Search Engines like Google, Microsoft, Yandex, and Yahoo use Schema tags (also called meta tags) as a shared vocabulary to display content. There are lots of them from image, heading, reviews, etc. We are going to focus on the ones that are specific to food recipes. This will help the the search engines recognize not only your recipes but parts of your recipes.
Most examples use JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data) to connect the metadata. Some of them are Name, Image, Date Published, Prep Time, Cook Time Total Time, etc., If you are coding your website in HTML or want to familiarize yourself with the tags, please see or Copy and Paste the example below.
<html>
<head>
<title>Party Coffee Cake</title>
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org/",
"@type": "Recipe",
"name": "Party Coffee Cake",
"image": [
"https://example.com/photos/1x1/photo.jpg",
"https://example.com/photos/4x3/photo.jpg",
"https://example.com/photos/16x9/photo.jpg"
],
"author": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Mary Stone"
},
"datePublished": "2018-03-10",
"description": "This coffee cake is awesome and perfect for parties.",
"prepTime": "PT20M",
"cookTime": "PT30M",
"totalTime": "PT50M",
"keywords": "cake for a party, coffee",
"recipeYield": "10",
"recipeCategory": "Dessert",
"recipeCuisine": "American",
"nutrition": {
"@type": "NutritionInformation",
"calories": "270 calories"
},
"recipeIngredient": [
"2 cups of flour",
"3/4 cup white sugar",
"2 teaspoons baking powder",
"1/2 teaspoon salt",
"1/2 cup butter",
"2 eggs",
"3/4 cup milk"
],
"recipeInstructions": [
{
"@type": "HowToStep",
"name": "Preheat",
"text": "Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x9 inch pan.",
"url": "https://example.com/party-coffee-cake#step1",
"image": "https://example.com/photos/party-coffee-cake/step1.jpg"
},
{
"@type": "HowToStep",
"name": "Mix dry ingredients",
"text": "In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.",
"url": "https://example.com/party-coffee-cake#step2",
"image": "https://example.com/photos/party-coffee-cake/step2.jpg"
},
{
"@type": "HowToStep",
"name": "Add wet ingredients",
"text": "Mix in the butter, eggs, and milk.",
"url": "https://example.com/party-coffee-cake#step3",
"image": "https://example.com/photos/party-coffee-cake/step3.jpg"
},
{
"@type": "HowToStep",
"name": "Spread into pan",
"text": "Spread into the prepared pan.",
"url": "https://example.com/party-coffee-cake#step4",
"image": "https://example.com/photos/party-coffee-cake/step4.jpg"
},
{
"@type": "HowToStep",
"name": "Bake",
"text": "Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until firm.",
"url": "https://example.com/party-coffee-cake#step5",
"image": "https://example.com/photos/party-coffee-cake/step5.jpg"
},
{
"@type": "HowToStep",
"name": "Enjoy",
"text": "Allow to cool and enjoy.",
"url": "https://example.com/party-coffee-cake#step6",
"image": "https://example.com/photos/party-coffee-cake/step6.jpg"
}
],
"aggregateRating": {
"@type": "AggregateRating",
"ratingValue": "5",
"ratingCount": "18"
},
"video": {
"@type": "VideoObject",
"name": "How to make a Party Coffee Cake",
"description": "This is how you make a Party Coffee Cake.",
"thumbnailUrl": [
"https://example.com/photos/1x1/photo.jpg",
"https://example.com/photos/4x3/photo.jpg",
"https://example.com/photos/16x9/photo.jpg"
],
"contentUrl": "http://www.example.com/video123.mp4",
"embedUrl": "http://www.example.com/videoplayer?video=123",
"uploadDate": "2018-02-05T08:00:00+08:00",
"duration": "PT1M33S",
"interactionStatistic": {
"@type": "InteractionCounter",
"interactionType": { "@type": "http://schema.org/WatchAction" },
"userInteractionCount": 2347
},
"expires": "2019-02-05T08:00:00+08:00"
}
}
</script>
</head>
<body>
</body>
</html>
Snippet via https://developers.google.com/search/docs/data-types/recipe
Sounds complicated and a lot of work right. Luckily there are WordPress plugins and Drupal Moduals that help to speed up the process and write the Schema code for you!
WordPress Recipe Plugins
These two plugins both work look and work great for adding recipes to your WordPress site. The only drawback seems to be that you will need to pay for certain features. Try them both and see what works best for your website.
Drupal Recipe Modules
The Drupal modules basically do the same thing as the WordPress plugins but there is a little more setup involved and they are a little more customizable but if you work with Drupal you are probably used to that.
https://www.drupal.org/project/recipe
https://www.drupal.org/node/1351226
Rich Results Test
Found this great tool by google to test if your Schema tags are working properly.
Take The Next Step
We’d love to bring our expertise to your web development project. We’re ready to help you be successful in your Web marketing efforts, to drive more opportunities and success to your organization.