A Simplified Look at Structured Data & Why It Matters

Today, enterprises can use data analytics tools to organize and simplify unstructured and structured data. In the online realm, the focus mostly revolves around structured data. Of course, like structured data, unstructured data goes through a process and caters to specific business needs.

But most applications, use cases, and trends boil down to structured data. A report by IBM highlights that the global data volume managed to reach 35 zettabytes by 2020. IBM also predicts that the global data volume will reach 175 zettabytes in 2025.

In 2022, the data sphere on a global scale is changing for good, and structured data is at the center of it. Unstructured data represents 80% of the total global data volume, while structured data represents 20% of all processed and generated information.

And when it comes to data tools, data usability, and data functions, it becomes clear structured data is the end game.

What Makes Up Structured Data?

Structured data refers to a standardized approach to providing information. For instance, structured data allows Google to make sense of posted content online. One of the basic traits of structured data is that it is formatted and organized and allows enterprise users to integrate it with relational databases effortlessly.

Remember, structured data falls under the umbrella of tabular forms like SQL databases. Since structured data ties together with relational databases, it is easier to integrate it with AI-powered and machine learning solutions. Primarily, structured data gets accumulated from DBMS systems and spreadsheets. But in some cases, structured data can be quantitative.

Although structured data is a rare type of data, it is still the most user-friendly and sought-after information. And that’s because structured data is accumulated directly from relational database management systems and spreadsheets.

Whether it’s finance, healthcare, or another sector, most data is accumulated from web sources. In short, structured data represents about 20% of global data volume but has become more valuable than ever for investors and organizations. Remember that secondary data is part of the 20% structured and clean data.

Importance of Structured Data in 2022

Structured data is incredibly valuable for Google and other search engines to better process and contextualize content on sites. In fact, structured data improves the chance of machines to direct and redirect the specific content of a site based on keywords.

Structured data is the foundation when users get directed to a website that increases average traffic volume. It would be fair to state that structured data is a fundamental aspect of SEO. But structured data does not impact SEO ranking directly. Instead, it improves the user experience and allows websites to become readily available to users.

Structured data makes the user experience of users and customers convenient on a site. For instance, when you’re looking for a pasta dish with specific ingredients in mind, you’re bound to get a multitude of results. And this is where structured data comes to the rescue. It generates an overview description, title, and star rating of the most sought out pasta dish in an instant.

You can see markup schema or structured data in the form of grey text, which allows you to separate it from other search engine results. At its core, structured data makes it easier for users to navigate a long list of choices efficiently.

How Can You Spot Structured Data?

While it depends on the type of content, there are usually different fields in the form of code. Google has dedicated guides that outline how can use different types of structured data. Each type of structured data has its own properties and prerequisite requirements.

So, if you want to improve your engagement level on the search engine results page, make sure to mark up most fields. For instance, you can use data testing tools to identify issues, warnings, or errors within the markup of structured data and preview snippets at the same time.

Implementing Structured Data

To implement structured data, you can start by adding the markups on your page. But before constructing the code and integrating it into your page, make sure you have defined all the recommended and required properties. At this stage, you can add JSON-LD code to your page’s <head>. Simultaneously, integrate RDFa and Microdata into your page’s <body> content.

Here’s an example of what your code may look like:

On top of standard testing tools, you can utilize status reports from Google Search Console to find out which pages are experiencing troubleshooting issues and getting rich results. For instance, with Google’s Rich Results Test, you can now check how refined the results are across mobile and desktop. It is one of the best ways to make sure the markup of structured data is compatible across different devices before Google makes default changes while indexing pages.

Benefits of Structured Data

From marketers to business users to SEO specialists, structured data offers a variety of benefits:

1. Featured snippets

You can see structured data as an opportunity and rank your web content in the form of featured snippets. In 2022, featured snippets have become important to search engine results. In fact, most of the organic traffic on web pages is ranked through featured snippets.

One of the highlights of featured snippets is that it allows businesses to generate the best results. But after implementing structured data, don’t hope for guaranteed featured snippets. Still, it allows Google to choose a small snippet and highlight it as a featured snippet.

2. Improved Visibility on Search Engines

Proper implementation of structured data can improve the visibility of web pages on search engines. Structured data helps search engine crawlers find and interpret a page’s contents. Consequently, it improves the basic understanding and indexing of your content. Over time, it improves your visibility on the search engine results page.

3. Higher CTR

According to Google’s case study, it is crucial to leverage structure data to improve organic CTR or click-through rate by 20%. Remember that the richer the results – the higher the CTR rate. And CTR is an important element for online businesses to boost their visibility and get more traffic.

4. More Control Over Data and Content

With structured data, you can assume more control over your information and web content. For instance, structured data gives you control over “how” search engine crawlers interpret your content and how it pops up on the SERP. Business users can leverage structured data to get more impressions and improve online credibility.

Google’s Perspective

In a broad sense, Google has made it clear repeatedly that personalized efforts improve the accuracy of results. And understanding the fundamentals, applications, and use cases of structured data allows businesses to maintain a growth-driven presence online. And most importantly, Google gets more wiggle room to hit its targeted goals related to structured data.

Using structured data, business users can make the indexing process easier for the search engine. Similarly, SEO experts believe that the SEO future will come down to better control of information, which translates into a better information flow. Structured data helps enterprise users gain control over how Google understands, showcases, and perceives you to worldwide users.

Making the Most Out of Structured Data

If you’re not aware of certain technologies, utilizing structured data can be complicated. Still, if you want to improve your ranking on the search engine results page, run successful ad campaigns, drive more organic traffic to your site, or improve your click-through rates, you have to harness the value and power of structured data.

For starters, you can define data through standardized vocabularies such as Schema. Similarly, companies in the process of improving their marketing can improve their overall marketing efforts using structured data. Whether you want to achieve a ubiquitous online presence, sell products faster, better understand customers, or drive more traffic, structured data is central. In the context of structured data, the possibilities are endless.

Final Thoughts

In retrospect, structured data has the power to transform an enterprise and drive unprecedented growth. Structured data is instrumental in pushing a company in the right direction. It makes it possible for an enterprise to maintain a solid web presence and collect valuable data over time.

In today’s fast-paced and competitive business landscape, you have been aware of the newest data trends and innovative tools to make a difference. Through new technologies, businesses can optimize their operations, increase sales, and improve the bottom line.

In 2022, it has become vital for entities to lean towards the best data preparation, data cleaning, data analysis, and data visualization tools to make sense of unstructured and structured data. In the end, structured data can empower business users, including non-technical users.

The key is to interactively and proactively prepare and explore complex and simple data sources to render the most accurate structured data. Data analysts believe that structured data plays a crucial role in mapping customer journeys and automating sales data. Despite the variance and complexity of data, business users can leverage structured data to make informed, calculated, and logical decisions.

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