Schema.org is a code markup that helps search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo deliver richer contextual search results right on the search page. By implementing Schema.org on your website, you indicate to search engines which pieces of information refer to product names, categories, featured images, prices, product availability, and more. When a product marked up with a Schema.org vocabulary appears in search results, potential customers see a preview of the important information, increasing the likelihood they’ll click through and buy.

What do online stores need Schema.org for?

Rich snippets that appear in search with structured data like price and availability give a potential customer more confidence that your store has what they’re looking for. Schema.org markup languages are the functional way you communicate structured data to search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo, helping the search engines parse the information out to give your search results more context.

By including structured data in your search results, you’re increasing the likelihood potential customers will click through to your site. This is a crucial piece of the SEO puzzle for any online store.

How do you use Schema.org?

To use Schema.org, you’ll need to add some basic HTML to your website. A little coding experience goes a long way here. But if you aren’t code-savvy, you may want to ask a developer for some help. (Some ecommerce platforms also come with easy-to-use rich snippet functionality.)

Microdata is one of the more popular markup languages for creating structured data for search engines to read. You’ll need to use microdata on each of your product pages to ensure search engines index the markup correctly.

On Schema.org, you can find examples of the microdata you need under the right schema. For online stores, the most relevant schema is likely the “Product” schema. On this page, you can find code examples for the relevant properties like your product rating, product color, manufacturer, price, availability, featured image, and more.

After you’ve had a chance to code your structured data, use Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool to test everything to make sure it works. In terms of seeing your work in the wild, you’ll need to be patient. It can take several weeks for rich snippets to start appearing. Once they do, it’s a good idea to use Google’s Search Console to track how your customers interact with your rich snippets.