In today's digital age, visual appeal plays a crucial role in engaging users. A significant percentage of users prefer search results that stand out with images or videos, rather than the traditional blue text links. One of the most effective ways to achieve this visually engaging experience is through Carousel Structured Data.
Carousel schema is a type of structured data that organizes search results into an interactive, horizontal list. It uses the JSON-LD format, allowing search engines to display results in a more visually appealing and user-friendly manner. This feature is commonly used on AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) but is increasingly being applied to larger screens for a better user experience.
The carousel display can showcase images or videos as cards, each representing individual content items, and is commonly used in the following contexts:
Movies
Courses
Recipes
Restaurants
When you search for something like "Best Bollywood Movies on Netflix", you might see a carousel display featuring movie titles, images, and brief descriptions from Netflix's website (host carousel). Each item in the carousel is represented as a card, with the movie poster taking up most of the space and the title beneath it.
This structure has a visual appeal that makes it more engaging compared to simple text results. Google uses carousel data to display these results in a more interactive and visually impactful way.
Pro Tip: Although adding carousel structured data to your site doesn’t guarantee rich results or featured snippets, it does give your site a better chance of standing out visually in search engine results.
Carousel structured data is particularly useful for organizing and displaying large collections of items. Below are the key categories where carousel schema can be implemented:
Movies: Display movie posters and titles in a horizontal list.
Courses: Showcase courses offered by an educational platform.
Recipes: Organize different recipe cards with thumbnails, names, and links.
Restaurants: Highlight restaurant listings with logos, names, and website links.
These categories benefit from the carousel display because it allows users to browse content quickly and easily without having to scroll through endless lists.
Implementing carousel data requires you to decide the appropriate page where the carousel schema should be applied. Here's how you can organize it:
Summary Page: This page provides a brief summary of each item (like movie names or recipe names), and it includes important properties such as type, position, and URL.
Details Page: The detailed description of each item listed on the summary page. For example, a page for a specific recipe or a movie review.
Single Page List: A single page containing all carousel data, where everything is linked from one page.
ItemList: This defines the collection of items you want to display in your carousel.
ListItem: Each item in the list is represented as a ListItem, which includes:
item.name: The name of the item (e.g., movie title or recipe name).
item.url: The URL of the item’s page.
position: The position of the item within the carousel (e.g., first item, second item, etc.).
Consistency: All items within the carousel must be of the same type. For example, if you're showcasing movies, all items in the carousel must be movie-related.
Text Matching: The visible text in the carousel must match the text in the structured data. This ensures accuracy and relevance.
Order of Items: The position property in the schema determines the order in which the items are displayed in the carousel. Make sure the order is coded correctly.
To ensure your carousel schema works correctly, you need to validate it using tools like the Rich Results Test. This helps you check if your schema is properly implemented.
Summary Page: Ensure that the ItemList contains at least two or more ListItem entities.
URL Validation: All URLs in the carousel must be valid and accessible. Run these URLs through the Rich Results Test to check for any issues.
Google’s URL Inspection Tool: Run the URL Inspection Tool to check how Google sees your pages and confirm that they are indexed properly.
Pro Tip: Sitemaps play an important role in keeping Google updated on future changes to your pages. Ensure your sitemap includes the carousel-structured pages.
If you're facing issues with your carousel schema, Google Search Console is your go-to tool for troubleshooting. It provides valuable insights into how your schema is performing and highlights any potential issues.
Additionally, ensure that all structured data guidelines are followed, and use Google's Rich Results Test to validate the markup. If the carousel isn’t appearing as expected, it’s also important to confirm that your page is SEO-optimized, Google-accessible, and formatted correctly.
Incorporating carousel structured data into your website can significantly enhance your visibility in search results and improve user engagement. While there’s no guarantee that your site will show up in rich results, carousel schema increases your chances of standing out visually in the search engine results page (SERP).
By following the guidelines for proper implementation and validation, you can give your content a competitive edge, making it more appealing to users and improving the chances of attracting more traffic.