What is schema markup, and how does it affect search engine results?

Schema markup is a type of structured data markup that provides search engines with additional context about the content on a web page. It uses a standardized vocabulary of tags (called schema.org vocabulary) to mark up different types of information, such as product details, business information, events, reviews, recipes, and more.

Schema markup helps search engines understand the content of a web page more accurately, which can improve the display of search results in several ways:

1. **Rich Snippets**: Search engines may use schema markup to generate rich snippets, which are enhanced search results that display additional information beyond the title and meta description. Rich snippets can include features such as star ratings, review counts, product prices, availability, event dates, and more. Rich snippets can make search results more visually appealing and informative, increasing click-through rates and improving user engagement.

2. **Knowledge Graph Panels**: Schema markup can also influence the information displayed in knowledge graph panels, which are the boxes of information that appear alongside search results for certain queries. By providing structured data about entities such as organizations, people, places, and events, schema markup can help search engines accurately identify and display relevant information in knowledge graph panels.

3. **Featured Snippets**: Schema markup can impact the content displayed in featured snippets, which are brief summaries of information extracted from web pages and displayed at the top of search results. By providing structured data about FAQs, recipes, how-to guides, and other content types, schema markup can help search engines identify and display relevant content in featured snippets, increasing visibility and driving more traffic to the website.

4. **Local SEO**: Schema markup can improve the visibility of local businesses in search results by providing structured data about business information such as name, address, phone number, opening hours, reviews, and more. This information can be used by search engines to display local search results, map listings, and business profiles, helping users find and engage with local businesses more easily.

Overall, schema markup enhances the presentation and relevance of search results by providing search engines with structured data about the content on web pages. By implementing schema markup effectively, website owners can improve their visibility in search results, increase click-through rates, and enhance user engagement with their content.