GS1 SmartSearch
Pilot ProjectIn 2017, GS1 Japan has conducted the GS1

translated GS1 Web Vocabulary in Japanese,

SmartSearch (*1) pilot project, collaborating withdefines the format of structured data to embedmajor manufacturers, retailers and otherproduct information on the web. Then, thecompanies.

committee was prepared and two types of pilot.

As the results, introduction of GS1 SmartSearch inAlso, aiming to expansion of domestic use of GS1

a correct way was confirmed to make Search

SmartSearch, the committee members consideredEngine Optimization (SEO) effective. On the otherintroducing additional items and codes, andhand, it was also showed that the result could be

discussed other usage of GS1 SmartSearch thannegative depending on the way of introduction.

for SEO like referencing from smartphone Apps.

Based on the above results, GS1 Japan iscommitted to expansion of the use of GS1
SmartSearch through its activities, aiming tosupport companies to spread their productinformation effectively and to increase consumers’
accessibility to it.

GS1 Japan SmartSearch Committee
In 2017, GS1 Japan launched the GS1 Japan
SmartSearch Committee, which consists of 15
domestic companies including retailers,
wholesalers, manufacturers, data base providers,and SEO firms (Fig. 1). In the Committee, they
*1 https://www.gs1.org/gs1-smartsearch

Fig. 1 P articipants of GS1 Japan SmartSearch Preparatory
Committee
GS1 Japan SmartSearchPreparatory Committee Members

Observers

AEON Co., Ltd.(GMS)
Kao Group Customer Marketing Co., Ltd.
(Wholesaler)
KOKUBU GROUP CORP. (Wholesaler)
Cocokara ﬁne Healthcare Inc.
(Drugstore Chain)
KOMERI Co., Ltd. (DYI store operator)
Takashimaya Company, Limited(Department Store)
TAKEDA LEG WEAR CO., LTD.
(Apparel Maker)
Nike Japan Corp. (Apparel Maker)
Matsumotokiyoshi Holdings Co., Ltd.
(Drug store)
Lion Corporation(Commodity Manufacturer)
LOTTE Co., Ltd. (Food Manufacturer)
Wacoal Corp. (Apparel Maker)

GeekFeed Co., Ltd. (SEO ﬁrm)
Japan Inforex INC.
(Database provider)
PLANET,INC. (Database provider)
U-FACTORY KK(Website creation company)

Fig. 2 Effect of Presence/Absence of Structural Data on Search Rankings (Pilot Website)

Google1) Only pages with structured data were hit2) Pages with structured data appeared

46.3%

22.0%

9.8%

higher.

22.0%3) Pages with structured data appeared
lower.

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%Bing

4) Only pages without structured data werehit.

1) Only pages with structured data were hit2) Pages with structured data appeared

19.4%

41.9%

22.6%

higher.

16.1%

3) Pages with structured data appeared
lower.

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

4) Only pages without structured data werehit.

Two Types of Pilot Experiments

Results

The GS1 Japan SmartSearch Committee

As the searching results of about 80 words, theconducted two types of pilot experiments ineffect of the structured data aligning with GS1

FY2017.

SmartSearch on search rankings was clearlyIn the first experiment, GS1 Japan created a pilot

identified (Fig. 2). In over 60 % cases, the pages

website based on the product information

with the structured data received a higher

provided by companies to investigate the searchvaluation from search engines than those without

ranking results and the page views of thosestructured data. Consequently, the result

products among other test items. The second

statistically proved that introduction of GS1

experiment was conducted on several

SmartSearch is significantly effective for SEO.

e-commerce (EC) or corporate websites, which

On the other hand, as for the effect on pageare actually operated by the companies. GS1views, the amount of data obtained during theJapan loaded the structured data on thosetest period was too small to evaluate them. Also,

websites to observe the difference between

as for the effect on snippets, there was nobefore and after data loading.

significant difference between the presence andabsence of structured data.

Websites for Pilot Experiments
OverviewPilot Experiment on the Company Websites

GS1 Japan was provided with product information

Overview

from three retailers and three manufacturers, andIn this test on company websites, the structured

then created a pilot website, and published 28

data was loaded on the websites of two retailers

product pages that loaded with structured data

and two manufacturers. The search rankings,

on it. Simultaneously, 22 pages without structured

number of page views, conversion rates (CVR)

data that showed similar products were publishedand other test items were investigated for 16

for comparison. (*2)

product pages for four weeks including theIn this experiment, the effect brought by theperiods before and after introduction of thepresence or absence of the structured data wasstructured data.

evaluated using various indexes on whether thesearch rankings, page views (PVs), explanation ofResultssnippet (*3) displayed under the searched words

As the results of the pilot experiment, there waswere differentiated.

no positive effect neither on search ranking norPVs (Fig. 3 Fig. 4). The search rankings of target*2 https://gs1japanss.org/*3 a brief description of the page displayed under the searched word (s)2Fig. 3 Effect of Presence/Absence of Structural Data on Search Ranking (Corporate Websites)

Google16.7%1) Only pages with structured data
were hit.

33.3%2) Pages with structured data
appeared higher.

50.0%3) No changes
4) Pages with structured data

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

appeared lower.
5) Only pages without structured data
were hit.

Bing
6.7%

1) Only pages with structured data
were hit.

13.3%

13.3%

46.7%

2) Pages with structured data
appeared higher.

20.0%3) No changes
4) Pages with structured data

0%20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

appeared lower.
5) Only pages without structured data
were hit.

Fig. 4 Effect of Structural Data on Page Views before/after its Introduction (Company Websites)
Number of Pages
with structureddataPVUU

Bounce Rate*CVR

Company A

5 pages

107.1%

—

97.7%

81.7%

Company B

3 pages

86.0%

74%

—

—

Company C

3 pages

85.1%

—

82.2%

—

Company D

5 pages

97.7%

—

—

102.3%*Bounce Rate: Percentage of people who left a webpage just after accessing it Values show
the results of before/after Introduction of Structural Data Two products were excluded as
their values had been ﬂuctuated by sales promotion activities or seasonal factors.

products did not rise, and also their PVs, number

requires users not to include the structured dataof unique users (UU), or CVR did not increase.

that are not visible on screen. In the above
experiment, however, some letters were displayed

Consideration on the Results of Pilot

as images and some items including tax rates orExperiments

tax categories were not written on screen but

In the pilot websites, search rankings of thewritten in the structured data. Therefore, theseproducts were raised, which proved that theviolations could have caused the lower valuation

structured data had a positive effect as SEO. On

from the search engines as a penalty.

the other hand, the structured data did not
influence the company websites. This means theNext Step

result on the pilot websites and that on theAs an additional pilot program, verification on thecompany websites contradict each other.

hypothesis that discrepancy between HTML andThe committee formulated a hypothesis on thisstructured data caused negative impact on searchcontradiction as follows.

rankings has been underway.
GS1 Japan will put genuine efforts to expand theGoogle has released its guidelines for using

domestic use of GS1 SmartSearch based on thestructured data. (*4) In the document, Google

above experiment results.

*4 Structured Data General Guidelines
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/guides/sd-policies

3

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