How to Use Structured Data

How to Use Structured Data

Structured Data is really important to expanding your brand’s visibility in Google search. 

Digital Strategist & SEO Specialist, Richard Nosek created a pre-recorded session for DrupalCon Global 2020. Titled "How to Use Structured Data," Richard introduces structured data, and how to use it to increase your organization's search visibility. 

To supplement Richard’s presentation here are some useful resources to take a deeper dive into structured data.

What is Structured Data?

At a high level, think of structured data as:

The content about the content

Structured data is how you tell Google more about your content. You use it to give Google explicit clues about the meaning of your content.

For more information about structured data you should start your journey by exploring Google’s search gallery:

• Google Search Gallery

You can also check out any of the several thought-leaders in the SEO arena such as MOZ.

• The Beginner's Guide to Structured Data

Why use Structured Data?

Google explicitly states that they use structured data to understand the content of the page. They also state that it can help your site appear in rich features in search results.

Simply put:

                                      Use structured data to help increase your brand's visibility in Google search.

For more information:

• The Beginner's Guide to Structured Data for Organizing & Optimizing Your Website — Hubspot
• What is Structured Data? And Why Should You Implement It? — ahrefs
• How to Optimize for Google's Featured Snippets to Build More Traffic — MOZ

How to use Structured Data

You’ll need to use the Drupal module — Schema.org Metatag. At the very least you’ll want to configure the Schema.org: Organization submodule and configure that for the front page.

Make sure that all the ‘required’ fields are configured correctly, and use the Google Rich Results Test to validate the schema markup.

In Conclusion

The Google search results page has evolved over the past 2 decades. Google works hard to deliver the most useful, relevant and personalized search experience on the planet. 

Structured data is your way to explicitly give Google clues about the meaning of your content. 

If you need more help with getting started using structured data contact us for a free consultation.