How Schema Markup Can Improve Your Website’s SEO

Let’s imagine you’re selling women’s shoes online. To understand how schema markup can boost your SEO, let’s walk through the typical buying journey of your customer.

The Customer Journey: From Search to Conversion

1. The Initial Search:

A customer begins their search with a simple query like "shoes for women." When they scan the search results, you’ll notice that some listings stand out. These listings are enriched with schema markup, which helps search engines display additional, helpful information directly in the search results.

2. The Power of Schema Markup:

The highlighted products in the search results are typically powered by two key types of schema:

• Product Snippet Schema: This schema provides details like price, reviews, availability, and shipping.

• Product Merchant Schema: This schema shows the retailer's information, delivery options, return policies, and other transactional data.

Hovering over one of these enriched links reveals more in-depth information:

• Category Name: Urbanblaze

• Product Title: Urban Blaze Lavender Women Low Top Sneakers By The Souled Store

• Price: ₹2,699

• Brand: The Souled Store

• Delivery Information: Free delivery by 15/11

• Return Policy: 30-day returns

• Rating: 4.5 stars from 3 reviews

The Shopping Panel:

Once the customer clicks the link, they are taken to a product listing page that continues to leverage schema. Here, the page benefits from:

• Well-structured product listings with rich content.

• Google Merchant Listings.

• Properly implemented Product Merchant and Snippet Schemas.

Additionally, the “Loafers” category in the search results is also part of a Product Merchant Category Listing, making it easier for the user to find relevant products quickly.

Normal Search Results:

After scrolling through the product panels, users eventually reach the traditional blue links (the organic results), which, even in this section, are often enriched with schema. This can include:

• Rating stars from customer reviews.

• Product prices clearly displayed.

• Meta Descriptions that include relevant product information.

After scrolling down for a few moments, you'll eventually reach the traditional "blue links" on Google’s results page. Even these organic listings are enhanced with schema markup. For instance, the rating and price are displayed directly in the search results, thanks to properly implemented Product schema and optimized store data.

Moreover, the images highlighted in red stand out because they are not only visually optimized but also come with well-optimized meta tags and product schema, which help improve visibility and click-through rates in search results.

After scrolling through 8 of these enriched links, you’ll return to the panels that are powered by the schema data we've optimized. These panels rely on well-structured schema to display relevant product information.

• The "Deals" Panel: To be featured in these high-visibility areas like Google’s “Deals Panel,” your website needs to be fully optimized with:

  • Proper SEO for your product pages.

  • Detailed schema markup.

  • Regular price updates to ensure competitiveness in the market.

The Shift in Search Engine Results

Between 2008 and 2015, most search results were simply blue links with basic metadata like titles and descriptions. However, after 2015, Google introduced rich snippets with structured data, paving the way for features like product panels, recipe listings, and other interactive elements. Today, up to 50-70% of the search engine results page (SERP) can be dominated by schema-marked content. Therefore, optimizing your pages for schema is no longer optional if you want to remain competitive.

What Does Schema Markup Do for SEO?

While Google has confirmed that schema itself isn’t a direct ranking factor, it increases the visibility and attractiveness of search results, leading to higher click-through rates (CTR). Here’s why schema is critical to your SEO strategy:

1. WebPage Schema for Content Relevance: A case study by InLinks showed that pages with WebPage schema that clarified primary and secondary topics ranked better in search results. Pages with schema gained ranking twice as quickly as those without.
   

2. Rakuten’s Recipe Schema Success: Google highlighted Rakuten’s use of recipe schema, which resulted in a 2.7x increase in traffic to recipe pages. Users engaged more deeply, spending 1.5 times longer per session. This shows how schema can drive better user engagement by helping search engines better interpret page content.
   

3. ItemList Schema and Traffic Boost: SEO expert Alan Bleiweiss added ItemList schema to a list-based page, which led to a 100% increase in traffic without any content changes. This is a classic example of schema qualifying content for Featured Snippets, leading to higher visibility.
   

4. FAQ Schema for Enhanced CTR: In industries impacted by new search features like People Also Ask (PAA) boxes, FAQ schema can boost visibility. For example, a plastics manufacturer used FAQ schema to recover lost CTR, and a healthcare provider saw a surge in traffic, doubling their visibility.
   

5. Retail & E-commerce Impact:

   • Retail: Adding Product schema with price details increased CTR by 2%.

   • E-commerce: Review schema led to 13,000 new daily impressions.

   • Healthcare: FAQ schema brought hundreds of impressions from just seven pages.

   • Nonprofit: FAQ schema delivered 3,600 clicks and 129,000 impressions.

Conclusion: Is Schema Worth the Effort?

The case studies above show that implementing schema can significantly improve traffic and visibility, leading to measurable SEO benefits. Although schema is not a direct ranking factor, it enhances the quality of your listing, increasing the likelihood that users will click on it. This, in turn, boosts your overall SEO performance.

To get the best results from schema, implement it carefully across your website, tailor it to your specific industry, and test its effectiveness for different types of pages. Regular updates and optimization will keep your website competitive in a crowded marketplace.