Story Based Question
You’re in charge of the SEO for a restaurant chain. Your site has been doing well in traditional search rankings, but recently, you noticed that you’re not appearing as often in voice search results. After some research, you realize that while your site has schema markup, it may not be fully optimized for voice search. You decide to dive deeper into identifying and resolving gaps in your schema markup for voice search.
You ask yourself: “How do I identify and resolve gaps in my schema markup for voice search?”
Exact Answer
To identify and resolve gaps in your schema markup for voice search, audit your existing markup for completeness, check for missing structured data elements relevant to voice queries, add schema types like FAQ, LocalBusiness, and Recipe, and test your changes using Google’s Rich Results Test.
Explanation
Schema markup is essential for voice search optimization because it helps search engines understand your content better, which is crucial for providing direct, accurate answers to voice queries. Identifying and resolving gaps in your schema markup can make your content more likely to be picked up for featured snippets and direct answers in voice search results. Here’s how you can go about it:
- Audit Your Existing Schema Markup for Completeness
First, take stock of what schema markup is already in place. Are you using schema to its fullest potential? If not, you might be missing out on opportunities to help voice assistants understand your content better.- Action: Check your website for existing schema markup using tools like Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool or Rich Results Test. Look for missing or incomplete elements that could enhance your visibility in voice search results.
- Check for Missing Schema Elements Relevant to Voice Queries
Voice searches tend to be conversational and query-based. To increase your chances of appearing in voice search results, you’ll need schema types that address these types of questions directly. Commonly used types include:- FAQ Schema: Ideal for question-based queries, such as “What are your restaurant hours?”
- LocalBusiness Schema: Essential for local queries like “Where is the closest restaurant?”
- Recipe Schema: Great for food-based queries like “How do I make a vegan pasta dish?”
- Action: Review your content and identify opportunities to add missing schema types that could make your content more relevant for voice search queries. For example, if your restaurant offers a delivery service, you should implement schema to display delivery information in search results.
- Add Missing Schema Types Like FAQ, LocalBusiness, and Recipe
Voice search queries are often directly related to location, questions, or services. Adding the right schema helps search engines deliver the right results to users who ask voice queries.- FAQ Schema: Add FAQ schema to any page with commonly asked questions. For example, if your restaurant’s page has a “How to make a reservation” section, mark it up with FAQ schema.
- LocalBusiness Schema: For local searches, make sure you have LocalBusiness schema with accurate details like location, hours, and contact information. This helps your restaurant show up in local voice search results.
- Recipe Schema: If you post recipes on your website, use Recipe schema to help voice assistants answer questions like “What’s the recipe for spaghetti bolognese?”
- Action: Implement these schema types across relevant pages. Be specific and accurate with the data you provide.
- Test Your Changes Using Google’s Rich Results Test
After adding or updating your schema markup, you’ll need to test it to make sure it’s working properly and displaying as expected in search results. Google’s Rich Results Test allows you to check your structured data and see how Google interprets it.- Action: Use the Rich Results Test to validate your schema. If you see errors or warnings, fix them before moving forward. This ensures that your markup will be used correctly by search engines and increase your chances of showing up in voice search results.
Example
Let’s say you’re optimizing the website of a restaurant chain for voice search. Here’s how you would identify and resolve schema markup gaps:
Step 1: Audit Your Existing Schema Markup
You run a quick audit using Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool. You find that your site has basic schema like Organization and Breadcrumbs, but it’s missing schema for specific content such as menus, FAQ, and local business details.
- Action: You take note of what’s missing and decide to focus on adding LocalBusiness, FAQ, and Menu schema.
Step 2: Check for Missing Schema Elements
You review your restaurant’s homepage and menu pages. You realize that there’s no FAQ schema to answer common customer questions like “What are your hours?” or “Do you offer vegetarian options?”. You also see that your location and contact details aren’t marked up with LocalBusiness schema.
- Action: You decide to add LocalBusiness schema to your homepage and FAQ schema to a frequently asked questions section.
Step 3: Add Missing Schema Types
You start adding the missing schema to your pages:
- On the homepage, you implement LocalBusiness schema, ensuring your restaurant’s name, address, phone number, opening hours, and service area are clearly marked up.
- On your FAQ page, you implement FAQ schema for common customer questions like “Do you deliver?” and “What are your gluten-free options?”
- On your menu page, you implement Menu schema, which helps voice assistants know exactly what dishes you offer.
- Action: These additions make your site more voice-search friendly, giving Google the data it needs to respond accurately to voice queries.
Step 4: Test Your Changes
After adding the new schema, you test the pages using Google’s Rich Results Test. You get a clean result with no errors, indicating that your schema markup is correct.
- Action: You publish the updated pages and monitor them for improvements in local and voice search performance.
Identifying and resolving gaps in your schema markup for voice search involves auditing your existing schema, adding relevant schema types like FAQ, LocalBusiness, and Recipe, and testing the changes to ensure they are properly implemented. By optimizing your schema, you improve your chances of appearing in voice search results, driving more traffic to your site and improving the overall user experience.