Small extra information shown in search results is because of implementation of “schema markup”.
These little pieces of script code can show star ratings, recipe details, book reviews and many others.
In WordPress this can be implemented using a plugin.
Structured Data is used to define properties for any type of schema.
There are different ways in which you can add this markup in your articles. It can be done manually or automated using software.
WordPress has the advantage of having plugins to implement small functionality like schema markup.
If done correctly, this can improve your seo best practices.
People like to know more about a product or service through ratings and reviews.
Customer testimonials are some of the best ways to gather user reviews for an affiliate product or service.
Using WordPress plugin like Schema Pro, you can then add markup to your required posts.
It makes it very easy to add properties for different schema by mapping them to different fields and custom values.
Each schema is provided with the mandatory properties and you can assign them custom fields. You can also attribute third-party custom fields.
In this post we are going to see, how to add schema markup to your WordPress posts or pages.
How to use Schema Pro Plugin to do Schema Markup
- First install the Schema Pro plugin.
- Update to the latest version of 1.5.2.
- The following schema types are supported by Schema Pro plugin.
- Review
- Local Business
- Article
- Service
- Product
- Course
- Recipe
- Person
- Job Postings
- Software Application
- Book
- Event
- Video Object
- In the WordPress dashboard, navigate to Settings > Schema Pro.
There are 3 tabs.
- Schemas
- Configuration
- Breadcrumbs
- Click on “Add New” for a new schema in the “Schemas” tab.
- Select one of the above 13 schema and click “Next”.
- Select the target location.
- There are different targeting types based on the selected “schema”.
You can test schema in WordPress dashboard itself. You can also edit the added schema and map the required schema properties to the corresponding plugin fields.
Schema Pro – Configuration Settings
There are 5 tabs on “Configuration” page.
- General
- Social Profiles
- Corporate Contact
- Other Schemas
- Advanced Settings.
For general settings, you can add the following fields.
- Site logo
- This Website represents a – None, Company, Person.
Based on the selected type of website, you get some more fields. For example, for Company I got Company Name and Organization Schema Type.
Then you can add different social profiles – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, SoundCloud and Tumblr.
You can use corporate contact to markup your official website. This will add company’s contact information to the Google Knowledge panel in some searches.
The following fields are mandatory – Contact Type, Telephone. Other optional fields like – Contact Page URL, Email, Area Served, Available Language.
“Contact Option” can also be checked. This will support hearing impaired devices and any toll free number if available for the company. In addition, you can enable “ContactPoint” schema type.
Schema Pro – How to Buy
This plugin is powered by Brainstorm Force. You can purchase using PayPal or credit card. The following credit-cards are supported – Visa, MasterCard, Discover & American Express.
Currently a limited time offer of 10% is available. You can use the promo code – SAVE10. You are supported by “No Questions Asked “ 14-day money-back guarantee. Full and Prompt refund is promised.
You can see your purchase under “Downloads” section of your account. Under “Licenses” section you can see your license code. You need to enter this code to activate your Schema Pro version in WordPress dashboard. To do this you can visit the official documentation of this plugin.
I purchased this plugin for $71 after discount. You can cancel your automatic-billing or renewal of your subscription in PayPal after you make the purchase. This prevents auto-renewal of your account.
Documentation
There are different docs related to this plugin.
You have getting started articles, general articles and articles for developers.
One can also make revenue using the affiliate program. There are 21 articles in the getting started section.
Some of them are –
- How to Add a Schema Markup for a Book page?
- How to Add a Schema Markup for a Recipe Page?
- How to Add a Schema Markup for a Video Object?
- Advanced Settings in Schema Pro
- How to Accept User Ratings from Users in Schema Pro?
- How to Map Fields with Custom Fields from Third Party Plugins?
- How to Add a Schema Markup for different schemas?
There are 16 articles in the general section. These include –
- Disable Schema Markup on AMP Pages/Posts for Reader Mode
- How to Implement Breadcrumbs with Schema Pro?
- How to Create Custom Fields Using Schema Pro?
- How to Map Required Fields with Custom Fields?
- How to Map Your Schema Fields in Schema Pro?
- How to Test a Schema Snippet?
Technical Support
Till now, the technical support through email is great.
I met one support guy known as Gaurav.
He is excellent in communication skills and answers in a polite way. Though the support team looks like from India, I don’t see that cheap tactics as of other Asian customer support guys.
I asked a question of adding an extra property to existing properties of Software Application schema.
The answer was prompt with clear-explanation of the problem and providing links to proper articles. He also provided me customized code, for the same issue.
My Experience
I used the plugin for different schema types like Software Application, Review etc.
It was a breeze using the plugin. I just had to map the corresponding fields. The main advantage comes in mapping fields from third-party plugins.
A similar plugin like “Strcutured Data & Schema for AMP and WP” by Magazine 3 performs the same functionality. It is free. But it is resource intensive and is not light-weight. I have seen reduction in traffic after using that plugin.
On the contrary, Schema Pro is more simple, easy-to-use, light-weight. The most significant fact is that it does not slow the wordpress panel.
Other schema plugins like WP Review Pro have produced instant star rating results for me. But when the license expired, it caused lag on my wordpress panel operations.
In true sense, I am yet to see the results of using this plugin. I have applied the Review Schema to one of the software applications on my Windows site. But the star ratings disappeared after using this plugin.
So, I’m little fingers crossed to see if this plugin works to show rich snippets in Google.
Let me know your experience in the comments section below.