Structured data is specialized code that helps search engines better understand the content and context of your web pages. It creates a classification system that identifies different elements of your content in a standardized format.
What you’ll learn:
- What structured data is and how it benefits SEO.
- Common types of structured data schemas.
- How to implement structured data on WordPress.com.
- Tools that can help non-technical users add structured data.
When you add structured data to your pages, you provide search engines with clear information about what your content represents. For example, recipe pages with structured data tell search engines exactly which parts are ingredients, cooking times, ratings, and instructions.
Benefits of implementing structured data include:
- Helping search engines understand your content better.
- Potentially improving your search rankings.
- Enabling rich results and featured snippets in search results.
- Making your listings more visually appealing and informative.
While Schema.org offers a comprehensive list of data types, search engines primarily focus on these key schemas:
- Businesses and organizations
- Events
- People
- Products
- Recipes
- Reviews
- Videos
If your content falls into one of these categories, implementing structured data can be particularly beneficial.
Structured data is implemented using code (typically JSON-LD or microdata HTML). For WordPress.com users without coding experience, plugins offer the easiest solution:
- Yoast↗︎ offers a free plugin for basic structured data implementation, with premium options for specific schemas.
- Magazine3↗︎ provides a free plugin supporting all schemas, though it requires more manual configuration.
Review your selected content and consider:
- Does it fall into one of the key schema categories (business, event, product, recipe, etc.)?
- Could structured data help search engines better understand its purpose?
- Would rich results be beneficial for attracting more visitors?
If so, consider installing one of the recommended plugins to implement structured data on your WordPress.com site.
