Generating traffic to a website is all about creating opportunities. The more people know about your brand and the solutions you offer, the greater the chances of conversion. But how do you attract a larger audience to your website? One answer involves structured data.
In SEO, this is a type of tool that can make you stand out from the competition! However, it is only possible to achieve these results if you know how to use it strategically.
In this article, I show you how to use data structures to generate traffic and the benefits of this choice. Check it out!
What is structured data?
Structured data is information organized in a way that search engines can understand. With it, algorithms can identify and understand the content of a page.
Let’s imagine an e-commerce page where a product is being sold. Thanks to structured data, Google can know what the item is being sold, its price, its features and even whether it is still available.
This reading is different from the one the robot does when checking a blog page explaining the benefits of that same product. Thanks to structured data, it can classify what each content and each page is about.
For Digital Marketing, this type of data is very important because it facilitates the display of content in search results, such as rich snippets. It also serves as a bridge between websites and search engines, which optimizes SEO.
Semi-structured data is data that has some organization, while unstructured data does not have a specific order.
Difference between structured and unstructured data
You might be wondering what the practical difference is between structured and unstructured data, right? The big distinction between them is in the organization of the information.
In an analogy, it is as if structured data were a library that follows a pattern, with specific sections for authors and themes. They have standardized formats, such as tables or lists, which makes it easier for search engines to understand them.
Unstructured data is like a pile of unsorted documents. Despite the lack of organization, it contains important information, so it also has value.
In general, unstructured data is more difficult to interpret due to its lack of organization. However, it can also reveal a wealth of information that can be used to optimize Digital Marketing strategies.
Benefits of structured data
Using data structures can bring several benefits to your Digital Marketing strategy, especially in relation to traffic. Find out how this happens!
Increased visibility in search engines
Thanks to structured data, Google and other search engines can “read” the content of a website and understand what it is about. This means that the robot is able to check the price of a product or the characteristics of a property, for example.
It’s as if this data serves as road signs. Thanks to these elements, it is possible to understand which path to follow, leading to the desired destination!
In online content, this favors the display of pages in search results. Since this practice is well-received by search engines like Google, they prioritize pages that use this approach, which leads to better positioning in searches.
Enrichment of search results
Depending on the type of structured data, it is possible to generate enriched search results. These include rich snippets, rich cards, and knowledge panels, for example.
Instead of just displaying your page link, Google can show you a lot of other information, like prices, ratings, images, and more. The result? Greater appeal to the public and increased visibility for your site.
This is what happens when you search for a restaurant and, instead of just seeing the page link, you can check information such as opening hours and even reviews from other customers.
To increase your chances of being featured in these special search results, it is essential to optimize your structured data. To do this, you need to present clear, relevant, and contextual information.
Improved User Experience
It’s not just robots and algorithms that benefit from structured data, did you know? Using this strategy also helps improve User Experience!
This is because well-organized content helps people find information quickly. This means that browsing can be much more fluid, without having to search too much!
Displaying rich results is also very important. Thanks to them, the user can check information before even entering the website. This increase in clarity increases user satisfaction and the chances of conversion.
Increase CTR
Another benefit of structured data is that using it can increase your website’s click-through rate (CTR). This is because the optimized display of content acts as a showcase that captures the attention and interest of your audience.
Imagine you’re on a street full of shops, but only one of them has a lit-up sign and clearly identifies what’s inside. You’re more likely to want to go into that shop before visiting the others, right? That’s also true for your audience.
With clearer and more visible information, people are more likely to want to visit your site, increasing your CTR. There are case studies that show that using structured data such as FAQs generated 200 additional clicks per day over 28 days, for example.
Other data helps support this conclusion. Want to see? According to Backlinko, the first result in a Google search has an average CTR of 276%. What’s more, the first result is 10x more likely to receive a click than a page in the 10th position.
Additionally, the first result is 10x more likely to receive a click than a page in the 10th position.
Also, moving up one position in search results can increase your CTR by 3%. Since structured data increases the chances of getting rich snippets and showing up above other results, it makes sense to say that it increases the chances of getting clicks and increasing CTR, right?
Structured data types and their importance in SEO
Although I have talked a lot about structured data from search engines like Google, these are not the only types that exist. Check out other data structure options that are also important for SEO!
Schema.org
Schema.org is a standard vocabulary used by major search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo. It helps interpret page content more efficiently, as it has an organized structure that differentiates and classifies data.
With Schema.org, you can clearly identify a product’s name, price, availability, and other information. For SEO, it is important because it makes content more accessible and able to rank better.
Open Graph and Twitter Cards
The Open Graph and Twitter Cards formats are used to optimize the display of data on social networks. This is what happens when someone shares a page link on social networks and relevant information is displayed, such as the title, image and description.
Open Graph, specifically, was created by Meta and applies to networks like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. With it, it is possible to require a preview when sharing content on these networks.
Twitter Cards are specific to X (formerly Twitter). When you post a link on this network, images, titles or other relevant information are displayed.
In practice, this structured data is not directly related to SEO. However, it helps to make posts more attractive, increasing visibility and engagement. With more shares and interactions, there is a greater chance of getting clicks and generating traffic.
Implementation of structured data
When implementing data structures, you need to use some tools that act to “translate” the page for search engines. Find out how to adopt the use of this data!
Use the Google Structured Data Markup Helper
Google Structured Data Markup Helper is a free tool from Google that allows you to easily add structured data to your website. One of its biggest advantages is its simplicity, as it does not require advanced technical knowledge.
Instead, simply access the tool, paste the URL of the page you’re interested in, and select the content type. From there, you can tag and define the important elements, with automatic code generation. Then, just copy the result and include it on your website!
JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data)
JSON -LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data) is a format that also allows you to efficiently add structured data to a website. Instead of changing the visible content of the page, it displays the structured information separately.
Overall, this alternative is quite simple as it only requires a block of information at the top or bottom of the page. Search engines also tend to visualize the data more easily, increasing the chances of optimizing the display of content.
Monitor and adjust your strategy
Once you’ve implemented structured data on your website, you’ll need to monitor your results and adapt your strategy. This is because implementing this approach alone won’t guarantee ongoing results — and this advice applies to other approaches, too, you know?
In practice, you should use tools like Google Search Console to check the performance of your pages and their KPIs.
By comparing performance to pre-change numbers, it’s easier to measure the impact of this data, for example. It’s also possible to identify the need to adjust markup or optimize other elements of the pages!
It’s also important to remember that search engine algorithms undergo frequent updates. With proper monitoring, you can adjust your pages and strategy to keep your site relevant even with these changes.
Organic and Content+Performance
To put this strategy into practice, it is important to have experienced and qualified support, right? Orgânica stands out in the market precisely because it is a specialized agency that goes beyond quality content.
Our exclusive Content+Performance methodology combines these two pillars: creating relevant, engaging content that generates results for businesses. This is a way to unite the customer’s desire to learn or be entertained with the company’s goal of growing.
Our methodology aims to educate the public, build relationships of trust and deliver concrete results.
And what does structured data have to do with this? Everything! With them, you can increase visibility, engagement and qualified traffic, generating more business opportunities.
That’s why Orgânica has a dedicated technology team, ensuring that client websites are aligned with best practices — and that includes implementing data structures and monitoring them over time.
It’s time to structure your success!
As you have seen, structured data can be a powerful ally in generating qualified traffic, increasing visibility in search engines, enriching search results and improving the user experience.
These benefits make structured data strategy essential for SEO and, consequently, improving your website’s performance. This makes it possible to generate more results aligned with business objectives.
Orgânica is a Digital Marketing agency specialized in SEO — and the ideal partner to help your company apply structured data effectively.
If you want to increase the visibility of your website and boost your business, contact our experts!
