What Is Structured Data In SEO And How It Works?

Structured data is the organization of information in pre-determined markups across the webpage. The information uploaded on the web is tagged with clusters of texts that aid search engines in grasping the context of that information. Consequently, this helps Google in fetching precise results on the front page. 

2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created on the Internet every day. Google answers more than 5 billion searches a day. These are astonishing numbers. By any means, data should be lost in a big maze. But it doesn’t – thanks to structured data. 

Structured data makes your website visible to your target audience and shoots up its click-through rate by 30%. 

How Structured Data Works In SEO

Imagine you’re filing a Google form. You feed in the information, which is typecasted in a Google Sheet automatically. You can pull in information by a simple search, because the entire information isn’t a big blob of mess, but is tabulated via questions and sections. This is what structured data is, amplified a billion times. 

Structured data is essential for SEO because it helps search engines identify and understand your content. It’s also an important way to help prepare for the future of search, as Google and other engines continue to develop customized experiences for their users.

Structured data aids in SEO by helping Google in forming rich snippets. Websites can then test the efficacy of the campaign through a structured data testing tool. Let’s elaborate on that. 

Structured Data: Rich Snippets

Structured data sets appear as rich snippets on the search engine page, as they are organized pieces of information that are used in the form of code that evaluate search engines in understanding the intent and content of the website. Rich snippets are style enhancements that change how a page appears in SERPs.

Every kind of content can be divided into markups. Here is an example of structured data:

And here’s how the structured data of the above image looks like as a webpage script: 

Three Main Ways To Structure Data

Structured Data Vs. Unstructured Data

• Structured data is quantitative, whereas unstructured data is qualitative. 
• Structured data consists of factual, organized, and to-the-point data, whereas unstructured data has a predefined structure that comes in diverse shapes and forms. 

Semi-Structured Data

Semi-structured data is a hybrid between structured and unstructured data. It’s data that doesn’t have a strict structure but can be quickly communicated using tags, attributes, and metadata. Most of the information we see on the web is unstructured, but by using metadata to organize it, we get semi-structured data.

For example, a Word document is unstructured data. However, if you update the document properties of the Word document to include attributes like Author and Date Created, it becomes semi-structured data.

How Structured Data Works

Google needs synchronized information that can be arranged in sets. This is done via structured data.

Structured data is used to locate the content of the page, and understand the context of that information. Every markup includes information about the content of the page, including people, pages, books, companies, niches, and so on. Take a look at this JSON-LD structured data snippet that appears on the Google front page after you enter the keyword: 

This data is structured using JSON-LD, like this:

Structured data labels every element of the recipe, so users can locate their exact search without wasting their time.

Structured data sets work within a markup that is universally accepted and understood. These standardized formats are used by people everywhere. 

To communicate with a machine, you need two things: syntax and vocabulary. When it comes to feeding information into Google, the search engine’s webmaster combines the two integral parts of information with their data sets. 

Adding Structured Data To Your Website

Unstructured data might be one of the reasons why no one is visiting your website. Thankfully, you can change this by adding structured data markup to it.

To do that, open up the markup helper, select your data type, highlight page elements, assign data tags, and add schema markup SEO to your page. Structured data tools are free to use and can be used by non-technical users too. 

Why Is Structured Data Important For SEO?

Structured data is an important tool for SEO because it can help Google understand your content and products better. By using specific tags and labels, you can tell Google about the topics covered on your pages, products, and even your website. This information will help improve your Rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs).

One thing you should keep an eye on when it comes to SEO is the increasing use of structured data. This type of data allows your search results to display more specific information, which in turn can increase the chances that a customer will click on your results and ultimately lead to higher rankings. We’re seeing more and more rich results using this kind of data all the time, so it’s important to stay up-to-date on how best to optimize your content for this type of search engine optimization (SEO).

Here are some important reasons why structured data is important for SEO:

1. Boosts The Relevance Of Your website

Since the main purpose of the structured data is to help search engines in grasping the context of the website. Search engines use structured data to convey information that can be used efficiently by the search engine.

Google’s webmaster once stated that “We do use structured data to better understand the entities on the page and to find out where that page is more relevant.” Without structured data, Google will have a hard time extracting and connecting relevant information with its cued keywords. 

2. Increases The Click-Through Rate

Structured data increases the overall CTR of a webpage ​​through information-packed rich snippets. These rich snippets are one of the main reasons why website owners should include structured data on their web pages. 

3. Guides Crawlers About Information On The Page

Google’s web crawlers look for structured data that can be used to enhance the snippet of the search result.  Structured data adds a markup of the data throughout the HTML of a webpage so that Google and other search engines can display information in the SERPs with the presented information. 

4. Synthesizes Social Media Posts

Social media platforms are treasure troves of information and community activity. With Google’s structured data syntax used on social media, you can search for individual posts on the search engine through proper keywords. Structured data synthesizes your social media posts into tiny snippets that can preview your content on other platforms. 

5. Supports E-A-T

E-A-T stands for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. There are many ways to pursue E-A-T for your website, and structured data is one of those. Structured data reduces content ambiguity and helps you in creating new connections on the Internet. The markups help Google by providing explicit clues about what the content means and who it is for. Structured data is one of the most underrated methods to improve a website’s E-A-T. Not only does it aid in boosting organic traffic, but it also leverages Google’s natural search engine to its fullest. 

Your Website Needs Structured Data!

When it comes to arranging and locating information on Google, structured data has proven to be a game changer. Both Google and the average search user needs structured data to locate information on the world wide web. 

If this is too technical for you, allow us to step in. RankJacker’s team of experts and career professionals can nail the structured data markups for your website. Hop on a call with us today and let’s figure it out together!