WordPress is a fantastic open-source content management system allowing individuals to build websites and blog posts for their businesses without coding experience. It’s no surprise that WordPress is such a valuable source, providing many plugins. One handy plugin that’s worth talking about is rich snippets.
Don’t know what they are? There are numerous ways to utilize rich snippets and get the most out of them. Below, I’ll provide step-by-step instructions on how and why to create and display rich snippets in WordPress.
Let’s get started.
What Are Rich Snippets?
Rich snippets pop up whenever you search for a specific company or term on Google—that little blurb that provides some extra information about your content. How? Glad you asked. Rich snippets use schema markup to provide more content information to search engines.
Essentially, schema markup is the language (aka semantic vocabulary/code) that search engines recognize to understand the content on your page. When rich snippets add schema markup to the search engine, it’s helping an already advanced search engine algorithm read, identify, categorize, and display your content in search results.
The best part is that you’re not limited—rich snippets allow you to have custom search listings for your specific content, whether they’re recipes, reviews, products, events, and more!
However, if you want rich snippets in Google search results, you’ll need to add structured data to your web pages.
Why You Should Use Rich Snippets in Your WordPress Site
Search engine bots use the data provided by schema markup to help your post or page stand out in search results. When your content stands out, it can improve your organic click-through rate and increase your blog traffic.
Adding rich snippets in WordPress is the best way to get your content out there, especially in your niche. Your site can get more and more visibility in search results that capture the attention of potential customers or consumers.
It’s important to note that adding schema markup to your website won’t guarantee that your web page will be displayed in Google search results. Instead, adding schema markup can help Google understand your content, which might make it more likely to display rich snippets.
Implementing Rich Snippets Using an SEO Plugin
I’ll be going over schema options in Rank Math and how you can implement them on your web page. Rank Math is an SEO plugin for WordPress that makes it easy for people to optimize their content with built-in recommendations based on a variety of practices.
Of all rich snippet plugins, Rank Math is the most recognized and favored. Let’s go over how you can use this WordPress plugin.
Step 1. Enable Schema From Global Options
Once you’ve installed and configured Rank Math on your website, activate the schema module from the settings.
Go over to Rank Math > Dashboard.
Make sure the Schema (structured data) module is enabled before continuing.
Step 2. Set Up Default Schema for Your Website
Because schema is an integral aspect of the rich snippet game, you’ll want to ensure that each post or web page has schema or structured data.
Rank Math makes it easy to select a default schema type to appear on every page or post that you have on your site. You can find each option in the Rank Math settings. Just head over to Rank Math > Titles and Meta.
Once you’ve selected this setting, it will open up a left tab menu with more options. Click the Posts option from the left tab menu.
On the page, scroll down until you find the Schema Type option. You’ll be able to see all the Schema Types supported by clicking the drop-down menu. You can scroll and search for every schema type that Rank Math supports.
Choose the schema type you use the most on your website and save your settings. After saving, you should repeat the process for every other web page. If your website has custom post types, they’ll show up in the menu, so I recommend you do this for all post types.
You’ve made it this far, but remember that no schema has been added to your posts yet. I’ve just highlighted the default schema types that you can add to the post, which you may customize on a per-post/per-page basis.
Step 3. Add Schema on Posts and Pages
Since you’ve added a default schema type to your web pages, you can start adding or customizing the schema and add it to your blog posts.
I’ll demonstrate by showing you how to create a new post. All you need to do is go over to Posts > Add New. Give your post a neat title and add some dummy text to it.
Classic Editor
In WordPress, you’ll find another plugin called Classic Editor. When using this plugin, you’ll see Rank Math Metabox as you scroll down to the end of the page. If you’re having trouble finding Rank Math Metabox in the Classic Editor, go to Screen Options and select Rank Math SEO.
Next, you’ll choose the Schema tab in the Rank Math Metabox.
Guttenberg
In Block Editor, open up Rank Math by clicking on the Rank Math icon featured on the WordPress menu. Once the menu is open, select the Schema Tab by clicking the icon.
The Schema Generator should show the default schema type that you set up. I’ll be covering how to add other types of schema, so you can go ahead and delete the existing default schema by clicking the delete icon and clicking yes on the confirmation dialog box.
Now let’s start adding a new schema by clicking the Schema Generator button.
You should see all the different types of schema that Rank Math supports. If you’re using a free version of Rank Math, the extra features might not be available to you. Those features are only available in Rank Math PRO. What’s the difference? I’ll tell you.
The free version of Rank Math will allow you to see the Custom Schema tab, but it won’t be operational. If you try to access it, you’ll get the “upgrade to Rank Math PRO” prompt.
Schema in Rank Math Vs. Rank Math PRO
Below I’ll list the schema types based on their availability in both Rank Math Free and PRO versions.
Rank Math Free
- Article: This schema type should be used on all articles on your site and allows you the option of creating SEO headlines, meta description fields, keywords, and article types.
- Course: If you’re participating in or reviewing a course, you can use the Course Rich Snippet for review locations, course descriptions, course provider URLs, and much more.
- Book: If you’re planning to make a blog post about books, the Book Rich Snippet will let you include author names, review ratings, book editions, and more.
- Event: Posting about a public event? This rich snippet tool will help you organize information from event types to attendance.
- FAQ: If you have a page with a list of questions and their respective answers, the FAQ Schema will help increase the page’s overall visibility.
- HowTo: If your website provides content that includes tutorials and explanations, the “HowTo” snippet aims to produce step-by-step guidance directly in the search engine results for instruction-based inquiries.
- Job Posting: When talking about specific jobs on your website, you should include the Job Posting Schema to organize the job description, salary, posting expiration date, employment type, and more.
- Music: When discussing music in your post, this snippet can configure the music type, description, and shortcode.
- Product: If you’re running an e-commerce store, the Product Rich Snippet can help identify reviews, product names, SKU numbers, brands, and more.
- Person: When posting about a person, whether they’re alive, dead, or fictional, you can include headlines, descriptions, emails, addresses, genders, and more to display the most integral information.
- Recipe: The Recipe Schema will make a fine addition to your page as it provides options for review locations, preparation/cooking times, food type, keywords, ratings, and detailed instructions to prepare meals.
- Restaurant: Use the Restaurant Rich Snippet to talk about your favorite food joints, cafes, or restaurants by taking advantage of the description, price range, address, hours, and geo-coordinate options.
- Service: Service Rich Snippet options such as service types, prices, and currency can be helpful when creating a page for specific services, including plumbers, electricians, and local businesses.
- Software Application: When trying to sell or talk about certain software applications, this rich snippet provides options for review location, operating systems, application category, and more.
- Video: The Video Rich Snippet provides options such as duration, upload date, thumbnails, and more when discussing videos on your page.
- Blog Posts: Adding BlogPosting Schema Markup to your blog posts can help search engines find what the post is about and increase the chance of ranking higher in Google search results.
- Breadcrumb Schema: Rank Math can improve your website’s navigational experience by adding breadcrumbs when you enable the Breadcrumbs function.
- Easy Digital Downloads: Rank Math works with easy digital downloads and other plugins to help you sell digital products online by adding appropriate schema to any products you carry.
- Local SEO: Take advantage of dedicated schema specific for local businesses and include information on locations, websites, and more.
- News Article: Rank Math supports News Schema and allows you to choose your article as a News Article for factual content.
- Sitelinks Search Box: You won’t have to configure any additional settings as the Sitelinks Search Box Schema automatically includes your website in search results when keywords related to your page are activated. However, this also depends on Google’s guidelines.
- WooCommerce: If you’re operating a store through WooCommerce, this schema can help attract more traffic to your product pages.
Rank Math PRO
- Dataset: This schema type is best suited for pages/posts where you’re talking about a publicly accessible data set. You can add descriptions, names, keywords, data catalog names, and more to organize information.
- FactCheck (Claim Review): Claim Review is used to fact-check claims made by organizations or individuals.
- Movie: The Movie Schema type includes options such as movie name, director, location, ratings, and more to configure your page.
- Podcast Episode: Display your podcast’s name, episode description, duration, and URL with the help of this premium-rich snippet tool.
- About and Mention: Make the most out of the About and Mention Schema by appending extra information to your outbound links and marking them as a mention or a reference.
- ItemList: Rank Math can add ItemList automatically to any category, product, and tag archives.
- Carousel: Carousel structured data is a horizontal list of search results displayed in carousel format and may be appropriate for movies, music, and books in which titles, release dates, and images.
- Q&A Page: Use the Q&A Schema for pages that include question-and-answer formats and mark the page with different structured data types.
- Speakable: Since voice searches are still on the rise, Speakable Schema makes your most important information coherent and easy to read and lets you select what information you want Google to read to your audience.
Rank Math also includes a search option in the Schema Generator to help you find the schema you’re looking for.
Custom Schema
The schema isn’t limited to a small collection of structured data. Instead, schema’s structured data definitions extend to hundreds of alternate types.
All schema types included in Rank Math are suitable for various uses, and the schema creator makes it as easy as ever to craft and add schema to your page. The only downside is that it might not be as efficient for advanced users.
When you break it down, the schema is essentially metadata that doesn’t have to be bound by specific definitions. You could technically add any type of structured data on your page, and Google will analyze it.
The Custom Schema generator in Rank Math PRO can make the process of adding custom schema much simpler. The Custom Schema creator is available on the same page as the generator. Remember, this is only available to those who have Rank Math PRO installed.
Once you’ve clicked the Custom Schema tab, you’ll see a page that allows you to add properties and property groups to your schema. The main difference between the generator and schema builder is that the generator creates the fields in which you’ll fill in the data, whereas the builder allows you to create the fields by starting on a blank canvas.
The difference between properties and property groups isn’t as complex as you think. When it makes sense to organize properties, it’s better to put them in a group. For example, let’s say you’re using the schema builder for a book web page. You may want to add a review section with a rating, rating minimum, and rating maximum. Those three would be considered properties that you can group under “review.”
By using this custom schema option, you can create and fill in the schema, and add it to a page. Furthermore, you can also create a blank schema structure and then save it as a template to use on other pages.
Testing Rich Snippets
When manually adding rich snippets to your WordPress posts, you’ll need to manually add the HTML to WordPress. It’s actually quite a simple process:
In the WordPress block editor, you’ll find multiple ways to edit the HTML of your post or page. Use the Custom HTML block in your chosen content to add the HTML code. You can find the Custom HTML block on your WordPress dashboard. Add a new post/page or edit an existing article, click the plus sign at the top left corner and add your “Custom HTML.”
Next, you’ll enter the custom HTML code. You can also check if the code is working by clicking the “Preview” option and see how your content will look on your website.
Another option to add/change the HTML code is by editing the HTML of a specific block. You can do so by selecting an existing block in your content and clicking the three-dot menu. Select “Edit as HTML.” You’ll then see the HTML of an individual block and be able to edit it.
If you want to edit the HTML of an entire post, use the “Code Editor” in the WordPress block editor. You’ll be able to access the code by clicking the three dots in the top right corner and selecting “Code Editor” from the drop-down menu.
When testing your Google rich snippets, head over to the Google Structured Data Testing Tool. There you’ll find two different options to test your structured data.
You can start by clicking the “Go to the Rich Results Test” button and find the Rich Results Test page. By clicking this button, you’ll see what rich results the testing tool can generate for your page. Then, you’ll enter your post or page’s URL in the search bar and click the “Test URL” button. This will generate a report that will identify which rich results features can appear when your page/post is listed in Google search results.
The test should indicate any errors or warnings to help you improve your structured data. Select the drop-down arrow next to any warning to receive detailed instructions on how you can fix the problem.
In addition, you can test your schema markup by going back to the Google Structured Data Testing Tools page. Click the “Go to the Schema Markup Validator” button and enter your URL or code snippet into the “Test your structured data” pop-up.
Once you’ve entered the URL or code snippet, click the “Run Test” button. This tool will quickly analyze your code to determine whether there are any errors. Ideally, you’ll want to see zero errors on the right-hand side of the page.
Conclusion
As Google’s search engine algorithm keeps evolving, it’s much more likely that structured data will become as significant as ever. Our team at SerpFocus highly recommends implementing rich snippets now to benefit and prolong your website’s lifespan.
