How to Add Schema to WordPress for Improved SEO Rankings

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How to Add Schema to WordPress for Improved SEO Rankings

Getting Started

Schema is a type of metadata that allows search engines to better understand your content and improve your visibility on the web. Adding schema to WordPress is a powerful way to increase your site’s SEO.

Here’s a handy beginner guide on how to add schema to WordPress.

## Step 1: Choose a Schema Type and Understand its Structure

There are majorly 3 types of Schema Formats:

  1. RDFa (Resource Descriptive Framework in Attributes)
  2. Microdata
  3. JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data)

Amongst them, Google highly recommends JSON-LD which becomes our recommended format too.

Find detailed information about these schema.org types here.

## Step 2: Install & Activate a Schema Markup WordPress Plugin

There are several good plugins available for this purpose. We recommend using the Schema Plugin by Hesham. This plugin is easy to use and lets you insert many different types of schema.

To install the plugin, follow these steps:

  1. Login to your WordPress account, navigate to the Dashboard, and click ‘Plugins’.
  2. Click ‘Add New’ and search for ‘Schema by Hesham’.
  3. Click on the ‘Install Now’ button and wait for the installation to finish.
  4. Next, click the ‘Activate Now’ button.

## Step 3: Configure the Plugin.

Once the plugin is activated, you need to configure it:

  1. In your WordPress Dashboard, select ‘Schema’ on the left-hand side.
  2. The plugin will prompt you to input your general schema information, like site name, logo, social media links etc. Fill these carefully as they’ll be used across all schemas generated by the plugin.
  3. Click ‘Save Changes’ to store your settings.

## Step 4: Add Your Specific Schema Types

The Schema Plugin supports several types of schema like Articles, Blog Postings, News Articles, etc. You can add these schema types from WordPress post or page editor.

However, you’ll need to manually add schema types that aren’t available with the plugin. The procedure involves creating the JSON-LD code snippets and embedding them in your webpage HTML.

If your schema type is supported by Schema plugin:

  1. Edit the post where you want to add schema and scroll down below the content editor to the ‘Schema Properties’ section.
  2. Choose the type of schema you want to mark up and fill in the appropriate information.
  3. Click ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ to save changes.

If your schema type isn’t supported by Schema plugin:

  1. Generate your JSON-LD schema from a JSON-LD Schema Generator. Paste your page content and make changes as required.
  2. Once you have your JSON-LD code snippet, copy it.
  3. Edit your desired page or post in WordPress, and paste the JSON-LD code snippet in the HTML of the page (make sure to paste it in the head section of the HTML).
  4. Click ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ to save changes.

## Step 5: Validate Your Schema Markup

Once you’ve added your schema markup, validate it using Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool.

Here’s how to do it:

  1. Paste the URL of the webpage or the code snippet you want to check.
  2. Click ‘Run Test’.
  3. Please correct any errors and try again until your markup is successfully validated.

Adding schema to WordPress can seem complex at first, but with these simple steps, you can begin to improve your SEO and stand out on the SERPs. Remember, when creating your schema, accuracy is key. You want to provide precise data to the search engines to ensure your content gets served to the right audience.

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