Schema.org website. Do you want to implement structured data but don't know how? Call in a developer or an SEO agency with expertise in this area! It is important to know how to delegate this type of technical task because code errors can make your site unusable.
Do you have a Wordpress site? Here are some plugins that automate the implementation of structured data
Among the many Wordpress plugins, some reputable SEO tools can also add structured data for you! Here is a quick overview of the most effective Wordpress SEO plugins for implementing structured data on your web pages.
SEOpress
A French alternative to other powerful tools, SEOpress is one of the most reliable SEO plugins on the market. It is regularly updated and receives exceptional ratings. As user-friendly as it is versatile, this SEO tool makes it easy to tag your site's content with structured data.
Yoast
Yoast SEO is THE most popular plugin for optimising the SEO of a Wordpress site. To give Google the opportunity to put your pages asrich snippets, Yoast automatically implements structured data on your site. Simply enter all the information you want to appear in the rich snippet and the SEO plugin takes care of codingit.
Rank Math
Together with Yoast, it is one of the best known plugins. You can easily implement your structured data via its interface on Wordpress. You have doubts? If you understand English, a very complete tutorial awaits you on the software's website.
Schema : all in one Schema Rich snippets
It is the reference site for all structured data tags. Schema is in a way the dictionary for search engines to tag your semantic web content. So whether you optimise your site for Google, Yandex, Bing or Yahoo, the tags will remain the same.
Schema & Structured Data for WP and AMP
This Wordpress plugin, which specialises in automating the implementation of structured data, is even richer than other plugins that also perform other SEO functions.
After implementation, how do you test your structured data?
Get into the habit of testing your markup, as you will not be able to see the results of your work directly on Google. To test the validity of your structured data, Google's dedicated tool is very easy to use. You will only have to enter your URL to check and the results will appear after a few seconds analysis.
In concrete terms, how does structured data influence your metrics?
The rich snippets do not directly influence your natural referencing. On the other hand, it is the best way to facilitate the work of Google 's robots by giving them all the useful points for the user's navigation. The presence of rich snippets on the pages of your site indirectly influences your various statistics and therefore boosts your overall SEO.
Increase the visibility of your pages in the SERP
Let's start with the most obvious point: the rich snippet is more visible in the SERP. It stands out significantly from the other non-rich results because it contains additional visual information. For example, the presence of stars, reviews, stock status, images or prices takes up more space in the SERP. This is even more obvious if you implement structured data such as F.A.Q., for example.
Improve click-through rates on your site
If your page is more visible than your competitor's in the SERP, your page will attract many more clicks.
Attracting more qualified traffic
The rich snippets allow you to give additional information in the SERP. You favour a much more qualified traffic: only interested internet users will click on your page. The rich snippets are a natural filter for "tourist" visitors.
Improve the bounce rate on your site
From the previous point, another benefit for your site's metrics follows. A qualified prospect will surely visit other pages of your e-commerce site before leaving the site or converting into a customer. A rich snippet therefore indirectly improves the bounce rate of your site!
Boosting SEO in general by improving the user experience
If the presence of the rich snippet If the presence of the rich snippet improves your click-through rate, bounce rate, session length, etc., then these are all positive indicators for Google. In exchange for your performance, the search engine will reward you by placing you higher in the SERP and giving your site more authority. By the way, authority and qualified traffic will also bring you a nice conversion rate!
In conclusion, is structured data important for your business?
To summarise, the structured data:
- Make your content readable by search engine spiders;
- Allow a better visibility of your business on the SERP;
- Indirectly improve all the metrics of your site and your natural referencing;
- You bring in more qualified traffic, which is easier to convert;
- Make you stand out from the competition: for the same offer, a web surfer will prefer to click on a result that already gives him or her elements of an answer at first glance.
Please note that before using structured data for the pages of your site, make sure to :
- Don't over-optimise: only fill in the relevant tags for your business to avoid spamming;
- Follow a precise and complete SEO strategy: the rich snippets support this fundamental work, they do not replace it.
Also keep in mind that it is not because you implement structured data that the Internet user will systematically see the rich snippet. Hence the importance of adopting a solid SEO strategy. And also remember to surround yourself with the right people to implement your structured data efficiently: this is one of the specialities of SEO agencies. You can't do everything, so think about delegating the most technical aspects to reliable experts so that you can carry out the other aspects of your e-commerce business with complete peace of mind!
