Every brand aims to appear on Google's SERP. The benefits that come from that are no news to even a beginner. However, ranking on the SERP is impossible if Google doesn't understand what your content is about. This is where schema markup becomes effective.
It is a code that webmasters add to their web pages. It helps search engine crawlers to understand what each property or entity on your page stands for. Thanks to this, Google can index your site more efficiently.
If you're a regular in the web community, you may be familiar with the different types of this markup. However, one of these that has a tremendous effect on businesses today is event schema markup.
Does your brand regularly hosts live events? If yes, this schema is essential for your site. And what's more, it might be the total game-changer you need to boost your online presence. But what is it? And why should you consider it? Here is everything you need to know about the event schema markup.
What is an Event Schema Markup?
Event schema markup is a code that specifically informs crawlers of event-related entities on a webpage. By doing so, crawlers can embed this info on the SERPs when indexing your site. Many companies looking to beat competitors and increase attendance have found this to be the perfect solution. An example is the leading event platform, Eventbrite.
By adding this markup, your webpage will have a more detailed appearance on the SERP. Instead of only a big blue link, you'll receive more detailed info (some of these include the date, price, and location) about the event, which will help attract traffic.
Event schema consists of several properties which influence the information crawlers will index. The essential properties include:
The URL that links to the event page.
The name of your event.
The location where the event takes place.
The time and date when the events start and end.
You can also add other properties to the markup. These might not be required, but they provide more info to users. Some of them include a relevant image, description, schedule, performance, and status of your event.
Importance of Event Schema in SEO
Is event schema worth the time? Why should you consider it? Here are four benefits this structured data brings to your Search Engine Optimization and business as a whole.
IT GRANTS YOU RICH SNIPPETS
As seen above, event schema is the best way to let Google understand the essential details relating to your event. And once it does, Google can add these details to its result page, giving you a rich snippet. Rich snippet? These are more relevant info on your brand in addition to the default blue link.
An example is the knowledge panel that appears on the side of the SERP. It contains several features, from brand details to eye-catching visuals. When you have a rich snippet for your event, you let your audience get access to quality information. And this benefits you in several ways.
INCREASES TRAFFIC
One benefit of a rich snippet is undoubtedly an increase in traffic. People will be more inclined to click on the link to your web page. Why is that so? For instance, imagine you are the user who’s searching for info about an event.
You see two different websites offering what you need. However, one has a rich snippet that gives you more detailed knowledge on the spot. The other only has the default blue link with a short meta description underneath. Which would you be willing to visit? Of course, the former. The same goes for other visitors. Simply put, rich snippets from event markup increase your CTR (Click-Through-Rate) and traffic.
IT HELPS YOU RANK FOR VOICE SEARCH
With voice search, users can make a query by speaking instead of texting. It allows you to make quick queries, especially where and when you cannot type. Schema markup is one of the best ways of ranking for this search method. After all, it provides relevant info in a quick and organized manner. You can use this to reach a larger audience.
IT IS THE BEST WAY TO PROMOTE ALL YOUR EVENTS
Whether your event is occurring online or in person, implementing event schema can spike up your attendance. This can undoubtedly lead to a whole lot of sales – the end goal for every business.
So, are you a brand looking to generate lots of traffic for its event pages? If so, then event schema markup is the code for you. But how do you implement it, especially if you do not know how to code? Not to worry, below are the simplest and most effective steps to take when adding event schema markup to your event web pages.
How to Implement Event Schema
NOTE: Before you can add event schema, ensure that a robot meta tag or a robots.txt file is not restricting Google from crawling your event pages. After all, if Google can't crawl your page, there is no point in inserting schema markups.
Also, use markup for only pages that focus on one event to earn rich results. So, if you have more than one event, create separate webpages for them and markup to each.
Once you've done that, consider the following steps:
Create the Markup Code
The first step is to write the markup code. However, if you can't, there's no need to bother. On WordPress, you can get lots of schema plugins that will help you do this easily. What if you're not using WordPress?
Then, you can opt for markup generators, considered the easiest way of creating schema. As the name implies, it generates the code for you in minutes. How does it work? It's simple. Much like meta tag generators, you only need to provide the details of your page. These include the event’s name, date, description, and more. Afterward, it generates the code for you. Ensure your code is in the JSON-LD format as Google recommends it.
Test the Event Schema
Before inserting the markup into your site's source code, you need to test it to see if Google views it as eligible for rich snippets. Google’s rich results tool is ideal for this. You only have to paste your event HTML code in the URL bar and select whether to test with 'Googlebot desktop or smartphone. Afterward, click the 'Test URL' button.
If no error is found in the code, the tool will inform you it can receive rich snippets. But if there are errors – for example, you don't fill in all the recommended and required event tags, the tool will show warnings. So, if possible, ensure your event tags or properties (as seen above) is complete, especially if you have the details available.
Insert the code into your page
There are different ways of deploying the markup to your site. But an easy way is by using Google’s tag manager. As the name indicates, it is a tool that allows users to manage their tags without needing to edit the site's code. By using this tool, you can easily start implementing schema markup for your event pages.
Wrapping UP
Optimizing every page of your website is necessary if you want to effectively drive traffic and boost rankings. And this is not only limited to your home, blog, category, and product pages. Ranking your event pages is also as important. After all, how do you promote the events and increase viewers?
As seen earlier in this article, the event schema markup is the best way of doing so. Whether you want to hold it virtually or in person, receiving a rich result for your event can be the game-changer you need.
Granted, at first glance, implementing this markup may prove difficult and techy. Because of this, some fail to give it a shot. As you've seen above, you don't need a programming degree to markup your events. Yes, the steps and tools discussed here will help you do so with ease.
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