Google Enlarges its Support for Product Certifications in Structured Data

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Google’s new certification markup for product structured data

Google announced it will update Search Central documentation to add support for certification markup in product structured data, which should take full effect in April. This update ensures users receive more comprehensive and globally relevant product information.

The new Certification type supersedes the previous EnergyConsumptionDetails type, and more certifications now can be included in structured data. This is an advantage to businesses operating in multiple countries because more nuanced and locally applicable certification information can be included.

Advantage for Businesses

This way, if a business adds certification information to structured data, then customers would have more additional information in respect of a product and its certifications, hence making such product listings appear more visible with a higher potential for click-through rates and conversions.

Benefits to the Consumer

This update will give consumers more detailed and standardized product information directly in search results, especially about certification and compliance to diverse standards. Consumers will make better choices at buy time.

Implementation Recommendations

To facilitate the webmasters in implementing the new Certification markup, Google has provided examples in its updated documentation that specify examples for certifications. These include vehicle CO2 emission classes and electronics energy efficiency labels.

Structured data must be used in the product page with JSON-LD format. The certification type has to be nested in structured data about a product.

Next Steps

Website owners and SEO professionals should do the following

• Review current use of EnergyConsumptionDetails in product structured data.
• Plan to transition to the Certification type before April.
• Deploy the new Certification markup on product pages based on Google’s guidance.
• Test deployment using Google’s Rich Results Test tool.

With such a significant change to structured data implementation, as with any major changes, it would be wise to monitor search performance and the display of rich results after making these updates.

Increased functionality and global accessibility

The transition to the Certification type extends the number of product certifications that may be conveyed through structured data. Whereas ratings for energy efficiency represented a primary focus of the EnergyConsumptionDetails type, this new Certification markup can cover a much more expansive range of product certifications and standards.

This change is applicable to companies with operations in more than one country since more sensitive and locality applicable information in terms of certification can be covered under this.

Replace EnergyConsumptionDetails with Certification Type

A feature of this is replacing the EnergyConsumptionDetails type with the Certification type. It can accommodate a host of countries and a broader category of certification can be accommodated.

Google recommends sites using EnergyConsumptionDetails in their structured data to move over to the Certification type by April. In this manner, product pages will continue to be optimized for Google’s merchant listing experiences.

Google News

Google has published a blog post on its Search Central blog to announce the addition of the new Certification type to the structured data for products. The new type includes all the details and the benefits and ways of implementing it.

Importance of Structured Data

Structured data is a code that is added to any website for the sake of upgrading the additional information that is given to the search engines about the content on a particular page. The details provided by these additional features can enable the engines to understand this content even better as they can display it in a more relevant and informative way.

Even for search engine optimization, structured data is equally important. It can make any website rank high in the search results. Since structured data provides more information about the content present on a page, it can even make the page more relevant to the search queries.

Impact of Google’s Certification Markup on Ecommerce

The introduction of the Certification type in Google’s product structured data is going to take the ecommerce industry a notch higher. Through this, businesses are able to make more products visible and increase sales to consumers with well-defined and standardized information.

Increased Product Visibility

It means that one of the main advantages of the use of Certification type is that it can make the product appear more in search results. Provided that consumers are searching for products with specific kinds of certifications, then Google can use the Certification markup to improve the ranking of the listing that best matches the query. This means improved organic traffic as well as more significant conversion rates will be received through this method.

A third reason is that certifications sometimes indicate the compliance of the product with a certain set of standards or a certain quality threshold that has been seen to achieve. Since adding certification information to structured data enables businesses to communicate with consumers that their products are dependable and trustworthy, adding certification information increases consumer loyalty while building brand reputation.

More Sales and Conversions

Businesses help make decisions easier for consumers by providing them with more information regarding product certification. Such will result in higher sales conversion. Also, the type of Certification aids in enhancing click-through rate of a product since information will lead the consumers to click on such listings.

 Competitive Advantage

The Certification type could work as an advantage for businesses against those who do not because companies can differ from their competitors in giving more detailed information on the type of products they are offering and thus acquiring more customers.

Best Practices in Implementing Certification Markup

In order to avail of all the advantages of the type of Certification, the following best practices should be implemented:

• Utilize accurate and updated data on certification.
• Provide as much detail as possible regarding the certification.
• Make sure the certification markup is accurate.
• Search performance will be monitored, and changes will be implemented whenever needed.

The Impact on the Future of Certification Markup

One of the newest features to be included is the type of certification; yet it cannot be predicted just how much of an impact its use will have on the ecommerce business. However, there is an expectation of a continued increase in the adoption of the use of the type, as businesses learn about the effects of employing it.

And so in the future, perhaps Google would expand and support certification markup to include other forms of certifications, which might make it much easier on the part of the consumers in identifying the right product that best suits their specific requirements and choices.

Conclusion

The introduction of the Certification type in Google’s product structured data is a most significant development for the ecommerce industry. Since more detailed standardized information about a product would be passed on to consumers, this may be more helpful for online visibility, trust building, and sales on the website.

The discussion on best practices here will help assure that the benefits available from the Certification type in Google’s product structured data are maximized, and businesses secure greater competitive advantage for themselves in the marketplace.

Sources:

• https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-expands-structured-data-support-for-product-certifications/529158/
• https://www.gcc-marketing.com/google-extends-product-certifications-with-structured-data-essential-information/
• https://web.swipeinsight.app/posts/google-search-adds-certification-support-for-product-structured-data-11416
• https://twitter.com/sejournal/status/1842169047342829664

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