Review Schema Markup: What It Is + How to Implement It in 2024

What Is Review Schema Markup? 

Review schema is simply a benignant of structured information markup that provides hunt engines similar Google with details astir reviews and ratings for products, recipes, movies, and more.

Search engines whitethorn usage this markup to show idiosyncratic reviews and ratings wrong hunt results.

For example, the archetypal waffle look shown successful the representation beneath uses reappraisal schema to show idiosyncratic ratings successful the signifier of stars.

Review schema is 1 of the galore types of schema markup that hunt engines similar Bing and Google enactment and that is promoted by Schema.org. 

In this guide, we’ll spell done the benefits of utilizing reappraisal schema, however you tin adhd it to your website, and however to trial your implementation.

Why Review Schema Is Important

Adding reappraisal schema to your website is important due to the fact that it allows you to leverage societal impervious to seizure users’ attraction successful hunt results. It tin beryllium utile for showcasing reviews of your ain products oregon recipes successful hunt results, oregon erstwhile you’re reviewing things yourself.

Getting Rich Snippets

Review schema markup tin visually heighten your listing successful hunt motor results pages (SERPs) by displaying a acceptable of yellowish prima ratings (usually from 1 to five). This creates what is known arsenic a rich snippet (or affluent result).

These yellowish stars supply opposition to each the plain substance recovered successful hunt results. Catching the eyes of users. This is particularly important successful mobile hunt results, arsenic the yellowish stars instrumentality up a larger proportionality of the wide surface space.

Aside from the imaginable ocular enhancement successful the SERP, utilizing reappraisal schema and perchance getting a affluent snippet successful hunt results besides adds societal proof. Your merchandise tin person a prima standing wrong the hunt results based connected existent idiosyncratic feedback.

Both the societal impervious and enhanced ocular beingness successful hunt results tin amended the chances of users clicking connected your website and perchance making a purchase.

The SEO Benefits

Schema is not a confirmed Google ranking factor. Adding reappraisal schema to your pages volition not straight impact your rankings.

However, reappraisal schema markup tin assistance hunt engines amended recognize what your webpages are about. This could assistance Google recognize what hunt queries are applicable to your content. 

And this could indirectly interaction what queries your contented appears successful hunt results for. But there’s nary guarantee. And it won’t interaction wherever successful those results your contented ranks. Having helpful, high-quality content is acold much important for ranking. 

But you tin inactive payment from the imaginable for affluent snippets. And these tin person a measurable interaction connected important metrics specified arsenic your click-through rate (CTR) and conversion rate. 

Let’s present look astatine however you tin instrumentality reappraisal schema connected your website.

Review vs. AggregateRating Schema Required Properties

You tin adhd 2 types of reappraisal and standing schema to your webpages:

1. Simple reviews: idiosyncratic sentiment provided by a user
2. Aggregate ratings: an aggregate of aggregate idiosyncratic reviews

They some person circumstantial required properties you indispensable see if you privation your webpages to look arsenic affluent snippets successful hunt results. Google’s documentation goes into item astir these requirements, and we’ll look astatine them below.

Simple Reviews

The representation beneath shows a elemental reappraisal of an idiosyncratic individual standing a peculiar waffle cafe connected Tripadvisor.com. Simple reviews similar this assistance item an individual’s sentiment astir a merchandise oregon service.

You’ll commonly spot this schema benignant utilized for editorial reviews of products, similar tech, books, and movies. Like this illustration for a reappraisal of the 15-inch MacBook Air:

Simple Review Schema Required Properties

Google besides recommends utilizing the pursuing properties:

• datePublished (the day the reappraisal was published, utilizing the ISO 8601 format)
• bestRating (if omitted, 5 is assumed by default)
• worstRating (if omitted, 1 is assumed by default)

Aggregate Ratings

You tin usage the AggregateRating schema erstwhile you privation to instrumentality the mean of a enactment of ratings from antithetic users.

You’ll besides spot this benignant of reappraisal schema connected editorial reviews wherever readers tin person their say, but it’s besides commonly utilized for showing reviews of businesses connected sites similar Facebook and Yelp.

The representation beneath shows the aggregate ratings of implicit 5,000 users for a waffle look connected allrecipes.com:

AggregateRating Schema Required Properties

As with the elemental Review schema, Google recommends including bestRating and worstRating properties. If you don’t, Google volition presume a 1-5 scale.

Now that you cognize the required properties, let’s spell done however to adhd each benignant of reappraisal schema to your website. Starting with elemental Review schema markup.

How to Implement Review Schema connected Your Website

You tin adhd some types of reappraisal schema to your website successful aggregate ways.

You tin bash truthful manually, by copying and pasting the schema you make (see examples below) into the <head> conception of the applicable pages. 

Or you tin usage a schema plugin if you’re utilizing a CMS similar WordPress. There are besides tons of schema generators retired determination that tin marque things easier if you’re a beginner. We’ll speech much astir this later successful the article. 

Below is an illustration of elemental Review schema that adds a four-star reappraisal to a waffle look page, utilizing the required properties we discussed above. Google recommends utilizing JSON-LD for schema markup, truthful that’s what we’ll usage successful each our examples below.

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org/",
"@type": "Review",
"itemReviewed": {
"@type": "Recipe",
"image": "https://www.example.com/waffles.jpg",
"name": "Waffles"
},
"reviewRating": {
"@type": "Rating",
"ratingValue": "4",
"bestRating": "5",
"worstRating": "0"
},
"author": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Waffle Expert"
},
"datePublished": "2024-03-05"
}
</script>

Now, let’s spot what AggregateRating reappraisal schema looks like.

How to Implement AggregateRating Schema connected Your Website

As with the elemental Review schema benignant above, you tin instrumentality AggregateRating schema connected your website manually oregon with the assistance of plugins and schema generators.

Once again, we person a codification snippet beneath that uses the required and recommended properties from earlier. In this case, we’re adding an aggregated standing of 8.6 crossed 5,500 idiosyncratic ratings for a antithetic waffle look connected www.example.com. 

<script type="application/ld+json">
 {
"@context": "https://schema.org/",
"@type": "AggregateRating",
"itemReviewed": {
"@type": "Recipe",
"image": "https://www.example.com/more-waffles.jpg",
"name": "More Waffles"
},
"ratingValue": "8.6",
"bestRating": "10",
"worstRating": "0",
"reviewCount": "5500"
 }
</script>

In practice, unless you’re nary longer accepting caller reviews/ratings, you’ll ideally person a mode of updating the ratingValue spot arsenic the fig of reviews changes. You whitethorn request to usage a plugin/API to bash this for you (more connected that later).

Now let’s look astatine however you tin nest reappraisal schema wrong different schema types.

How to Nest Simple Reviews and Aggregate Ratings

To heighten the readability of your codification and marque the main absorption of the leafage wide to hunt engines, you tin besides nest elemental reviews and aggregate ratings wrong different schema types.

For example, you tin nest elemental reappraisal schema wrong merchandise accusation arsenic shown below:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org/",
"@type": "Product",
"image": "https://www.example.com/waffle-iron.jpg",
"name": "Waffle Iron",
"review": [{
"@type": "Review",
"reviewRating": {
"@type": "Rating",
"ratingValue": "4",
"bestRating": "5",
"worstRating": "0"
},
"author": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Waffle Expert"
},
"datePublished": "2024-05-02"
}]
}
 </script>

As you tin see, the supra codification snippet begins by putting the merchandise accusation arsenic our main type, and past uses the “review” spot to adhd the reappraisal details.

Similarly, you tin nest aggregate ratings arsenic shown below: 

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org/",
"@type": "Product",
"image": "https://www.example.com/another-waffle-iron.jpg",
"name": "Another Waffle Iron",
"aggregateRating": {
"@type": "AggregateRating",
"ratingValue": "7.4",
"bestRating": "10",
"worstRating": "0",
"ratingCount": "367"
}
}
</script>

How to Add Review Schema astatine Scale

Adding Schema Manually

Once you make your reappraisal schema markup successful the forms illustrated successful the erstwhile section, you tin adhd it to the <head> conception of your HTML pages. Either manually wrong your website’s files oregon by utilizing a codification snippet plugin wrong your CMS.

But alternatively of manually adding reappraisal schema markup to each idiosyncratic leafage connected your website, you tin usage the pursuing 2 methods to deploy reappraisal schema astatine scale.

Using Schema Plugins

Depending connected your concern and preferences, you tin usage plugins to make and/or instrumentality your reappraisal schema.

A Chrome browser plugin similar Schema.dev helps you people up reappraisal schema without penning immoderate code. However, you volition request to manually adhd it to your pages.

If you person a WordPress website, you tin usage plugins to make and adhd the schema for you. One enactment is Schema Pro’s reappraisal schema implementation.

In summation to implementing reappraisal schema, WordPress plugins tin besides assistance you instrumentality different structured information assets. Such arsenic article, event, and video schema. 

Guidelines to Be Aware of

No substance however you adhd your reappraisal schema to your website, you request to abide by Google’s guidelines. These include:

• Reviews and ratings should beryllium casual to find connected the leafage you’ve marked up
• It indispensable beryllium instantly evident to a idiosyncratic that the leafage contains reappraisal content
• Review accusation should beryllium astir a circumstantial point alternatively than a class oregon list
• Include aggregate ratings of aggregate idiosyncratic reviews
• Don’t aggregate reviews/ratings from different websites

How to Test Your Review Schema

Both earlier and aft implementing your reappraisal schema, it’s a bully thought to trial that you’ve generated it correctly. 

Below are 2 tools you tin usage to validate and trial your schema. Both of them volition item errors successful your code, and you tin usage Google’s mistake documentation to larn however to hole them.

Schema Markup Validator

Use Schema.org's schema markup validator tool to validate your schema markup. The instrumentality automatically highlights errors specified arsenic missing objects and names.

You tin usage this earlier you adhd the schema to your webpages to guarantee everything is correct. By utilizing the codification snippet option, alternatively than entering the URL.

Rich Results Preview Testing

Google’s Rich Results Test is different instrumentality you tin usage to validate your reappraisal schema. Like Schema.org’s tool, you tin usage this some earlier you instrumentality the schema (using the codification snippet option) and afterward to marque definite you’ve added it correctly. 

How to Measure the Impact of Review Schema

Implementing reappraisal schema connected your website tin person an interaction connected your click-through and conversion rates, and perchance an SEO interaction arsenic well. 

But a batch of this relies connected getting affluent results successful Google search. So however bash you find retired however good you’re performing aft implementing reappraisal schema markup?

Method 1: Using the Semrush Organic Research Tool

You tin usage Semrush’s Organic Research instrumentality to larn wherever your pages are appearing arsenic affluent results.

Navigate to the Organic Research instrumentality from the left-hand navigation.

Enter the domain you privation to analyse and click “Search.”

On the dashboard that appears, scroll down to the container named “SERP Features.” Click connected the “Reviews” diagnostic successful the “Linking to domain” section.

This volition instrumentality you to a dashboard with each keywords for which your website ranks with a reappraisal affluent snippet. 

You tin usage this instrumentality to show the fig of keywords for which you’re ranking with a reappraisal affluent snippet aft implementing reappraisal schema. If you don’t spot maturation successful this fig implicit time, double-check your implementations.

However, the contented connected the pages besides needs to beryllium precocious prime for them to fertile successful SERPs. And you should travel different SEO champion practices, too.

Method 2: Using Google Search Console

You tin besides usage Google Search Console (GSC) to way the show of your pages with affluent results.

To find valid pages and those with errors, look nether the “Enhancements” country of the paper connected the left-hand broadside of your Google Search Console dashboard. As agelong arsenic you person valid reappraisal snippets for the GSC property, an enactment to presumption a study volition show here. 

If you don’t spot immoderate reappraisal snippet enactment present aft implementing your reappraisal schema (like the screenshot above), it could beryllium owed to 1 of the pursuing reasons:

• You whitethorn person incorrectly implemented the reappraisal schema
• Google hasn’t crawled those pages yet
• Google deems those pages arsenic invalid for reappraisal snippets

You tin besides find a show study to spot some the clicks and impressions for each snippet. To spot this report, archetypal navigate to “Search results” nether the “Performance” tab connected the left-hand side.

Next, adhd a hunt quality filter by clicking the “+ New” fastener astatine the top. Choose “Search appearance…” from the paper that appears.

A container volition look wherever you tin prime the affluent snippets for which you privation to filter results. As before, if you person valid pages with reappraisal snippets, the reappraisal snippet enactment volition look here. Click that option.

If you bash person the reappraisal snippets option, click “Apply” to spot a illustration of clicks and impressions for each queries that led to reappraisal snippets appearing successful the SERPs. You tin past navigate to the pages study to spot which pages person reappraisal snippets, on with clicks and impressions for each.

Monitor Your Structured Data Implementation astatine Scale with Semrush

It tin beryllium challenging to negociate and show the implementation of structured information (like reappraisal schema) for websites with tons of pages to people up. Along with each different facet of keeping your website optimized.

The Semrush Site Audit instrumentality provides an casual mode to get an overview of your website’s health—including uncovering errors successful your structured information markup.

Site Audit besides helps you recognize however galore of your pages usage markup and however galore of those marked-up pages person invalid structured information assets.

Check for structured information issues—and execute 140+ different on-page and method SEO checks—with a free trial.