Do you want to fine-tune your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy and increase your organic traffic? If so, it’s time to consider the benefits of adding schema markup to your site. Schema markup helps Google learn more about your product or service, making it easier to show rich snippets when someone searches for one of your keywords or phrases. 

If you’re asking yourself, “What are rich snippets, and how can they help me grow my business?” stick around. This article will answer the following questions: 

• What is a rich snippet? 
• Why should I use rich snippets for your online store?
• How can I add schema markup to my website?

What is a rich snippet? 

A single Google search can bring back millions of websites. For example, the term Samsung Galaxy S21 returns around 212 million unique links. Most of these results, however, don’t give online shoppers the facts they need to make an informed decision. 

On the other hand, rich snippets add additional value to search results and make them more user friendly. When you consider that 95% of people don’t make it past the first page of search results, it’s easy to see why this could be a valuable change for your small business. 

Here are a few examples of regular snippets so you can see what we mean: 

There’s not much information you can get from standard snippets. At most, you’ll see a title, a short meta description, and a URL to the website. For someone considering buying a Samsung Galaxy S21, this probably won’t be enough to justify a purchase.

Now, let’s compare this to a few rich snippet search results for the term Galaxy S21.

As you can see, these search results contain more relevant information for consumers. Shoppers can see reviews, pricing, feature availability, and more without leaving Google’s results when businesses have rich snippets.

Google pulls product rich snippets from structured data tucked into the HTML on your website.

So while the typical search results lack clarity, a rich snippet can provide a wealth of information to shoppers. If someone was thinking about buying this phone, seeing near-perfect reviews, a high number of verified customers, and a consistent price range could be the tipping point in their shopping experience. 

Now that you have a better understanding of rich snippets, we’ll share five concrete reasons you should optimize critical parts of your website for product rich snippets.  

Why should I use rich snippets for my online store?

1. Improve your organic reach

Experts at Google have explicitly said structured data does not directly correlate to a better position in the SERPS. However, they did admit engagement that comes as a result of structured data can determine your placement.

In other words, a boost in search results (and organic traffic) is a side effect of schema markup instead of a direct cause. 

For example, say you’ve added structured data to your online clothing store. Now, visitors can see the price of a pair of boots before clicking over to your site. Additional information about your products doesn’t send a clear signal to Google that says they need to adjust the position of your site. 

But suppose your site is getting 80% more clicks because visitors can see more information about your products. This would send positive signals to Google’s algorithm, which can potentially improve your ranking in the SERPs, leading to even more traffic. 

The point is that it’s possible to gradually improve your organic reach by providing would-be customers with detailed information about your products or services through rich snippets. 

2. Answer questions and overcome objections with FAQs

FAQ pages are an excellent way to answer common questions and overcome customer objections. Think about the last time you made a purchase online. There’s a good chance you thought of several reasons to hit the back button instead of proceeding with your order. 

When customers feel this way on your site, you want to be there to address their concerns. Product FAQ pages can help you overcome user objections and drive more sales. 

Adding structured data to your FAQ page could result in your answer appearing as a rich snippet within Google’s search results. Here’s an example: 

The list of questions under ‘People also ask’ are pulled from rich snippets. If you click on one of the questions, here’s what happens: 

The drop down reveals a portion of an answer and a link to the website that wrote the answer. But adding schema markup to your website isn’t enough to instantly get one of these spots. You have to optimize the speed and performance of your website, especially for mobile devices. It’s also vital to include the question and answer in-text on the page with the structured data. 

Respond to the answer in a natural, conversational tone, and there’s a chance you can answer your potential buyer’s question before they even visit your eCommerce store. This type of helpful behavior usually leads to more visitors checking out your website and, hopefully, becoming customers. 

3. Drive more voice search traffic

Speaking of conversational content, rich snippets can also help you drive more voice search traffic to your website. 

Consumers use voice search on many of their favorite devices when they want to learn more about a brand or buy something online. Google understands this and prioritizes results in a unique way for smart speakers like Amazon’s Alexa and voice-powered tech like iPhone’s Siri.

A whopping 62% of people who own smart speakers say they’ve used their device to shop online, so you can safely assume that your target audience is out there looking for your product or service. 

Research shows that this trend will continue in the coming years. In fact, it’s been projected that by the end of 2022, around 30% of all searches will occur without a screen. 

The best way to get rich snippets to show up in voice search results is to publish plenty of concise, actionable content. Your blog is an excellent place to start. More than 70% of online shoppers prefer getting to know a business through their content instead of paid ads. If your website appears naturally in the voice search rich results, you will likely see increased traffic, sales, and engagement.  

4. Show off eye-catching images and videos

When was the last time you bought something online before seeing it? My guess is it has been a very long time. Businesses and marketing teams know consumers want to see high-quality images and videos showing off a product before they even think about pulling out their card. 

The obvious answer was to include pictures or video demonstrations on each product page. This strategy works well, but it’s no longer enough. If you want to maximize your reach, consider adding structured data to pictures and images on your product landing pages. 

Structured data can boost how images appear on your search engine listing and Google Images. For example, here are the image results for Samsung Galaxy S21: 

Do you see how some items have the price tag sticker? If you look towards the middle, you’ll even see an image that has a green ‘In stock’ icon. These extra features are a result of businesses adding schema markup on their product pages. 

Here’s how an image will look if it’s included with the search result:

The simple option to see an item before opening a website can make a big difference in your traffic and conversion rate. This is just one more way to use product rich snippets for your online store.  

5. Build trust with first-time visitors

One of the most important things you can do with rich snippets is build trust with your audience. Most people will not shop with a new company unless they see social proof. Social proof is evidence that your product or service met or exceeded the expectations of existing customers. 

The most common form of social proof is user ratings and reviews. An impressive 83% of consumers say they trust verified reviews more than advertising. 

In our first example, we showed you how the right structured data could help you show reviews and star ratings from Google. This feature is called a review snippet, and it’s something you should strive to show when a user finds one of your product pages. 

Shoppers are far more likely to visit your site if they see that thousands of other people trust and respect your company. The exciting thing about this feature is you can apply it to more than physical products. You can also show reviews for:

• Digital books
• Events
• Recipes
• Software
• And much more

Adding product rich snippets schema to your store

Now that you can see the benefits of getting featured rich snippets let’s show you how to implement structured markup on your site. 

If you’re interested in doing things manually, I suggest using Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper. This tool will help you build your schema data from the ground up. This method can be time-consuming, but it’s a great way to make sure things are in order on the backend of your website. 

Once you create your schema markup data, add it to the HTML file of the page you want to have a featured snippet. You can do this by simply copying and pasting the code from the helper tool underneath the <HEAD> section of your file. 

An easier way to add product rich snippets to your website is with a tool like All in One SEO (AIOSEO). AIOSEO comes with the tools you need to make schema markup for product pages, FAQs, and even pages designed for local SEO. 

The best part about this process is you won’t have to touch a line of code. This intuitive WordPress SEO plugin will guide you through the process of getting your schema markup set up so you can take advantage of rich snippets. 

Final Thoughts 

Product rich snippets are the new normal for online businesses. If you want to improve your reach, increase sales, and skyrocket engagement, you have to make it easy for visitors to learn about your brand before they click on your website. 

The benefits of obtaining snippets we mentioned today are just a few of many. Luckily, it’s never been easier to add product rich snippets to your online store.  

Syed Balkhi is an award-winning entrepreneur and online marketing expert. He is the co-founder of OptinMonster, WPBeginner, MonsterInsights, and WPForms.