Is Schema Markup an SEO Ranking Factor?

Is structured data/schema markup an SEO ranking factor and can adding it to your pages give you a boost in SEO rankings?

This is, by far, one of the most common questions that we get from clients. Whether they’re in ecommerce, service-based businesses, enterprise level clients, it doesn’t matter – client’s wanting to know how they can use schema markup to boost their search engine visibility.

To many, structured data are those little stars that appear below your page in Google’s search results. But those stars/reviews or ‘SERP decorations’, as they are sometimes known, are just one of the hundreds of different structured data types.

Before we delve into things too far – structured data/schema markup – we will use them interchangeably. Schema mark-up is the language that is used when you present the content on a web page, while structured data is the data that is provided. But, as far as SEO circles go, the terms are used interchangeably – rightly or wrongly.

The answer to the question applies to both of these terms – however you choose to use them.

John Mueller on Schema Markup as an SEO ranking factor

Google Search Analyst John Mueller is a beacon of information when it comes to the nuances of search. Widely known as Google’s face of search, John Mueller frequently hosts hangout sessions where users can ask all of their burning SEO questions.

Mueller has answered his fair share of questions about structured data over the years. To date, the following statements provide the most clarity on how he (and Google) view structured data.

“With regard to using structured data in general for ranking, I think that’s kind of tricky.
So, on the one hand we do use structured data to better understand the entities on a page and to find out where that page is more relevant.”

“But that doesn’t mean that just because people are doing things in a technically correct way on a website that that page is a better page than it would be otherwise. So we will try to use that to show it in more relevant search results that would perhaps bring more users to your pages that actually match the topics of your pages. But it doesn’t mean that we would show it to more users or that it would rank better.”

Mueller is essentially saying that structured data will not be a silver bullet in your SEO strategy but rather a way to provide clear information to search bots in a language that is easy to digest.

From our perspective, we agree with John Mueller on the subject. While structured data may not be a direct ranking factor, it’s hard to imagine that providing more context and information for search bots can be anything other than a positive thing.

Danny Sullivan on Schema Markup and SEO Rankings

Google’s Public Liaison for Search Danny Sullivan didn’t mince his words when he said the following about structured data/schema markup as an SEO ranking factor.

But also to clear up something, using schema doesn’t give you a ranking boost. It can help you be eligible for certain displays or enhancements, but it doesn’t somehow boost you to the top of results or to the front of a carousel because you have it.

Schema doesn’t make you rank better.

Sullivan’s answer came off the back of a question about whether violating schema guidelines could lead to poor SEO rankings. To answer the question, Sullivan explained that there was no way that this was possible because Google never used structured data as a ranking factor in the first place.

Schema has nothing to do with rankings, so if something is violating our schema guidelines, that has no impact on ranking because … schema wasn’t involved in the ranking in the first place. We look at other factors to determine rankings. But it may cause a site to no longer be eligible to have schema enhancements.

So then, is Schema Markup an SEO Ranking factor?

No. Google’s Public Liaison for Search Danny Sullivan has publicly stated that schema markup has nothing to do with SEO rankings.

Incorrect use of schema markup cannot lead to Google de-prioritising pages because it was never used to rank them in the first place.

What is the point of Schema Markup if it is not a ranking factor?

It’s a fair question. If structured data is not an SEO ranking factor – then what exactly is the point of using it?

In the document titled “Introduction to structured data markup in Google Search” posted on the Google Search Central Blog, Google provides the following information and context for the value of structured data:

“Google Search works hard to understand the content of a page.”

“You can help us by providing explicit clues about the meaning of a page to Google by including structured data on the page. Structured data is a standardized format for providing information about a page and classifying the page content.”

“Google uses structured data that it finds on the web to understand the content of the page, as well as to gather information about the web and the world in general.”

Essentially, providing structured data can help to provide “Clues” or extra information about a web page for search bots. Search engines use this data to provide more information to users and provide a more detailed breakdown of what each web page contains.

While structured data may not be a direct ranking factor, some structured data can result in rich results which can (indirectly) increase engagement and drive a higher click through rate.