Structured data is content that is marked with a piece of code so that that content is made understandable for the search engines.
What types of structured data are there and what do they look like?
There is a form of structured data for each sector, which is an addition to your online presence.
From baker to online shop (or an online shop with bakery stuff) and from lawyer to wholesaler. To give you an idea of those shapes, I will briefly discuss them all.
Breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs, also known as a breadcrumb trail, are the marking of content with the aim of making part of the URL structure of your website clear to Google.
This has the advantage that Google understands your website better and faster and that your website can, therefore, be indexed better and faster.
A useful side effect of adding breadcrumbs is that your search result will look different.
Sitelinks
Sitelinks are links under the meta description in the organic search results, which makes it easier for the visitor to immediately visit other pages than the homepage.
The advantage of this is that potential customers can immediately go to the right page within your website. They don’t have to search, click around, but land right away. This saves visitors time and provides more ease of use. So very nice for your visitors.
But having sitelinks has another big advantage. You demand more space in the search results; you notice a little more if your competitors don’t have them.
Products
If you sell products on your website, this form of structured data is a must-have. You can show in the search results what the price of the product is and whether the product is still in stock. That can be decisive for a potential customer.
But watch out!
If you don’t keep that promise and you don’t have your product in stock, it could just be a conversion killer.
Recipes
The structured data for recipes is the form of structured data when you share the preparation of your grandmother’s apple pie. Or if you tell your visitors the secret recipe of that special McDonald’s sauce.
With structured data for recipes, you can immediately show how long it takes to make something and how many calories are in a dish. This can avoid disappointment in people who are short on time or people who are on a diet.
Because you immediately provide a piece of information, it can persuade the searcher to click this on your website. And of course, that’s what you want.
Events
If you are working for event marketing, this type of structured data can help you. Marking the content of your event can result in two benefits:
- The events can be shown under your search results
- The events can be added above all search results.
Benefit 1 ensures that you take up more space in the search results and immediately let people know which events you offer.
Advantage 2 mainly leads to people who were not directly looking for your organization to see your events.
Local Business
If you are a baker around the corner or another small business, you should use the structured data for local businesses.
But of course, you want to be found as a baker when someone searches for ‘baker near me’. But you also want to be found when someone in your town googles ‘bakery’.
And in order to be found properly, you must use structured data for local companies. In combination with a Google My Business page, the maximum is obtained from structured data for local companies.
Price range
If you’ve paid close attention to the review stars, you’ve already seen them! Next to the review stars is a price range that indicates how expensive (or cheap) your organization is.
I think it is a nice addition because you can immediately give the visitor an impression. You create a kind of expectation before the visitors end up on your website.
If you have an organization that focuses on the more expensive segment then I would omit the price range. Your target group often does not care about the money.
