Nonprofits how would you like to receive $10,000 a month for free Google advertising? In this case, it is not too good to be true. Currently, thousands of Nonprofits have benefited from Google Ad Grants. Below will review topics recently discussed during a Google Ads Grants webinar hosted by Catchafire. “Google Ads: Overview for Beginners.” Topics will be reviewing:

• What is Google Ad Grants
• Do You Need
• Eligibility and Set-up
• Creating Your First Campaign
• Keyword Research

What is Google Ad Grants?

Google Ads is formerly known as Google AdWords and Google AdWords Express. These are the advertisements. That appears when you search Google, YouTube, and other sites across the web. Businesses that buy Google Ads, are able to choose specific goals for their ads. Such as driving phone calls or website visits. Here is additional information on Google Ads. There are similarities between Google Ads and Google Ad Grants. However, there are also restrictions when using Ad Grants.

Google Ad Grants – Do You Need

First, decide if your nonprofit needs Google Ad Grants. For example, your nonprofit must have a website. Also, must have traffic goals for the application to analyze. And someone at your organization to create and manage the ads. Ad creation and maintenance are important. Without your organization will not follow guidelines in the policy compliance guide. We will discuss this guide more below. If you have a website and targeted goals. And do not have time to manage. We can help with your Ad Grants management.

Google Ad Grants – Eligibility & Set-up

Besides having a website, what else is required to be eligible for the grant? First, you must be a 501c3 nonprofit. Then review and ensure you meet all requirements. Once you have determined you are eligible. The next step, request a Google for Nonprofits account. Additional steps then need to be completed. To help, we created a seven-step guide.

Google Ad Grants – Creating Your First Campaign

Once you are accepted, time to create your first campaign. There are certain rules to adhere to when building your Google Ads Grants campaigns. As mentioned above. You must have a website for your Nonprofit. When you create the campaign you will enter your website’s URL.

Then input the information about the campaign such as the campaign title. Next, where the campaign will be viewed (by state, country, worldwide, etc.). Once the initial information is completed. Refer to the flowchart below. This shows what is required to create each Google Ad Grants campaign:

Creating the Ads

You can create more ads than shown in the flow chart above. However, two ads are the required amount. For each ad, provide a link to the webpage that relates to the ad. Can not be a link to your social media site. Additional information such as setting a budget goal. Then providing at least 5 keywords per ad. And creating a minimum of two text ads and one responsive ad.

In addition, as mentioned above. Rules on ad creation are different from Google Ads. Review the policy compliance guide. To understand what is not allowed for Google Ad Grants.

Difference Between Text and Responsive Ads

A text ad has three parts, a headline, display URL, and description text. You write the headline and description. Then insert the URL from your website. Your headline and description length need to be close to the word count allotted.

Whereas responsive ads are built using Google’s algorithm. With responsive ads, Google can tweak your headlines and descriptions. This enables your ad to compete in more auctions. Meaning your ad has a higher chance of being shown.

Google Ad Grants – Keyword Research

Google Ads is used to attract people to your site. To help with a cause, donations, etc. Google Ads uses an algorithm to determine which ads to show and when. In order to have your ads seen more by the right people. You need the right keywords. To determine the right keywords use. There are tools such as SEMRush. A tool that analyzes keywords. Another free keyword search tool is Google Ads Keyword Planner.

What keywords should you search for? If you are lost on where to start. Google has a resource that shows what types of keywords to use.

Bad Keywords

Now, let’s re-review the Google Policy Compliance Guide. When you are inputting keywords. There are some that are not allowed to be used. Such as single words. As well as overly generic keywords. Once your ad is running keywords will be ranked. Always review your keywords in each campaign often. And pause all keywords with a low-quality score of 1 or 2.

Additional Information

In addition to the Google Ad Grants. Nonprofits will have access to other free services provided by Google. Resources for G Suite and Google Earth and Maps. All available to apply for.

In conclusion, Google offers many services for nonprofits. Watch the Google Ad Grants webinar. Think the grant might help. Why not sign up and try it out. Free advertising that your nonprofit can benefit from. On the world’s most viewed websites.

Features of the Google Web Stories Plugin

Web stories, formerly known as AMP stories, are an interactive way to engage with your users. And recently, we got the Google web stories WordPress plugin. Today we will tell you about what web stories are and how they can help your SEO rankings. We will also talk about the new Google web stories plugin and what this means for your content. And lastly, we will outline how web stories are changing and what that means for your business.

It is undeniable that an official WordPress plugin is going to make web stories even more popular. But it will be hard to understand these changes without knowing about the basics of the medium. That’s why we’re going to start with the basics. So let’s define what web stories are and talk about how they can drive traffic for your site.

Web Stories and SEO

A web story is a full-screen visual storytelling medium. These projects take google search results and transform them into an interactive space to make information more visually compelling. The results of these projects are a breath of fresh air for users and, as a result, are highly engaging. This medium creates brand new ways for you to communicate with users. Instead of text, a web story helps content creators speak visually. This visual element can help build trust in your content because the user feels involved.

This visual and interactive experience helps draw-in users. But a user actively participating in a search means they are more likely to retain information too. A standard search result can drive traffic to your website, but a web story can make this process into a journey. When a user finds content via a web story, they are a part of that discovery. This inclusion creates invested users who are excited to engage with your website. Its no wonder why people are so happy to use the new plugin!

WordPress and Web Stories

The advent of this plugin hints that we will start seeing professional and sleek designs from thousands of more users than before. As we know, WordPress plugins can make seemingly impossible tasks very easy. This ease means anyone can now utilize this highly effective messaging platform! These stories might even become an industry-standard you can come to expect from a professional website.

Plugins also help create easy user interactions. This google-designed plugin should be no different; we can expect WordPress web stories to start standardizing themes and templates that users can become accustomed too. Web stories were always highly engaging, but now they will be easy to implement also! The addition of plugin support means web stories will become a new industry standard.

Web Stories Plugin for Business

The new plugin format will affect how content is made and consumed for everyone. On the web development end, we can expect a content boom. Any time the entry barrier gets lowered, people will flock to it and see if it can help their solutions. And a web story is a prime candidate for this. Businesses interested in using a web story can expect the price of implementation to drop. This change will mean affordable and breath-taking design.

For designers, this new tool will come with some required learning. While projects are in their early stages, web designers are often learning and unlearn the changing key features. But this education is vital for designers. With massive companies like google and major advertisers backing the project, it will be essential to know. Web designers have to stay on top of trends, and web stories are positively trending right now.

Google Web Stories WordPress Plugin

The new WordPress plugin support for web stories marks the changing of an era for digital marketing. From now on, web designers can quickly implement a web story into their campaigns seamlessly. This new tool means we can expect to see some changes in how we think about web story content. A web story is a full-screen interactive story that displays information similarly to an average google search. This medium lets people see results in a visual format rather than text. This additional layer of information will undoubtedly help your SEO ranking.

A plugin will also make these designs more comfortable with making and using. Because people can easily create their own web story now, we can expect to see more of them. Plugin support will also make designing easier. These factors mean we will begin to see a uniform and cost-effective web story designs all over the internet.

Using a new plugin can be a challenging endeavor and can feel like a serious undertaking. And any update to WordPress can be scary. But Kallen media can make the process easy. If you’re looking for help with adding a web story plugin to your website, contact Kallen media and let us help you.

Getting your content noticed online can feel like an impossible task. But as long as you know where to put your information, you can successfully market through content. By far, one of the easiest and best places for content marketing is social media. Social media platform content marketing can make a massive difference for your business. So today, we are going to outline seven different strategies for this kind of marketing.

1. Adaptive Content

With many people own a mini-computer that fits in a pocket, it can be easy to find anything with a quick search. One way to have consumers continue to visit your site, blog, or product is to post on different platforms. By developing content that is available within a desktop or on a smartphone, you are creating adaptive content that can be accessed easily.

 2. Target Specific Keywords with Your Content

Before writing your content, think of what keywords you would use to help target your article or blog. Tagging will lead people to what they are looking for within your work. Some quick ways to do this are by including them in the: URL, title, and beginning of the post.

When you target keywords, you bring people to your website. Targeted keywords will generate your Organic Traffic. A plus is that it will increase your search rank. An additional tip is while using targeted keywords, make use of emotional keywords, or words that describe what you crave.

 3. Native Advertising

One form of gaining readers is through the use of Native Advertising. This advertising can be a controversial form of bringing people to your site to some people. It is widely used and not harmful if not used with ill intent. The only difference between your article and the use of native advertising is paid to build up a product. For instance, if a company pays you to write about them and publicize it as your article, that would be considered a native advertisement. One way to combat the bad stigma is by clearly stating and showing that the article is sponsored and paid for by that company.

4. Targeting the Right Niche

Just because you can write an article tailored for your readers does not mean it is standing to its full potential.

You would not introduce what your company stands for with a recurring customer, would you? Or vice versa, expecting a new customer to know as much about your company as a returning customer and buyer. It is good to know your audience but even better to know who makes up your customers and buyers. Understanding your niche is also beneficial if you are into Google Analytics. An additional way to keep readers coming back is at the end of an article, and you have suggestions for similar pieces, blogs, and products.

5. Create Raving Fans

Whether they are new or a returning reader or buyer, you want them to continue to view your website and articles. Some surefire and straightforward ways to do this are by making sure you produce quality over quantity material, suggest similar materials, and collect their information.

One way to improve writing quality is by reading and writing more. But writing more can be the hard part. Another way is to suggest similar articles that can be found on your website. You preserve the readers, so they revisit your site on separate occasions. Additional action is to collect their information. Their email, for instance, whether it is a banner across their screen when first visiting or alongside similar ads suggestions, collecting data is a must.

6. Make it Easy to Navigate Your Content

In an age of minimalism and looking sharp, the same will apply to your page! Do not overload your page with content. It is understandable to show your reader how much great content you have, but that can do more harm than good.

Less is more when it comes to building up your articles for content marketing. You can separate your pieces with images to create space. Or divide your pages and reports through the use of tabs. By having tabs that can separate content, you make it easy to navigate your content while also increasing the probability that the reader will stay on your site, which will in-turn increase your SEMrush score.

7. Evolve Gradually with Competitors

Everyone wants to be the best in the game. People are creative, and they are learning to become a great writer. These are all things the social media platform content marketing is trying to find. One other thing you can do to improve your skills is to keep up with competitors. Stay updated on them. What are they doing that maybe you are not doing or should improve?

Evolving with them does not mean to focus on them. Do not make this your sole purpose or goal. If you focus on your competitors, you will create a bubble for yourself.

For-profit activism in the private sector is rare and often more about optics than anything else. That’s one of the many reasons its important to support real heroes who do work to help our communities. One easy way marketing companies can show our support is by connecting these organizations to advertising grants.  Communication can be a costly challenge for these companies. But Google AdWords can help. Google AdWords activism is growing every day. But how does it work?

Google AdWords is a grant program for nonprofit companies. This program offers grants of up to 10,000 dollars to registered organizations to reach out to target markets. The vast majority of nonprofits operate with less than one million dollars in the budget. This budget means that in the best case, a communications budget would be around 150,000 dollars. A free google ad grant can increase this budget by 15 percent. Imagine what it could do for a smaller company.

How Marketers Can Help

 

Learn about nonprofits in your community. If you find a nonprofit who you think could use your help, reach out to them and explain what you’re offering. And if you can, offer your services for a reduced cost. Nonprofits can struggle to gain attention; this is where marketing excels. By directly connecting a nonprofit to an ad grant program, you can facilitate significant change.

 

Lots of nonprofits don’t know about the resources marketing firms are aware of. The advertising landscape changes fast, and the professionals in the field might have more accurate information. Marketing agencies need to work together with nonprofits. Because together they can get a message out there. So how does AdWords work? First, you have to register.

Qualifying for Google Ad Grants

 

So what are the requirements for a Google AdWords grant? First, you have to be a registered charitable nonprofit. The service is not available for government entities, health care institutions, or schools. However, Google does offer a similar program for schools called Google for education. In the United States, this means being an official 501(c)(3) organization. After this, you must register with Google, through Tech Soup.

Registering with google means creating a nonprofit account. After requesting a nonprofit account, Google will verify your nonprofit status. Google uses Techsoup to handle its verification process. Once Techsoup confirms a nonprofit, Google will notify the company, and they are eligible for their free grant! Once checked, these companies are also suitable for free access to G-suite products and a separate YouTube nonprofit program.

Google AdWords for Activism

 

Once processed and verified, you can begin accessing google ad grant finances. Google has placed a daily limit of 329 dollars. Google’s money is intended for use in key-word targeted campaigns that produce text ads. Unfortunately, Google will naturally place these ads below paid ads. This placement means that money needs to be spent wisely. Google AdWords activism’s purpose is to create highly targetted ad campaigns. So why are some areas where these ads excel?

Google text ads have an incredibly broad reach. So if you need to broadcast information, they are nearly perfect tools. Because of this, they are connecting people through text ads is a highly effective tactic. Connecting with people is vastly vital for grassroots activism, and Google AdWords can help similarly because targeted advertisements allow organizations to gather specific supporters or financial backing. These tools can be used for any targeted text-based ad. However, these particular uses are highly successful tactics.

Examples of AdWords at Work

 

Here at Kallen Media, we have seen the power an ad grant can have on a nonprofit. Connecting these organizations with free advertising capital has been a cornerstone of our operations from day one. From connecting students to after school activities, to fundraising Kallen Media is proud to stand with the community we’re growing in.

In the past, we’ve helped the Tucson girls chorus promote their valuable service. In the past, we have helped companies through every step of using google ad grants. To use Google ad words, activism is the perfect way to ensure a brighter future.

Activism in Marketing

 

As marketing agencies, we have a voice and a platform. One of the best things companies can do to help people is amplified their message. Advertising grants provide tools for nonprofits to reach out and connect with their communities. The change will not come overnight, and for lasting progress to be made, we must all commit substantial resources and time. One area where all of these goals intersect is google ad words.

Google AdWords can help establish nonprofit social service organizations, which in turn will aid everyone. If you want to learn more about google ad grants or need help developing service for your nonprofit, contact Kallen Media via our website. To learn more about how you can support the black lives matter movement, please visit their website.

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, released information on their plans to respond to the ever-growing COVID crisis. This $800+ million plan targets health and government organizations, frontline pandemic workers, and SMBs (small businesses). Most valued for entrepreneurs and small business owners is the opportunity to receive free Google Ads credits.

Where is the Money Going?

 

Google plans to commit a total of $540 million to small businesses in the form of investment funds for financial institutions and Google Ads credits for SMBs.The rest, Google plans to give $250 million in ad grants to the World Health Organization and other government agencies to run public service announcements on protocol and relief funds, as well as other resources. 

In ad credits alone the $540 million to small businesses divides into $340M. with the rest to be distributed to financial institutions around the world to help provide small businesses with access to capital. 

Google Ads Credits are mostly a form of online currency used to run advertising campaigns through Google’s multitude of outlets. Credits are purchased and spent on advertising slots in places like YouTube and Google searches, etc. If you’d like to delve deeper into that subject, here’s a good start. Google’s plan to support SMBs with free credits will allow some smaller companies to be able to market themselves in a competitive advertising space that they may not otherwise have been able to afford. 

 

Why Are Ads Credits More Important Now?

 

These are challenging times for all of us. Currently, many people are unable to work or visit anyone in their lives. And while some of us can work from home, some can’t. For small businesses, it can be especially severe in the current climate to stay afloat. With everyone locked inside, it’s challenging to reach potential customers and drive them toward your products or services. Without the normal flow of business, it becomes more challenging to afford to run advertisements to enter your target market. What you need is an online marketing presence that stands out and gets your website traffic. That may seem like a daunting task to accomplish, but with help from a team that’s won thousands of business driving clicks for their clients, you can still see your business flourish regardless of the challenges we all face currently as business owners.

 

Google’s commitment to small businesses is especially important now because it can help SMBs thrive despite the current situation. Running advertisements for your company is crucial! Google’s opportunity for free advertising may be vital for the survival of your livelihood. 

 

Google Ads are one of the most effective ways to reach potential consumers in the digital age. Being a company with experience in running Google Ads accounts for our clients, the results tend to speak for themselves. Google runs advertisements on nearly every website. No doubt, you run into ads every single day when browsing the web. Now that everyone is home, online traffic is at an all-time high. Many of us are working from home, and our best form of regular communication is digital. Now more than ever is the right time to consider running an advertising campaign with Google Ads.

 

Getting Access to Ads Credits

Small and medium-sized businesses that have been active users of Google Ads since at least Jan 1, 2019, can get these credits. Google will credit eligible companies will be through their Ads account within the coming months that their credits have arrived. After that, these credits apply to any of Google’s advertising channels: (Search, Display, YouTube) in all campaign types. Additionally, businesses may utilize the loans at any time until the end of 2020.

 

It helps to have an experienced team on your side when planning an online advertising campaign, don’t go at it alone! Many companies have the knowledge and tools to manage your Google Ads account for you, allowing you to focus on the core of your business while knowing you’re taking advantage of the opportunities Google’s COVID relief fund is providing.

 

A Good Place To Start!

 

Online advertising, in the right way, takes experience and can be especially complicated. However, with assistance from Google, there’s no reason not to take advantage of free advertising space. If you haven’t run an online ad campaign recently or aren’t sure of the plan you’d like to make, now is the right time to get in contact with a team that can help design something that will work for you. At Kallen Media, our primary objective is to help your small business thrive in the online world, even within the touchy consumer market we’re in today. Together, we can create an online ad campaign that’s truly special. Free google ad credits can help your next campaign. Contact Us and let us help your business thrive!

Within the digital world, there are tons of different outlets to spend your marketing budget.  Pay per click campaigns through search engines should be at the top of your list of investments.  These advertisements allow your company to stand out above the organic competition. This strategy is the opportunity to be seen and beat the larger organic pages, which you may not be ahead of otherwise.  That is why I have created a beginner’s guide to google ads.

 

This article is going to cover the pay per click advertising campaigns available for small businesses through search engines.  All these programs are going to be self serve advertising programs as well. The different company’s plans share many similarities.  In many cases, building a campaign on Google Ads can be easily transferred to both Bing and Yahoo. This strategy helps save time, creating multiple of the same campaigns on different platforms.  Because of this, I am going to focus on building your first pay per click campaign using Google Ads.

 

Google Ads

 

The behemoth of digital advertising platforms is Google Ads.  Google Ads allows for a variety of ways of business to get in contact with their desired markets.  Their platform has two different primary forms. The first is smart campaigns, and the second is going to be a manual campaign.  A smart campaign is generalized with topics and allows for minimum editing.  

 

This campaign is for a beginner or someone who has not utilized Google Ads before.  The recommended campaign is going to be manual. This setting allows for complete customization and targeting of audiences.  If you are interested in learning more, Google offers its Google Ad Certification for free online.  Similarly, if you are a nonprofit, you should read our article “How To Setup Google Ad Grants in 7 Steps“ to find out how you could be eligible for a $10,000 ad spend the grant.

 

Introduction to Campaigns

 

For the rest of this section, I will focus on the manual campaigns.  The next step is going to be what kind of goals you want to set for your campaign.  There are a variety of options to choose from for your campaign. Most of the time, I recommend tracking sales as this is typically the goal of most campaigns.  Similarly, there are options to monitor traffic and specific niches depending on your campaign goal.  

Congratulations!  You have completed the first step in the beginner’s guide to google ads.

 

 

The next step is selecting the campaign type.  For Nonprofits using the Google Ad Grant, you will only be able to run a search campaign.  Otherwise, there is also the option of display, video, shopping, and smart campaigns. Display ads integrate themselves across the web, similar to Smart campaigns.  These are ads that “follow” users after they have expressed interest in your product. Shopping campaigns are featured product pages. Finally, video ads run across Youtube, the world’s largest online video platform.

 

 

The next step is determining what action you wish to track.  This section should consider what you will consider a conversion. Website visits can mean visiting a specific page.  Similarly, phone calls are referencing calls directed from the advertisement. Store visits calculate themselves using directions to your business.  Lastly, there are app downloads if you are looking to promote a mobile application.

 

 

General Settings

 

Once this step is complete, it is onto the general settings page.  This section is where you can name your campaign. I recommend choosing something that relates to the ads.  The more specific, the better.

 

Here you can verify what networks you want your campaign to be shown on, including the search and display networks.  Next, you can choose the geographic region your ads are displayed. The more specific you can be, the better.  Make sure you are targeting only the areas relevant to your product or service. There is also the option to choose the language and specific demographic to focus on if you have that information.

 

The next step is setting up a daily budget.  The budget is the maximum amount you are comfortable with Google spending in a day.  To find your monthly budget cost multiply the daily amount by 30. This budget will ensure you do not go over your advertising budget on accident.  Forbidding strategy, I utilize the maximum conversion setting. This tactic lets Google do the advanced bidding for you for keywords.

 

At the bottom of the general settings, you will find the ad extension section.  Here is where you will be able to place Sitelink, Callout, and call extensions. Sitelink extensions take people to specific pages of your website.  A callout is similar where you are featuring a product, service, or feature you offer, without the link aspect. Finally, a call extension allows you to add a phone number to your ads.

 

Set Up Ad Groups

 

 

Setting up the ad groups is how you will determine what searches your company appears.  First, you will want to name your ad group. After that, I recommend entering your website in the related website field.  This research will have Google give you a list of suggested keywords to rank for in your niche. Keyword research and planning is one of the most critical aspects of creating your campaign.  

 

I would highly recommend contacting us for a free consultation on building your first campaign.  Utilizing long-tail keywords is the best way to make the most out of a smaller advertising budget.  This strategy may mean less overall traffic, but more of the traffic has a higher chance of converting. The number of keywords per ad group can help immensely.  In some cases, you may only want a few specific words, while in others, you may have over 100!

 

Create Ads

 

Now it is time to create what your potential clients are going to see!  This process starts by choosing the landing page. You will want people to go to after clicking the ad.  Having a call to action on the page is essential for gaining a high conversion rate. Next, you will want to create headlines that grab the reader’s attention.  Try to imagine what kind of language and wording would excite yourself to click.  Heighten yourself to an expert Google advertiser since you have nearly completed the beginner’s guide to google ads.

 

 

Once the headlines are active, it is time to write descriptions.  These will describe the purpose of the ad, and what users should expect.  Headlines are a great place to write your mission or the goal for your ad. The ads will then be combined with the extensions to create what your searchers will see.

 

Confirmation of Ads

 

Finally, it is time to finish and confirm your campaign.  Look over your campaign to make sure all the information looks correct and good to go.  Once finalized, your ads will be live and ready for potential clients to find.

 

Conversion and Traffic Tracking

 

Your ads should now be up and running.  While your setup is complete, the work is far from over. Currently, your campaigns must be watched and tracked.  Tracking is the only way your business will be able to tell if it is worth investing in Google Ads.  Below you will find the Google Ads dashboard.

 

 

The clicks and impression sections can both be changed to view a variety of statistics.  As your campaigns run, more information will be gathered and presented in the dashboard. Running a successful campaign means there need to be changes and close attention paid.  This strategy is why we offer Google Ads management services to provide both detailed reports and plans on the results of the campaign.

 

Competitor Search Engines

 

After this, you should have a pretty good idea how to get started creating a pay per click campaign on Google.  I would recommend you use Google Ads to create your initial campaigns. The reason is that the top competitors allow for these campaigns to import directly.  Both Bing and Yahoo allow this, which are the two most significant search engines aside from Google. The dashboards are slightly different, but the overall structuring is the same.  Feel free to investigate the other channels to see if you can find success for your business. From Kallen Media’s experience, we have found much less traffic and cost, but also more reduced overall conversion quality.

 

How To Get Started With Pay Per Click

 

If you are a business struggling to get found online, these pay per click services is perfect for you.  By investing money, you can target the specific niche that buys your product and services. There are hours of research done to ensure you are maximizing your campaign.  No matter what, it is crucial to stay informed on how the digital landscape is shaping the future of advertising.  I hope you enjoyed my beginner’s guide to Google Ads if you or your business is interested in starting a pay per click campaign on a search engine or social media outlet, email nathan@kallenmedia.com or call 773-524-1483.

What Is Structured Data?

Today I am going to cover an introduction to structured data and why it is essential for your website. Most people are familiar with using search engines to find results based on their search. However, what people may not be as familiar with is why your search results look the way they do.  Before we dive in, I want to start with an introduction to structured data that may seem more familiar. Take a look at the image below. You may notice a variety of differences within each result that comes up for the “casserole recipe.”  This structure is because of structured data written on the backend of the website.

At the top of the search results are card-like structures.  Instead of a standard link, you get the recipe name, author, review ranking, and even some ingredients.  All of this is thanks to the structured data. Google uses data from a website’s “site map” to show more detailed results.  When you add a specific piece of code to your website that is structured data, it allows Google to augment your listing. When standing out from the competition is vital, this will give you an advantage. All of this together is why structured data is becoming such an essential holistic search engine optimization practice.

Where Does Structured Data Come From?

Structured data is what tells Google and other search engines what is important and what it should be displaying.  The project is primarily based on a web project called Schema.org. This website is a database for a markup language used to communicate with the search engines.  The communication happens by using a method of encoding data called JSON-LD. There are other ways available, but for this article, we will be focusing on Schema.org and JSON-LD.

Now you know that structured data is composed of JSON-LD markup.  The markup taken from Schema.org can now convert to structured data. Within the website, there are a variety of sections that highlights the type of data that can be composed.  Some great examples would be recipes, business hours, or author name. Not all posts or page types can break down into structured data for all search engines.  This is why it is essential to also take a look at the Google-approved markup. By doing this, you will ensure that the largest search engine can correctly index your website.  Indexing a website is when Google sends out their bots, which go from website to website capturing data. These bots are often called crawlers and are critical factors in how your website ranks in search results.

Website Integration

 

But now lies the question, what do we do, and how do we integrate it within our website?

Most people are not going to want to learn the code and backend of JSON-LD.  Luckily, there are a wide variety of other ways that you can implement your Schema markup.  The most common is going to be through utilizing a plugin. Currently, there are a wide variety of broad SEO plugins on the market.  These plugins are going to be the most comfortable option for most users. This will allow you to fill out data about your website and posts from a smooth user interface.  Some great examples of plugins to use would be the Moz or Yoast plugins. These companies offer both free and paid options that vary on the amount of support and opportunities given. This research is a significant first step in creating an optimized website while still being introduced to structured data.

A great alternative for people who may want to dive a bit deeper into their website would be to utilize Google Structured Data Testing Tool. Before we do that, I want to show you what the JSON-LD code for structured data will look like.  Don’t be overwhelmed by the code. If you focus on the few key points that I highlight, you will be able to use templates on most of your pages.  The first picture represents the JSON-LD code put in while the second represents that outcome.

Google Tools

After looking at the picture you should be able to see that there is a connection between the left and right sides.  This means that you will check Schema.org for the parts of markup required. For the example above, I used an article from Kallen Media.  The “@context” and “@type” will always start on the JSON-LD code side.  Below that is where you begin to describe to search engines what your page is composed of.  The reason we do this is that it is harder for computers to understand the meaning and context compared to humans.  By assigning values to names and specific aspects, it tells the search engines what it should be showing searchers. These values can change based on what type of post or page you are making your structured data markup.

Using Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool is one of my top recommendations when first getting acquainted with JSON-LD and Schema.org.  This is because it will tell you the errors that will occur for Google. This is important since Google is the top search engine and you want your website showing up!

Once you have created the markup that you want to add to your site, there are a few options for how to install it.  The easiest and most effective way is going to be using Google Tag Manager.  This interface allows you only to have to add a few pieces of Global site code to your website, instead of every bit of structured data you have done.  If you do not feel comfortable doing this, we offer search engine optimization services that include structure data creation for your website.

Finalize Your Data

Google Tag Manager will allow you to enter in the JSON-LD added to your database.  This then will allow all search engines to read the structured data snippets that you have.  However, you will need to slightly change your code for Google to accept it. The easiest way to do this is to paste the code into Yoast’s Script Helper.

Once you have done this, you can test your tags from within Google to make sure they are activated.  Once complete, your structured data should be ready to go for your website. This will mean that search engines will be able to read your content more accessible.  That means that your website should start standing out from competitors who invested in structured data. We are eager to see how structured data impacts businesses we work with.  If you have your website showing up using structured data snippets, let us know in the comments! Finally, if you need assistance setting-up SEO practices for your website, please reach out to Nathan@kallenmedia.com for more information on getting introduced to structured data.