Thread by @samtorresatl

🧵 As an #SEO, I love #StructuredData.

Why? Because it empowers us to highlight important information while also encapsulating that info in a clear and defined way.

(#SEOThread on Ecommerce Schema: THIS IS HAPPENING!) (/1)

"Sure, Google is fantastic at gleaning the meaning of our content, but with language, there's significant room for interpretation and error.

The world of Schema.org has a set of rules and meanings so that our data points do not risk being misunderstood. (/2)"

So, now that you understand what makes structured data so powerful, let's take a look at some of my most used schema types to implement for #EcommerceSEO. (/3)

"1 / Product schema: The bread and butter of eComm schema!

Thankfully, most CMSs these days that support eCommerce also include this structured data in their most standard offering. (/4)"

2 / Ratings & reviews schema: Keep in mind that if you don't have ratings and reviews that are product-specific, they shouldn't be on the product pages. Instead that would be ratings schema for your Organization - likely captured on the homepage. (/5)

If you are using reviews for your organization, note that if you control the review aggregation, then those are ineligible to appear for improved SERP appearance. (/6)

3 / Collection schema:

Oh the number of times I've seen a Product Category page include Product schema.

Guess what y'all? A category page is NOT a product page! ✨ So please, stop adding your structured data like it is. (/7)

Instead, use Collection schema (or even better - ProductCollection) which has a property of "includesObject".

Use it to add the product schema for each product within that collection.

NEST your data appropriately, so search engines "see" the parent/child relationships! (/8)"

When listing the nested products, be sure you link to the product detail page, and not just set the URL/ID of that nested product to the category/collection page. (/9)

3 / If you have brick-and-mortar stores, include LocalBusiness markup on the pages dedicated to locations.

Don't have a locations page? Then I'd suggest the About or homepage.

... And also tell you to seriously consider creating a Location page 👀 (/10)

Within the local business markup, you can also add Services that locations may provide.

Offer gift wrapping, delivery, alterations? Mark up that goodness by using "makesOffer" or "hasOfferCatalog" nested within the Local Business markup, with "service" schema after that. (/11)

4 / Have a product(s) that needs some explanation?

Whether the content telling consumers how to use your products is (A) on the product detail page itself, or (B) captured elsewhere....

Don't miss the opportunity to add "HowTo" structured data. (/12)

TIP: if the content on the page is formatted to look like instructions, that format + the structured data tend to get picked up by Google better (in my experience). (/13)

5 / Have FAQ (frequently asked questions) content on your site?

Whether it's product-related or just for the store in general (think return policy and customization policies, shipping times, etc.), consider adding "FAQ" schema around that content. (/14)

As with the HowTo schema, if the supporting content is formatted as "Question then Answer", that seems to do better as far as appearing in rich results. (/15)

Now, you may have noticed that some of these schema types aren't represented in the list of Feature Guides provided in Google Search Central.

And yes, not all of these will result in changes to how your site appears in search listings. (/16)

However, these schema can provide clarity and understanding to Google about your site's content, and in a way that is so clearly defined by Google that it isn't misconstrued.

Clarity is powerful, even if it doesn't result in SERP listing changes! (/17)

Thanks for joining me on this schema journey!

If you have any questions or want a master schema plan for your own site, reach out to @GrayDotCo! (/18)