2020.2: a new version to bring more meaning to the web
Published by Incomedia in WebSite X5 News · Tuesday 16 Jun 2020
After integrating the Premium Image Gallery and the important e-commerce features we released over the past few months, we're ready to launch the newest version of WebSite X5, 2020.2. This time around, we've focused on SEO, exploring the fascinating field of structured data, and introducing the use of this metadata into the code created by WebSite X5 Pro.
If you haven't yet heard of structured data, it can add indisputable benefits for your website, and we've found a way for you to easily get the most from it.
To learn more about how this all works, just keep reading.
What is structured data, and how to use it
Structured data is metadata, meaning data which describes other data. This data is inserted within web pages' HTML code in order to provide additional information, which serves to:
- help Google better understand the page's content;
- allow Google to enrich its Search Engine Results Page (SERP).
Let's take a closer look at the second point: Google uses structured data to turn a snippet into a rich snippet.
As you can see, a rich snippet can contain a series of elements, including graphic elements, like images, stars, reviews, prices, availability, etc.
This means rich snippets draw a lot more attention from users, so they generate a higher number of clicks. This results in more traffic to those pages: and isn't that what we're all aiming for?
To learn more about structured data, read the guide we've prepared for you: "What is structured data, and how to use it for SEO".
Structured data in WebSite X5
To implement structured data within a webpage, it needs to be “written” using vocabulary that Search Engines can understand (the Schema.org vocabulary) and using one of the 3 approved formats: RDFa, Microdata, or JSON-LD.
With WebSite X5 Pro, you don't need to worry about a thing, it's all taken care of for you. Just insert your content as usual, which will provide the program with all the necessary information: it will then automatically transform all this information into structured data for use within the pages’ HTML code.
You don't need to use any external applications or manually edit the code yourself: just insert the information requested as you create your pages, blog articles, or your store's shopping cart. Easy, right?!
Let's take a look at a few practical examples for a better understanding of how using structured data can benefit you.
Structured data and Local Business
In the SEO section of WebSite X5, you'll now find a dedicated panel for collecting structured data. Here, you can specify a set of information that's essential if you own a local business like a bar, restaurant, store, or company.
This information (name, address, contact information, opening hours, etc.) is added into the pages code as structured data: this data won't be visible to users, but it allows Google to better connect your website with your physical store, and display your site in the SERP with a nice listing like this one:
Products and structured data
As you know, Google can be your best ally when it comes to finding new clients for your online store.
Thanks to structured data, Google can add your product to Google Images and provide detailed information about it, using rich snippets that display reviews, prices, and availability.
To obtain structured data about your products with WebSite X5, all you need to do is insert the information required to set up your shopping cart: the program will take care of implementing the rest.
More visibility with carousels
Google can choose from several different formats to decide how to display results in the SERP.
One of the more attractive options is the carousel: a collection of elements with a modern, eye-catching design that effectively draws users’ attention as well as inciting them to click.
Google uses structured data in order to create carousels. Although there's no specific option for this in WebSite X5, know that the structured data used in the carousels is automatically generated both for your store's product catalog as well as for your blog article archive.
Get ready for voice search with Speakable
Voice Assistants are here: we're increasingly turning to them with our questions, which they answer by carrying out searches and reading just one of the available results.
Once again, structured data is what allows search engines to identify the excerpts that can be read by Voice Assistants: in WebSite X5, these excerpts are automatically created for all Blog articles.
In conclusion...
Do you see how implementing structured data can benefit you? It allows Google to better understand web content, and therefore respond with results that best suit your search queries. But most of all, structured data allows Google to enrich its SERP, so that it can present your website with a rich snippet, a carousel, or another similar element, which grants you more visibility, more clicks, and ultimately, more traffic to your website.