Yoast Structured Data Blocks in WordPress

Let’s take a look at the Yoast Structured data blocks in the new WordPress Gutenberg editor. We’ll look at how to use the How-to and FAQ content blocks for creating structured data that improves your SEO.  You can watch the video and look at examples below.

Today I’m going to show you some special content blocks you’ll find in the new WordPress Gutenberg editor. If you have the Yoast SEO plugin installed, look for a section called Yoast Structured Data Blocks.

Yoast Structured Data Blocks

If you’ve got a page or post open for editing, you’ll find two content blocks under Yoast Structured Data Blocks:

  • How-to
  • FAQ

Now for fun, I’ve put both of these types of blocks in this post so you’ll have an idea of what the end product looks like. However, the video above shows me creating a block from scratch.

How to use Yoast Structured Data Blocks

Hint: Below is an How-to block so you can see how it looks:

Time needed: 2 minutes.

Here’s step-by-step instructions on how to add Yoast Structured Data Blocks to your page or post using the WordPress Gutenberg editor.

  1. Add block

    Add a block by clicking the plus icon button either in the toolbar or on the page.

  2. Open the Yoast Structured Data Blocks category

    If you have the Yoast SEO plugin installed, look for a section called Yoast Structured Data Blocks. It usually appears underneath the core categories at the bottom of the list.

  3. Select either How-to or FAQ

    Select the How-to or FAQ block. If you already have one of these block types, the selection may be greyed out, since Yoast recommends only one of each kind per page or post.

  4. Add the appropriate content to your block

    Fill out the content based on the block you selected. You have the option of adding images, although the image formatting options are limited.

Common questions about Yoast Structured Data Blocks

Okay, these aren’t “common” questions, but rather an excuse for using the FAQ block as seen below.

How many How-to or FAQ blocks can I add per page?

Yoast recommends you only put one of each block per page or post. For example, if you already have a How-to block on a post, if you try to add another How-to block, the icon will be greyed out as you’re trying to add it from among the content blocks.

Why should you use these blocks?

There’s more to these than having a nice interface. Using these blocks organizes the data so they’re more optimized for search engines. 
Ever asked a question using a search engine and discovered FAQs or step-by-step instructions appear at the top of the results? That’s because those results are using structured data that helps search engines show results. You usually don’t see this structured data in the editor, but you will see it if you look at the source code of the page. 

Where can I read more about the How-to block

If you want to read more, check out this article from Yoast: How to Add HowTo Schema.org to a how-to article

What content can be created in a How-to block?

You can add total time, a description, and individual steps with a title, description and optional image.

What content can be created in a FAQ block?

The FAQ content block looks like the How-to block, but lists a series of a question followed by an answer with an optional image.

More resources to help with using WordPress

Here’s some more resources to check out:

Articles and resources from Yoast

The Yoast SEO plugin
Article explaining in more detail how the How-to blocks help with using structured data.

Latest articles on WordPress

    My WordPress tips and tricks playlist on YouTube.