How to Use Product Schema Markup for Ecommerce SEO

There are certain strategies to follow when adopting product schema markup for ecommerce websites which will allow people searching for products to have a more enriched experience on the search engine results page (SERP). Here is a simple informational guide to implementing schema markup for ecommerce and getting seen.

What is product schema markup?

According to Google, “Structured data is a standardized machine-readable format for providing information about a page. This can improve the accuracy of Google’s understanding of your content.” Product schema markup or structured data uses coding on a website to provide search engines with more information to display to readers about a product. This capability gives business owners the option to flesh out their product information by adding specific attributes that will appear as rich results on search engine result pages (SERPs) similar to how featured snippets work. While featured snippets can come from well-written content, product markup schema comes from a webpage’s HTML, which is usually done directly in the content management system. Some of the product properties that can be included are:

• Price
• Reviews/ratings/offers
• Descriptions
• Awards

This approach to SEO for ecommerce can be complicated for the less technologically savvy, but there are plenty of tools and support available. Because it involves coding in the back end of the website, it’s important everything is written correctly, or it won’t work. As advanced as it may feel, it’s worth it for the competitive edge and boosted SEO results.

Why bother?

This ecommerce SEO strategy provides users in every stage of the buyer’s journey with additional information about the product. The more informed a lead is, the more likely they will purchase. It’s also a way to provide more information to avoid additional questions or communications. The relevant information helps stop the scroll. If a user is looking for a product or looking to solve a problem, they’ll stop on a product that has all the information they need in one place, organized simply. They won’t have to go looking for more information, and they won’t scroll to another product listing because they feel they haven’t seen what they need. Product markup schema makes it easier for the user to shop, which makes it easier for a business to make a profit. Because the information is available, all the customer needs to do is add to the cart, or click on a buy button. There’s no need to scroll through catalogs to find the right product. As always, it’s best to remain competitive with other brands that have already adopted this strategy. If similar products are displayed, customers will flock to those as opposed to yours. Get on the screen with the other products to beat the competition. Product markup schema for ecommerce puts all of the relevant product information in one concise, easy-to-read block, giving customers multiple quick-fire reasons to buy. The more information there is, the more likely the customer will click through. Adding a star rating, for example, could be the piece a customer needs.

Types of schema markup for ecommerce

Google has outlined the different types of structured data for ecommerce SEO. 

Product

This is the main topic of the article, using code to improve the shopping-related experiences Google offers users.

Local business

This kind of code informs Google of the business’s contact information, location, and hours. This is similar to Google My Business but isn’t the same. It’s worth it to use both.

Review

This coding will allow Google to display relevant reviews about the product to the audience.

How to

Like featured snippets, use structured data to fill out how-to questions to be displayed in search results at the top of the page.

FAQs

Use coding to answer a few common questions relevant to a user when they ask a similar question.

Breadcrumb list

This is a smart way to show Google the hierarchy of the pages on your website. Do this so Google has a better idea of which pages to direct customers to.

Videos

Structured data can be applied to media as well so Google knows when and how to display a video to match user search results.

Product schema markup types

There are three main ways to implement product schema markup coding on a website, each with different difficulty levels and capabilities.

1. Microdata. This is a more literal way of implementing HTML attributes and values. Microdata enables users to make certain pieces on a web page inform the sections of the product markup. For example, you can set H1 to be the product name.
2. JSON-LD. This is the most common use for structured data. This type of coding separates the script from the page itself. Generally, there will be one block of code at the head of the page that has all the coding for the whole page within it.
3. RDFa. This is similar to microdata, but it has more capabilities with more specified attributes.

Product schema markup strategies

1. Use a product markup schema generator if coding is out of your depth.
2. Include at least one of the following: review, rating, or offers as part of the product markup schema for ecommerce.
3. Include shipping information, such as whether or not there’s free shipping, areas where shipping is and isn’t offered, shipping options, and shipping costs.
4. Test with Google’s Rich Results Test and Schema Markup Validator.

On top of product schema markup, there’s a myriad of other options to improve SEO techniques and results with the help of SEO specialists that can take the majority of the work off you. Check out the services we offer at Pedestal Search and contact us today for information on how we can help.