For Stencil & Blueprint Themes
If you manage a BigCommerce Store & want to get Rich Snippets there are 2 ways to get them, the Easy Way and the Hard Way:
The Easy Way
Simply contact us to install our JSON-LD (Google recommended) code developed over many years' experience with BigCommerce and Structured Data, then sit back and watch your errors disappear and your Rich Snippets improve & increase. Our code implements Structured Data to receive the following:
- Product Review Stars & Ratings
- Product Availability & Price Snippets
- Breadcrumbs
- Sitelinks Searchbox
- Company Knowledge Graph
We Will:
- Reduce Your Google Search Console Product Errors to Zero (as long as your product data is OK). Note: some Warnings will remain ie Product with no reviews, no priceValidUntil (unsupported in BigCommerce)
- Ensure your Structured Data Conforms to Google Recommendations
- Monitor your site & confirm when we are seeing live Rich Snippets in real-world search results
BigCommerce SEO
Check out all our other BigCommerce SEO Packages.
Contact us to have valid Structured Data on your site this week for only AU$400 + GST which is about US$274 or 246€!
Otherwise, you can do it...
The Hard Way
Implementing Structured Data yourself can be done in both Blueprint & Stencil themes, but it's a technically challenging undertaking. Proceed with caution, ensure you have backups and monitor carefully! The main issues you face are:
- A high level of experience in these technologies: JavaScript, HTML, JSON-LD, Microdata, Stencil, Handlebars
- Handling when Products don't have reviews, images, prices or brands
- Incorporating 3rd Party review systems (YotPo, Stamped.io, Judge.me etc..)
Read on for a comprehensive look at Rich Snippets in BigCommerce:
What are Rich Snippets or Rich Results (as they are now called)
Rich Snippets are extra features search engines display in the results on Search Engine Result Pages (SERP). They convey useful information to the customer and increase the search result's footprint and visual appeal
What type of Rich Snippets (and similar) are available in BigCommerce
- Rating or Review Rich Snippets - The most coveted of all rich snippets, this displays stars showing the average review a product has received on your site & how many reviews in total.
- Price & Availability (In Stock/PreOrder etc..)
Other Available Features in Search Results
There are also some other features that can be enabled in the same way as Rich Snippets:
- Breadcrumbs - These show a trail from the homepage to the page in the search results, indicating the position of a page in the site's hierarchy - useful for customer navigation
- Sitelinks Searchbox (rare) - Google sometimes show a search box in the Search Results for a site. By default it uses Googles own search engine to provide the results. This feature enables Google to directly use the sites own search page which gives a more accurate and better branded result. This markup should be added to the homepage only.
- Logo/Corporate Contact/Knowledge Graph or Panel (rare) - This feature allows certain company information, such as logo and customer service numbers to be included in a Knowledge Panel. This should be added to the homepage only
Some invisible code needs to be added to each page called Structured Data (sometimes referred to as Schema Markup) which tells the Search Engine the required information. This code is usually in one of two formats or encodings: Microdata or JSON-LD. Microdata should be embedded within the page's HTML, in-line with the actual visual data (product name, rating, price etc), usually via the BigCommerce theme. Another, more modern way is via JSON-LD which can be added external to the theme, making theme updates and changes much easier. Both formats (Microdata and JSON-LD) must define the appropriate properties for content to be eligible for display as a Rich Snippet (Rich Result). These properties use the Schema.org vocabulary, a collaborative effort founded by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Yandex.
Does Valid Structured Data Guarantee Rich Snippets
The short answer is no, Google doesn't always display all available (or any) Rich Snippets even if the markup is perfect. This is usually due to a site or page's poor content. If this is the case for you, you may want to look at our BigCommerce Quick Win SEO Package as a means of improving your site quality - we've had some pretty amazing results!
How to Test for Rich Snippets
Here are the best ways to test for rich snippets and structured data. For a more detailed explanation of each tool, visit our article How To Analyse Structured Data & Rich Results
- Search for it! There's no more accurate way than to see with your own eyes what rich snippets your page is receiving than by searching for the product/page in Google
- Google Rich Results Test (Our Recommendation)
- New Google Search Console URL Inspection Tool
- New Google Search Console Rich Results Status Report
- New Google Search Console Performance Report
- Google Structured Data Testing Tool
How do I Integrate 3rd Party Review Systems (YotPo, Stamped.io, Judge.me etc..)
By default, third party review systems either don't add structured data, or they don't correctly integrate it with your Products markup. We have had great success incorporating structured data from these review systems into our own product Structured Data - mostly at no extra cost (depending on how it is implemented). Contact us with your particulars and we'll have a look for free and see if we can help!
Can I use Google's Structured Data Markup Helper to assist?
Not really, while it may help you understand what the JSON-LD should look like, you will still need to know what variables are required, where you should place them in your theme and handle all the possible exceptions.
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