Story Based Question
You’re an SEO expert managing the website for a popular music festival. The festival takes place annually and has a loyal following. Recently, you noticed that more attendees are using voice search to find event details. Phrases like “When is the next music festival?” and “Where is the [event name] held?” are becoming common queries. You realize that structuring schema markup properly for event-based voice search queries will help increase visibility.
Your team asks: “How do we structure schema markup for event-based voice search queries?”
This leads to the key question: How do you structure schema markup for event-based voice search queries?
Exact Answer
To structure schema markup for event-based voice search queries, use the Event schema in the structured data format (JSON-LD). Include essential event details like name, start and end dates, location, ticket information, and description. This makes it easier for search engines and voice assistants to provide accurate event information in response to voice search queries.
Explanation
Schema markup is a form of structured data that helps search engines better understand the content of your website. For event-based queries, the Event schema provides specific information about the event, such as the name, location, dates, and ticket availability. When voice search users ask questions about events, such as “When is the [event name] happening?” or “Where is the [event name] located?”, schema markup helps search engines deliver precise and relevant answers.
Here’s how to properly structure your schema markup for event-based queries:
- Use the Event Schema (JSON-LD)
The most common format for implementing schema markup is JSON-LD. For event-based queries, the Event schema is used. This schema allows you to mark up the key details about the event, which will help search engines understand the information in a way that’s optimized for voice search.- Action: Implement the JSON-LD code with the Event schema to include event details such as the event name, start date, end date, location, and description.
- Include Essential Event Details
Make sure to include key event details that users may ask about, such as:- Event Name
- Start Date and End Date
- Location (venue, address, city)
- Ticket Information
- Event Description
- Action: Populate your event page with essential details like:
{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
“@type”: “Event”,
“name”: “Summer Music Festival”,
“startDate”: “2025-06-01T18:00:00Z”,
“endDate”: “2025-06-03T22:00:00Z”,
“location”: {
“@type”: “Place”,
“name”: “Sunset Park”,
“address”: {
“@type”: “PostalAddress”,
“streetAddress”: “123 Festival Ave”,
“addressLocality”: “Cityville”,
“addressRegion”: “ST”,
“postalCode”: “12345”
}
},
“offers”: {
“@type”: “Offer”,
“url”: “https://example.com/tickets”,
“price”: “50”,
“priceCurrency”: “USD”
},
“description”: “Join us for a weekend of live music, food trucks, and fun!”
}
- Optimize for Specific Voice Search Queries
Voice searches tend to be more conversational. By structuring your event schema to cover multiple variations of common voice queries, you ensure that search engines can pull the right details.- Action: Ensure that your schema includes terms that align with common voice search phrases, such as “When does the Summer Music Festival start?”, “Where is the Summer Music Festival held?”, and “How can I buy tickets for the Summer Music Festival?”
- Test Your Schema Markup
Before deploying your schema, test it using Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool to make sure there are no errors or issues. Testing ensures that the information will be correctly understood by search engines and voice assistants.- Action: After adding the schema to your event page, use the testing tool to verify that all the relevant event information is being recognized.
Example
Let’s say your team is working to optimize a music festival’s website for voice search. Here’s how you would structure the event schema markup:
Step 1: Use the Event Schema (JSON-LD)
You choose JSON-LD for your schema format and decide to implement the Event schema for the music festival’s page.
- Action: You add the following JSON-LD code to your event page:
{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
“@type”: “Event”,
“name”: “Rock the Park Music Festival”,
“startDate”: “2025-08-01T16:00:00Z”,
“endDate”: “2025-08-03T23:00:00Z”,
“location”: {
“@type”: “Place”,
“name”: “Central Park”,
“address”: {
“@type”: “PostalAddress”,
“streetAddress”: “456 Park Lane”,
“addressLocality”: “New York”,
“addressRegion”: “NY”,
“postalCode”: “10001”
}
},
“offers”: {
“@type”: “Offer”,
“url”: “https://rocktheparkfestival.com/tickets”,
“price”: “75”,
“priceCurrency”: “USD”
},
“description”: “Join us for three days of rock music, food, and fun in the heart of New York City!”
}
Step 2: Include Essential Event Details
Your event schema includes details such as the festival’s name, start and end dates, location, ticket pricing, and a short description of the event.
- Action: This ensures that when someone asks a voice assistant, “When is the Rock the Park Music Festival?”, the assistant can pull the exact date and time, and when someone asks, “Where is the Rock the Park Music Festival?”, it provides the correct venue location.
Step 3: Optimize for Voice Search Queries
Your schema includes specific terms related to voice search, like “Rock the Park Music Festival tickets” or “What time does Rock the Park start?”
- Action: This ensures that voice assistants can return precise answers based on the user’s query.
Step 4: Test the Schema Markup
Before making your page live, you test your schema using Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool.
- Action: The tool confirms that all relevant event information is correctly recognized, ensuring that your event will appear accurately in voice search results.
To structure schema markup for event-based voice search queries, use the Event schema in JSON-LD format. By including essential details like event name, dates, location, and ticket information, you can improve your visibility in voice search results. Testing and optimizing for common voice search queries helps voice assistants deliver the best, most relevant event details to users.