Structured data makes it easier for Google to understand what brands offer on their web pages, and when to display information in search results. Rich cards, available now for recipes and films, are just the latest way that Google is making it easier and more enjoyable for people to search.
Google Wants to Help You Help Them
While Google may be secretive about the inner workings of the algorithm, they are a generous partner when it comes to sharing information about how to use structured data for better visibility in search results.
Putting structured data to work on web pages can help marketers claim a bigger piece of the valuable search results real estate, and improve satisfaction for searchers. Opportunities to use structured data to help Google better understand the purpose of web pages have changed over time, and the newest opportunity – Rich Cards.
What Are Rich Cards?
Rich Cards are an extension of rich snippets, which provided opportunities to add details like ingredients, cooking time, calories, portions, and reviews to a recipe. Rich Cards go further, and are intended to provide users with an improved search experience on mobile. The image below illustrates how search results for recipes have evolved from standard listings to the Rich Card experience in the image to the far right.
Rich Cards Showing Only for Recipes, Films, But Don’t Miss Out on Other Opportunities
Unless one owns a recipe or film-related website, you can sit tight until other opportunities to use Rich Cards are unveiled. In the meantime, and especially if you offer products and services other than food or film, there are myriad ways to mark up your content to help Google better understand what you offer, and the best way to display your pages in search results.
Site Structure – Breadcrumbs, Sitelinks Searchbox, and Sitename: All of these help Google get to know you better, aid them in navigating your website, and assist searchers in finding what they want when they visit.
Authorized Presence – Corporate Contacts, Logos, and Social Profile Links: Google likes transparency and seeing that you’re connected to the world via social. Markup related to authorized presence gives Google confidence that you are who you say you are, and that you’re worthy of appearing in search results.
Creative Works – Articles, Music, Recipes, Reviews, TV & Movies, and Videos: Get noticed with structured data markup specifically related to the things people search for every day – what to eat, who to read, what to see, and what others think about all of the above.
Commerce – Local Businesses, Events, and Products: Every brick and mortar business has the opportunity to gain better visibility with structured data. Want to sell out a summer concert series? There’s a structured data solution to help you do just that. Structured data also lets you provide searchers / shoppers with very detailed product information, and it helps Google be more specific with the results it returns in response to a shopping-related query.
Schema Markup Can Greatly Enhance Your Visibility in Search Results
If you’ve already visited Schema.org to learn more about the appropriate type of markup for your particular product, service, event, or other offering, only to be overwhelmed by the choices available for markup, we can help. Structured data requires you to either have a developer in-house who can do the actual markup, or to work with a digital partner to make the necessary additions to code.
Adding structured data to your web pages does not guarantee that you’ll vault to the top of search results, but given Google’s ongoing adjustments to the way they display information on mobile, and their generosity in sharing “how-to” information with developers, it’s a safe bet that they want to increase the application of structured data, and will look favorably on websites that follow their lead.
Test your structured data at Google.
IN-CONTENT PHOTO SOURCE INFORMATION: Google
