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HOW TO ADD SCHEMA TO YOUR WEBSITE USING GOOGLE TAG MANAGER

 

Do you want to know how to add Schema to your website but not really sure why you should?  Or even if you should?

Then read on!

Schema is a very important part of SEO but sadly overlooked by so many small business websites.  

This post is going to show you how to add Schema to your website very easily using Google Tag Manager, but first I want to explain what Schema is and why it’s so important.

What is Schema?

It’s a type of code that you can add to a web page to improve the way search engines read and understand what the page is about, and how to display it in search results.

(Please don’t switch off because I said code – it’s quite straightforward once you understand the basics and you don’t need to know how to code to use it!).

Adding Schema to a page will give it the opportunity of appearing in “Rich Results” – a much more visible way to appear in search results.

Here’s an example of Rich Results if you search for chocolate brownie recipe

How to add Schema to your website using Google Tag Manager screenshot 1

You can see theres an image, ratings and even how long the recipe takes to cook – much more interesting than your standard blue link isn’t it!

There are a few different Schema formats but the most important one is JSON-LD as it’s the one Google uses and recommends.

Why is Schema important?

Imagine how many more click throughs your website could get if one of your pages appeared like this.

Schema code helps search engines understand the content of your web pages better, which in turn allows them to improve their search results to their users, make your site more visible in search results and therefore increase your site visits.

A survey done by Searchmetrics found that more than one third of Google results incorporate rich snippets, but less than HALF a percent of websites were using Schema.

If barely any sites are using it then implementing it on yours will give you a MASSIVE chance to gain a Rich Result!

So now you understand what Schema is and why it’s so important – let’s start adding Schema to your website using Google Tag Manager 😀

How to add Schema to your website using Google Tag Manager

I’m assuming that you already have your website set up with Google Tag Manager.  If not this is an easy step by step tutorial from SEMRush on setting up a Google Tag Manager account https://www.semrush.com/blog/beginners-guide-to-google-tag-manager/.  Follow it to the Tags, Triggers and Variables section.

 

Step 1 – Create your Schema

You don’t need to have any coding knowledge to create Schema!  There are plenty of free websites out there that will produce the code for you, you just need to add your own data.

But what Schema do I need to add?

You absolutely need to be telling Google that you’re a business so you want to be using either the ‘Organisation’ or ‘Local Business’ Schema.

If your potential customers are in one geographical area (if you’re a Solicitor, Mechanic, Beauty Salon for example) then use ‘Local ‘Business’.

If your potential customers can be across the UK (or even worldwide!) then use ‘Organisation’.

I’ll be basing the rest of this post on using the ‘Organisation’ Schema but the steps are exactly the same if you’re using ‘Local Business’

Head over to https://technicalseo.com/tools/schema-markup-generator/.  There is a drop down list called “Select the type of markup you want to create:”, choose Organisation.

You’ll then see this:

Schema Markup Generator

Fill in all the fields with your info.  The code in the box on the right hand side of the screen will update as you type, this is fine!!

Once you’re finished you’ll have something like this:

Complete Schema Markup Code Generator

Step 2 – Create a new Tag in Google Tag Manager

Create a new custom HTML tag in Google Tag Manager – remember to name it something descriptive like ‘Organisation Schema Markup”.

Search for HTML and then click on it

Paste your code from the Schema generator into the next box:

How to add Schema to your website - screenshot 4

Then click on Save.

You will get a message saying “tag hasn’t been set up” but that’s fine!  Click away on save.

Step 3 – Create a new trigger

So now we have the the Schema tag set up but we need to create a ‘trigger’ for it to start working on.

Go back to the main menu and on the left hand side you’ll see Triggers.

Click this, choose New and name it Page View for Organisation Schema.

Google Tag Manger Trigger Organization Schema

Choose a trigger type – we want it to work when someone views a specific page (usually the home page) so choose Page View, then Some Page Views.

Under ‘Fire this trigger when an Event occurs and all of these conditions are true choose:

  • Page URL
  • Contains
  • In the last box copy and paste the address of your home page

Then click Save!

Google Tag Manager Page View conditions

Connecting your Schema markup tag to your Page View trigger

Go back to the main menu, click on Tags and open the Schema tag we created in Step 2

 Google Tag Manager Schema markup triggering

Scroll down to the Triggering section, click it and choose the Page View you’ve just created:

Google Tag Manager Schema Page View Trigger

Click Save and you’re done 😀

And HUGE congratulations on just learning how to add Schema to your website using Google Tag Manager 👏👏👏👏

There’s just one tiny last thing to do – make all your hard work go live!

How to add Schema to your website – FINAL STEP!!!

Navigate back to the main menu and click on Tags again.  You’ll notice up in the right hand corner of the screen you will see two buttons – Preview and Submit 

How to add Schema to your website - final screenshot

AND YOU'RE FINISHED!!!!!

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