Structured Data & Schema
Used to mark up elements on a webpage, structured data (or schema) helps search engines further understand the content which is contained on a website. Structured data is also used to generate further rich results and featured snippets within search results. Our SEO Office Hours Notes below cover recommendations for the implementation of structured data / schema, as well as insights from Google.
To learn more about structured data’s impact on SEO, check out our additional resources:
Event Markup Shouldn’t Be Used For Online Events
Event markup is meant for events with a physical location, and shouldn’t be used for online events like auctions or sales.
Having Incorrect Markup Can Cause Google to Turn Off All Structured Data For That Site in SERPs
If you implement incorrect markup, such as having specific product markup sitewide, the Web Spam or Structured Data teams could completely switch off structured data for that website from showing in the SERPs.
Using Local Date Format on Page is Fine as Long as Gregorian Date Format Used in Structured Data
Make sure the Gregorian date format is used within structured data to make this clear to Google. As long as this is implemented correctly, then using your own local date format within visible content on a page is fine.
Structured Data Will Still be Supported in New Version of GSC
John can’t confirm how structured data will be reported in the new Search Console. However, structured data will continue to be supported and will likely be shown in a slightly different way compared to the old version of Search Console.
Google Displays Publish Dates & Times Incorrectly if Receives Inconsistent Data
Google may display published date and time incorrectly in search results if inconsistent data is provided onpage and in structured markup. Commonly websites will provide a time in the structured data which refers to a different timezone.
Valid Structured Markup Is Not Necessarily Sufficient for Rich Results
Rich results won’t necessarily appear just because Google’s testing tools say that the structured markup on that page is valid. John recommends reading the relevant developer documents to find out about other requirements for specific rich results.
Using Local Date Format on Page is Fine as Long as Gregorian Date Format Used in Structured Data
Make sure the Gregorian date format is used within structured data to make this clear to Google. As long as this is implemented correctly, then using your own local date format within visible content on a page is fine.
Use Structured Data & Video Sitemaps to Give Google More Context on Videos
You should use structured data to tell Google whether a video was streamed or recorded, and you can also use video sitemaps to tell Google which countries a particular video is available in, for example.
JSON-LD Markup is Google’s Preferred Format of Structured Data
Google prefers structured data to be in JSON-LD markup, as opposed to others like microdata, because most new types of structured data come out first in this format.
Structured Data Will Still be Supported in New Version of GSC
John can’t confirm how structured data will be reported in the new Search Console. However, structured data will continue to be supported and will likely be shown in a slightly different way compared to the old version of Search Console.