Adding structured data to event pages has a quantifiable impact on both search engine results pages and the resulting web traffic.
For several years now, integrating Schema.org structured data into web pages has been a prerequisite for any good search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. But do we really know what difference it makes? And are there certain data points that have a greater impact than others on the behavior of search engines and their users?
A new research report commissioned by CAPACOA as part of the Artsdata project provides answers to these questions.
The report, Driving Discoverability in the Performing Arts through Structured Data, is the result of 22 months of research and development by five researchers. To conduct this research, the researchers developed two dissemination indices and then studied the links between these indices and web traffic data from Google Analytics. Using a multimodal approach, they were able to measure the effect of data structuring on web traffic from Google Search pages.
Here are the main findings from this research:
- There is a linear relationship between the level of data structuring on event pages and web traffic: the more structured the data, the higher the number of page views.
- Data describing the content of the event has a particularly marked effect. Notably, the description of the event has a statistically significant effect.
- Data that clearly identifies the main entities associated with the event—the performing artist and the event organizer—also has a pronounced effect on the number of page views.
These findings are consistent with the principles recommended in entity SEO. They are also compatible with generative SEO (GEO) practices. In fact, the methodology took into account the emergence of AI-generated summaries in search pages, and the report contains a section devoted to search using conversational agents.
Resources
Those wishing to familiarize themselves with structured data or further their knowledge can consult this primer and the Artsdata documentation.
Those wishing to verify that their structured data complies with the recommendations in this report may apply to join the Digital Discoverability On Demand program.
