Incorporating schema microdata into your web pages is a lot like eating good, exercising, or getting a good night's sleep — you know you should , but it can be trickier than it sounds. If you are not a health freak, please stop telling us about CrossFit.
Although schemas and other structured markup formats have been around for several years, relatively few sites bother to include schema microdata, and even fewer people actually know what a schema is and what it is for. Don't be embarrassed, though - we'll answer your questions about the schema and why you should make it an integral part of your SEO strategy.
What is a schema?
A schema is a type of microdata that makes it easier for search engines to more efficiently analyze and interpret information on your web pages so that they can provide users with relevant results based on search queries.
What is Schema.org?
Schema.org is a centralized website for the Schema project, a collaboration between Google, Bing, Yahoo! and the Russian search engine Yandex for structured markup standardization.
How does the circuit work?
As with other markup formats, schema microdata is applied to page content to determine exactly what it is and how to handle it. Schema elements and attributes can be added directly to the HTML of a web page to provide additional information to search engine crawlers.
In the example below from schema.org, which focuses on content about James Cameron's 2009 movie Avatar, you can see that adding the itemtype attribute to the appropriate <div> block makes it easier for search engines to determine that this content is related to movie, as defined by the schema.org type hierarchy. Likewise, adding the itemscope attribute indicates that everything contained in that particular <div> block refers to a particular item — in this case, James Cameron's $ 237 million remake of Fern Gully.
Let's take a look at another example from schema.org:
It can be very difficult for search engines to correctly interpret the time and date. This is due to differences in how dates are formatted, whether the event in question happened in the past or should happen in the future, and the fact that search engines (like all computers) are actually pretty dumb. In this example, turning on the Event ItemType attribute makes it clear that this is taking the event to a specific date (as you can see the addition of the startDate and datetime attributes), making it easier for search engines to return relevant results to the User. This removes any ambiguity for users looking for information on the 1984 film of the same name, which is arguably one of the best films ever made. Unlike Avatar.
Can a schema improve SEO?
Including schema microdata in your HTML code can help search engine crawlers interpret the content of your pages more efficiently. This, in turn, can increase your visibility. It's important to note, however, that including schema (or any other structured markup format) in your code is not a quick and dirty SEO hack - instead, consider schema a best practice to make it easier for search engines to display your content.
Does the schema improve search rankings?
Not now. Google claims the inclusion of schema microdata is not currently used as a ranking signal. However, it does improve your site's rich descriptions, which can help your site rank more prominently in search results.
What else can a circuit do for me?
In addition to making it easier for search engines to properly categorize your site's content, marking up your pages with microdata schema can also be used to identify and display extended snippets of your content in search results. Contrary to popular misconception, Google does use schema markup to display extended snippets. Clear and concise rich web page descriptions can increase your click-through rate as users can quickly and easily determine if the content on your site is what they are looking for.
How do I mark up my pages with schema microdata?
Okay, I agree with you - marking up your pages with schema microdata can be kind of a pain, especially if your site has hundreds (or thousands) of pages. The markup has to be manually added to each page, which is a lot of work for large sites. However, if you're still in the planning stage or have a small site (you're in luck), adding schema microdata will be easier. To get started, follow the steps in this guide . When you're satisfied with your markup, use Google's Structured Data Validation tool to make sure everything is working correctly.
Do I have to mark up every property on every page?
No, but the more properties you apply schema microdata to, the clearer the nature and purpose of your site's content will be to search engines. Also, it's worth remembering that you need to apply schema markup to a certain number of properties before Google can create rich snippets using your microdata. You can check what information can be extracted from your markup with Google's structured data validation tool.
What about Facebook Open Graph and Twitter Cards?
Some marketers mistakenly believe that including Open Graph tags (and Twitter Cards, to a lesser extent) is all they need to do to ensure their content is as shared as possible. However, schema microdata can be used in conjunction with social media tags to provide search engines with even more detailed information about the page's content. Include schema markup along with Open Graph tags to make your content public and optimized.
Does the schema support other types of markup data?
Yes. When Google announced the schema.org project, many webmasters were alarmed to learn that the types of information supported by other structured markup formats are incompatible with schema microdata. Google listened, and now the schema works well with data types represented in RDFa and other formats.
Can I add schemas to the dictionary?
Something like. The schema type hierarchy contains many commonly used element types. Most of them have corresponding subtypes, but their prevalence may vary. In some cases, you may want to add your own element types to the markup. You can do this with extensions. To create a custom item type, simply add a forward slash at the end of the existing item type and enter a new term.
Person / Engineer / ElectricalEngineer
In the above example, Person is an existing item type, and Engineer and ElectricalEngineer are custom item types. Details on naming conventions and extending existing properties, classes, and enumerated members can be found at schema.org.
Are you using schema microdata or some other markup format? If not, why not? Let us know in the comments!
Although schemas and other structured markup formats have been around for several years, relatively few sites bother to include schema microdata, and even fewer people actually know what a schema is and what it is for. Don't be embarrassed, though - we'll answer your questions about the schema and why you should make it an integral part of your SEO strategy.
What is a schema?
A schema is a type of microdata that makes it easier for search engines to more efficiently analyze and interpret information on your web pages so that they can provide users with relevant results based on search queries.
What is Schema.org?
Schema.org is a centralized website for the Schema project, a collaboration between Google, Bing, Yahoo! and the Russian search engine Yandex for structured markup standardization.
How does the circuit work?
As with other markup formats, schema microdata is applied to page content to determine exactly what it is and how to handle it. Schema elements and attributes can be added directly to the HTML of a web page to provide additional information to search engine crawlers.
In the example below from schema.org, which focuses on content about James Cameron's 2009 movie Avatar, you can see that adding the itemtype attribute to the appropriate <div> block makes it easier for search engines to determine that this content is related to movie, as defined by the schema.org type hierarchy. Likewise, adding the itemscope attribute indicates that everything contained in that particular <div> block refers to a particular item — in this case, James Cameron's $ 237 million remake of Fern Gully.
Let's take a look at another example from schema.org:
It can be very difficult for search engines to correctly interpret the time and date. This is due to differences in how dates are formatted, whether the event in question happened in the past or should happen in the future, and the fact that search engines (like all computers) are actually pretty dumb. In this example, turning on the Event ItemType attribute makes it clear that this is taking the event to a specific date (as you can see the addition of the startDate and datetime attributes), making it easier for search engines to return relevant results to the User. This removes any ambiguity for users looking for information on the 1984 film of the same name, which is arguably one of the best films ever made. Unlike Avatar.
Can a schema improve SEO?
Including schema microdata in your HTML code can help search engine crawlers interpret the content of your pages more efficiently. This, in turn, can increase your visibility. It's important to note, however, that including schema (or any other structured markup format) in your code is not a quick and dirty SEO hack - instead, consider schema a best practice to make it easier for search engines to display your content.
Does the schema improve search rankings?
Not now. Google claims the inclusion of schema microdata is not currently used as a ranking signal. However, it does improve your site's rich descriptions, which can help your site rank more prominently in search results.
What else can a circuit do for me?
In addition to making it easier for search engines to properly categorize your site's content, marking up your pages with microdata schema can also be used to identify and display extended snippets of your content in search results. Contrary to popular misconception, Google does use schema markup to display extended snippets. Clear and concise rich web page descriptions can increase your click-through rate as users can quickly and easily determine if the content on your site is what they are looking for.
How do I mark up my pages with schema microdata?
Okay, I agree with you - marking up your pages with schema microdata can be kind of a pain, especially if your site has hundreds (or thousands) of pages. The markup has to be manually added to each page, which is a lot of work for large sites. However, if you're still in the planning stage or have a small site (you're in luck), adding schema microdata will be easier. To get started, follow the steps in this guide . When you're satisfied with your markup, use Google's Structured Data Validation tool to make sure everything is working correctly.
Do I have to mark up every property on every page?
No, but the more properties you apply schema microdata to, the clearer the nature and purpose of your site's content will be to search engines. Also, it's worth remembering that you need to apply schema markup to a certain number of properties before Google can create rich snippets using your microdata. You can check what information can be extracted from your markup with Google's structured data validation tool.
What about Facebook Open Graph and Twitter Cards?
Some marketers mistakenly believe that including Open Graph tags (and Twitter Cards, to a lesser extent) is all they need to do to ensure their content is as shared as possible. However, schema microdata can be used in conjunction with social media tags to provide search engines with even more detailed information about the page's content. Include schema markup along with Open Graph tags to make your content public and optimized.
Does the schema support other types of markup data?
Yes. When Google announced the schema.org project, many webmasters were alarmed to learn that the types of information supported by other structured markup formats are incompatible with schema microdata. Google listened, and now the schema works well with data types represented in RDFa and other formats.
Can I add schemas to the dictionary?
Something like. The schema type hierarchy contains many commonly used element types. Most of them have corresponding subtypes, but their prevalence may vary. In some cases, you may want to add your own element types to the markup. You can do this with extensions. To create a custom item type, simply add a forward slash at the end of the existing item type and enter a new term.
Person / Engineer / ElectricalEngineer
In the above example, Person is an existing item type, and Engineer and ElectricalEngineer are custom item types. Details on naming conventions and extending existing properties, classes, and enumerated members can be found at schema.org.
Are you using schema microdata or some other markup format? If not, why not? Let us know in the comments!
