How-To Content provides step-by-step instructions for completing a particular task or achieving a specific goal. It can come in various forms, such as articles, videos, images, or text. For example, "How to Create an App" could be a how-to guide showing users how to develop an app with detailed steps.
The How-To Schema Markup is used to structure such content so that search engines like Google can easily understand it. Properly marked-up How-To Pages can appear as Rich Results in search results and Google Assistant actions.
This feature is available globally, in all countries and languages where Google Search is available. However, it is currently only available on mobile devices, not on desktop.
When implementing How-To schema markup, there are several important content guidelines you must follow:
Avoid Using for Advertising: Do not use How-To structured data for purely promotional content or advertisements.
Prohibited Content: Content that is obscene, profane, sexually explicit, graphically violent, or promotes dangerous or illegal activities cannot be marked as How-To content.
Visible and Focused Content: Every How-To content must be visible to the user on the source page. It should be the main focus of the page.
One How-To Per Page: Avoid marking up multiple How-To topics or solutions on a single page. Each page should ideally contain a single, focused How-To.
Tools and Materials: Ensure that the necessary materials and tools to complete the task are listed and easily accessible in the content.
Step Consistency: Every step should be fully detailed in the markup, and should not include irrelevant sections like summaries or introductions. Only mark up step-specific content with the How-To property.
Images: Mark only the images that represent specific steps in the How-To process. Avoid using the same image across multiple steps. Ensure that the images are relevant to the task.
Image-Specific Results: If your How-To content has a visual focus (like images or video tutorials), ensure that the images are properly marked up and the URLs are crawlable.
Do Not Use for Recipes or General Advice: Recipes and general advice articles are not suited for How-To markup.
Here are the essential properties of the How-To schema that help structure your content effectively:
How-To: The entity that defines the how-to content.
Name: The title of the How-To content.
Step: This entity holds the steps of the task or instructions in sequence. Each step should correspond to an individual part of the task.
Description: A brief description of the How-To content.
EstimatedCost: The estimated cost of the supplies needed to perform the How-To task.
Image: An image showing the completed task. Ensure all image URLs are crawlable and relevant to the content.
Supply: Materials or supplies used in the task.
Tool: Tools that are used but not consumed during the task.
TotalTime: The total time required to complete the task, specified in ISO-8601 format.
Video: A video associated with the How-To task. Video steps can also be broken down using the hasPart property.
Video.hasPart: Describes individual video clips within the video.
Video.hasPart.name: The name of the video clip.
Video.hasPart.startOffset: The start time of the clip, in seconds from the beginning.
Video.hasPart.endOffset: The end time of the clip, in seconds from the beginning.
How-To Section: Defines a single How-To, which may contain one or more How-To steps.
ItemListElement: The list of detailed steps for a section.
How-To Step: The specific steps required to perform a task.
Text: The instructional text for each step.
Image: Images that are relevant to the step (with the same image format rules).
URL: Direct URL linking to the specific step.
Video: A video for the step.
HowToSupply and HowToTool: Represent the supplies and tools used for the task, respectively.
Name: The name of the supply or tool.
Image: A related image, if applicable.
Be Specific: Ensure that you mark up only the instructions related to a single task. Don’t mix up multiple tasks or solutions within one page.
Ensure Proper Visual Representation: If your How-To content includes visual elements like images or videos, mark them up to improve their visibility in Google Search Results.
Use Detailed Descriptions: For each step, include a detailed description that is accurate and easy to follow.
Avoid Redundant Images: Use images that are directly related to the steps and avoid including unnecessary images that do not contribute to the instructional content.
By implementing How-To Schema Markup, you can help Google understand your How-To content and increase the chances of your content appearing in rich results on mobile devices. This can significantly improve visibility and drive traffic to your website. Always follow the content guidelines to ensure that your markup is properly executed, and avoid marking up inappropriate or unrelated content.
For further information on monitoring search results and troubleshooting problems related to How-To markup, refer to additional resources provided in previous posts of this series.