Deciding whether to buy the WP Rich Snippets Plugin?
It’s what I use to add rich snippets to my WordPress posts. I was originally going to settle for All In One Schema.org Rich Snippets but WP Rich Snippets has way more functionality (especially with their add-ons and robust plugin settings), plus the actual design is awesome.
What are rich snippets anyway? They add extra information to your search engine snippets like review stars, videos, or even recipe information. This gets more people clicking on your snippets and visiting your site. I mean come on, which result would you rather click on?
I wrote this WP Rich Snippets review to show you how it compares to plugins like All In One Schema, how to configure the WP Rich Snippet settings, add rich snippets to posts, and how to use their add-ons to make your markup look even better. When we’re done, you will know how to create beautiful rich snippets that improve click-through rates and increases conversions.
UPDATE
The WP Rich Snippets developer is missing and hasn’t updated the plugin for 2+ years, causing it not to work with PHP 7.1 and higher. I switched rich snippets plugins to WP Review by MyThemeShop and like it much better, as it comes with multiple pre-styled templates, supports all data types, and comes with updates + support. It’s easy to use and has tons of customization options that help you style it to the design you want.
Table Of Contents
- Supported Data Types
- How The Markup Looks
- Installation
- Configuring The Settings
- Writing Your First Rich Snippet Post
- Google Structured Data Testing Tool
- Add-Ons
1. Supported Data Types
To add rich snippets to WordPress, your content must be one of these supported data types. Events are the only data type not supported by WP Rich Snippets (in which case you would use the All In One Schema.org Plugin), otherwise WP Rich Snippets will do the job.
- Articles
- Recipes
- Reviews
- Products
- Organizations
- Restaurants
- Software Application
2. How The Markup Looks (On The Actual Post)
A single screenshot won’t justify the amount of flexibility this plugin has, but I did include a couple below. The design depends on the data type you use (eg. review), how you configure the plugin settings, which add-ons you use, and what fields you fill out when marking up the post.
This example showcases a review rich snippet with a video, 4 criteria items, plus the basic (mandatory) fields. You have the option to replace the video with a photo, slideshow, or use no photo at all. With the add-ons you can also customize colors, place the markup anywhere on the page (not just the top), add user reviews, and use multiple call-to-actions buttons (instead of just 1). I recommend at least buying the customizer add-on for $29 (or getting the WP Rich Snippets ultimate plan) so you can incorporate your branding. Here’s what it looks like…
You can also add an image, video, slider, pros and cons, pricing, and other elements. I just like to keep it simple. You will be adding this to the top or bottom of each post you want to markup, or use their box shortcode add-on to add this anywhere in the middle of your posts.
Here’s another example of how it might look at the END of a post…
Now compare it to how the All In One Schema.org Plugin looks…
I will show you how to markup posts later in this review, but here’s the gist of it:
3. Installing WP Rich Snippets
The next part of this WP Rich Snippets review will show you how to install the plugin with your license key, configure the settings, then we will start adding rich snippets to pages or posts.
Instructions:
- Purchase the WP Rich Snippets plan that’s right for you
- Purchase any add-ons you need (or buy the ultimate plan)
- Visit your account page to download the plugin and add-ons
- Upload the plugin and add-ons in WordPress under Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, then upload 1 download file at a time
- In your account page, click on “view licenses”
- Click on “manage sites” and add your site for each item
- Go back to your licenses and click the key icons. Copy the “WP Rich Snippets” key and paste it to your “license” settings in your WordPress dashboard. If you’re using add-ons, you will need to download each one from your account tab, upload it to WordPress, then enter your license key for that add-on. You will see a success message.
4. Configuring The Settings
I found most settings are already configured optimally, but I would check the Display tab and enable “display item description below the box” and “show box below content” IF you want WP Rich Snippets to show on the bottom of posts (as oppose to top). It’s just a preference.
If you’re using add-ons, you will see settings for these too…
5. Writing Posts With WP Rich Snippets
Now for the good stuff. Go to a page or post you want to add rich snippets to. Scroll down until you see the the “Schema” section then select the type of rich snippet you want to use in the post. Start by filling in the main tab with the item you are reviewing, and a description. The fields will be different depending on which rich snippet you select. This example is for a review:
Details tab lets you add pros and cons (like in the bottom of my post), or a disclaimer.
Price tab shows the price of the item…
Address tab lets you add a Google Map…
Hours tab are simply your business hours…
Display tab lets you add a featured image, video, or slider. Embedding a YouTube video makes the markup look pretty awesome and increases engagement – which is good for SEO.
Link tab is where you add a link or affiliate link (which is defaulted to nofollow). If you’re not using an affiliate link, check the “dofollow links” option. The call-to-action add-on enables the “demo links” option which are use to add more than 1 button (see an example here).
Criteria tab shows what you based your review off of…
Author tab shows your name which is required for reviews…
6. Google Structured Data Testing Tool
The last step is to publish your post and run the URL through Google’s structured data testing tool. You shouldn’t see warnings as long as you have the required fields filled out. If you do, I listed some common solutions below. Keep in mind it will take time for Google to recrawl your WordPress site and show your rich snippets in search results (anywhere from 1-5 days).
Common Solutions
- For Genesis Framework, install the Schema Removal Plugin
- Add the data Google tells you to in their Structured Data Testing Tool
- Make sure your WP Rich Snippets key is validated in the settings
- Make sure the data is representative of the content on the page
- Try adding markup to a few more pages which is suggested by Google
- Build your domain authority (add more, better content to your site)
- Visit Google’s structured data policies and webmaster guidelines
7. Add-Ons
The WP Rich Snippet add-ons are one of the best things about this plugin. You can customize colors, enable user reviews, call to action buttons, and add the markup anywhere in your post (even the middle). The ranking table add-on is also pretty neat. There are 14 add-ons and you will need purchase these individually (though some are free), or buy the ultimate plan like I did.
WooCommerce – advanced features for your eCommerce items plus other integrations. This add-on is has not been released yet but is coming soon.
Shortcodes – add single rich snippets elements anywhere in your posts.
DataTables – very similar to the ranking table add-on (see below).
Software Specs – adds a sidebar widget to showcase your specs, just like this page.
Locations – add schema.org markup for your location and display the Google Map anywhere in your website using a shortcode.
Box Shortcode – display the entire rich snippets markup anywhere in your post, as oppose to just the top or bottom of the post.
Anonymous User Reviews – if you’re using user reviews (the front-end entry submit add-on below), this allows users to remain anonymous.
Customizer – change the color of ratings, links, buttons, pros and cons, call-to-action buttons.
Front-End Entry Submit – allow users to leave their own review. This is often preferred instead of a simple editor review (which can result in higher rankings since they’re more valuable). Also good if you offer courses so students and customers can review the course.
User Reviews Image – users can upload an image with their review.
Call-To-Action – adds a section to your markup with the product name, summary, pricing, and demo link(s). If you don’t want a specific item to be shown, you can disable this in the settings.
Ranking Table – create a ranking table of your reviews, recipes, or anything. I didn’t include photos in this ranking table, but you can if you like.
Display Rating – displaying a rating by filtering content and excerpts, as shown on the demo.
Compare – similar to the data and ranking table add-on but formatted in a way that helps readers compare products/services.
I hope you enjoyed my WP Rich Snippets review. If you have any questions they have tons of documentation on writing posts, add-ons, and other topics. Or just leave me a comment. I do WordPress SEO consulting for my job so I bought the ultimate plan to get the add-ons and can use it on multiple sites, but the $69/year plan is good if you’re just starting or want to test it.
Cheers,
Tom
