Product Schema

Product Schema

The Product schema is utilized by e-commerce and retail websites to provide structured details about products. It enables search engines to understand the specifics of products listed on a website, thereby enhancing their visibility in search results.

Implementing the Product schema is similar to using other specific schemas. It involves giving search engines precise information about the product. When a Product schema is added to a webpage, it outlines essential information such as the product name, price, availability, and description. This markup improves how products are presented in search results, offering users immediate insights into the product details.

For product listings, the Product schema includes both mandatory and optional fields, as follows:

Mandatory Fields:

name: The name of the product.

price: The price of the product.

availability: The availability status of the product (e.g., in stock, out of stock, pre-order).

Recommended Fields:

description: A summary or brief description of the product.

image: Images related to the product.

brand: The brand of the product.

review: Reviews or ratings of the product.

sku: The stock keeping unit (SKU) to uniquely identify the product.

offers: Details about special offers or discounts.

While the mandatory fields are essential for a valid Product schema, including the recommended fields can greatly enhance the user experience by offering more comprehensive details. This, in turn, can positively impact the product’s search rankings and visibility, making it easier for potential customers to find and understand product information.

How to access Product schema using Rich Snippets

Access it from METAs – Rich Snippet – Product

Clicking on the “+” symbol will open up a panel where you can start editing and customizing your Schema Template.

A pop-up will appear

Add your data, a question and its answer.
Mandatory fields will have small red starlike symbol (*) added to them:

Product name – aim for a product name that is around 50-60 characters long, as this can ensure that the name is fully visible in search results.

The “{{product_name}}” section refers to the name for the product, this is automatically added by Squirrly SEO, however you can manually change it.

Description – Creating an effective product description involves balancing informative and persuasive language to give potential customers a clear understanding of what the product is, how it benefits them, and why it’s worth purchasing. A good product description is between 150 to 300 words.

This field is {{excerpt}} meaning that it will import a brief summary or snippet of the content on the page, and is added automatically, but it can also be manually inserted.

SKU – A Stock Keeping Unit is a unique alphanumeric code that identifies and helps track inventory for a specific product. SKUs are crucial for managing stock within a business, facilitating the tracking of inventory levels, sales, and orders across various channels and locations.

Brand name – Customers are more likely to click on products from brands they recognize. Including the brand name makes the product listing more appealing to those familiar with the brand.

Image – Adding image URLs helps with visual appeal, clarity, increases click-through rates, improves user experience, and boosts SEO visibility.

Gtin – Global Trade Item Number is a unique and internationally recognized identifier for a product. It helps to distinguish products in the global marketplace and is used to identify items for sale, inventory, or services.
The most common types of GTINs include:

• GTIN-12: Also known as UPC (Universal Product Code), primarily used in North America.
• GTIN-13: Known as EAN (European Article Number), used internationally.
• GTIN-14: Often used for packaging levels of a product.
• GTIN-8: A compact version of EAN used for smaller items.

MPN – Manufacturer Part Number is a unique identifier assigned by the manufacturer to a product. 

Unlike GTINs (Global Trade Item Numbers), which are standardized and used globally across different companies and platforms, MPNs are specific to a particular manufacturer. This means that two different manufacturers might use the same MPN for different products, but within the context of each manufacturer’s offerings, each MPN refers to a specific item

ISBN – International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier that is assigned to each edition and variation (except reprintings) of a book. 

Note: ISBNs are obtained from a national ISBN agency. The process and costs for obtaining an ISBN can vary by country. Publishers and self-publishing authors can contact their national ISBN agency or use various services that assist in obtaining ISBNs.

Shipping option – This plays a crucial role in the overall customer experience. Offering a variety of shipping options can cater to the diverse needs and preferences of customers, influencing their decision to purchase

Return option – Return time policies for products and services vary widely across different businesses and industries.

Category – classifying and describing the type or nature of the product being offered.
Example: “Wearable Technology”

URL –  Make sure it points to the definitive page where the item is fully described or can be acted upon (e.g., a product purchase page, an article’s full text, an event registration page).

Price – Make sure to use a standard currency format that includes the currency symbol ($, €, £, etc.) followed by the amount, making it clear and understandable globally. For example, $19.99 for US dollars.

Currency – Use ISO Currency Codes along with the visible price, it’s a good practice to include the ISO currency code (e.g., USD, EUR, GBP) in the content attribute.
You can find here details on what ISO 4217 format is and the currency codes

Tax included –  Clearly state that the price includes tax or not. You could add a brief note such as “Tax included” near the price to keep everything crystal clear. Note that there are countries that include tax in their prices directly.

Availability – Ensure that you add the product status [Available/Out of Stock/Pre-Order] and make sure to update our inventory regularly, so keep an eye out if the status changes

Price valid until – Specifies until when the price is expected to remain valid. This information is crucial for time-sensitive offers or promotions and helps consumers make informed decisions before price changes. Use ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD)

Published date –  Indicates when the review was initially posted. This helps readers understand how recent the feedback is. The recommended format is ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD) for consistency and to avoid confusion. For instance, “2024-03-22” denotes the 22nd of March, 2024.

Modified Date – Shows if and when the review was updated. Reviews may be edited for various reasons, such as to reflect a change in the reviewer’s opinion or to add information based on further product use. Knowing a review has been modified helps readers gauge the evolution of the reviewer’s experience with the product. Recommended format is ISO 8601 format. If the review hasn’t been updated, this field can be omitted or set equal to the published date.

Author name – Identifies who wrote the review. Displaying the author’s name (even if it’s a pseudonym) personalizes the review and can help readers assess the reliability of the feedback. 

Rating Value: This is the numerical representation of the reviewer’s rating. Depending on the scale used (for example, 1 to 5 or 1 to 10), the value signifies the reviewer’s level of satisfaction with the product.

Rating Minimum: This optional attribute specifies the highest lowest score in the rating scale. If not provided, it’s often assumed to be 5 in a 1-to-5 rating system.

Rating Maximum: Similarly, this optional attribute indicates the highest possible score on the scale. If omitted, the default is usually 1 in a 1-to-5 rating system.

Make sure to click on Save

With this you have a Product schema set up. All there is left to do is check it up and see if it works as expected. This is easier than you imagine, and Squirrly will help with the steps.

Verify Markup

After saving your changes, you can verify that the Product schema markup has been added correctly by viewing the page or post source code. Look for the JSON-LD markup representing the Product schema.

1. Click on JSON-LD Code – Validate JSON-LD

2. A new page / tab will open you will get you test code, click on TEST CODE

3. A small pop-up appears, and you will have to wait a few moments for the data to be processed
4. Once data is processed, you will be able to see your work, test it, share it and use it to enhance your work.

For further details, we recommend referring to the following resources
Product Schema
Product (Product, Review, Offer) structured data

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