One of the latest developments in SEO is called schema markup. This is a new form of optimization but also one of the least utilized forms of SEO available today. Those wondering how to improve SEO and use schema markup will see a better ranking in search engines, as the software actually helps search engines better understand your website data.
What is Schema.org Structured Data?
Schema.org is the result of a collaboration between Google, Bing, Yahoo and Yandex to provide the information their search engines need in order to understand the content you write and provide the best search results. Adding Schema markup to your HTML files will improve the way your page displays in the search engines. By including structured data markup in web content, Google algorithms will better index and understand the content. Also, some data can be used to create and display Rich Snippets within the search results.
When a website has schema markup set, users can see in the search engines what that website is about, who they are, what they are doing, etc. This is a user-focused improvement. Search engines exist to gather the information and that is exactly what schema.org does.
Here’s an example of a business that uses schema markup to schedule events:
Image source: support.google.com
Schema.org tells the search engines to display the schedule for the upcoming events and that is particularly useful for the users.
Schema markups help your website rank better for all kinds of content types. There is a markup for:
- Articles
- Local businesses
- Restaurants
- TV episodes and ratings
- Book Reviews
- Movies
- Software Applications
- Events
- Products
There are hundreds of markup types, ranging from toy stores to medical dose schedules. If you have any type of data on your website, there is definitely a markup for you.
Websites that use schema markup will rank better in search engines than those without markups. A study determined that websites with markup rank an average of four positions higher in the search engines than those without schema markup.
There are millions of websites missing out on a huge source of SEO potential. If you use schema markup, you’ll automatically increase your SEO rank.
How to Use Schema Markup on Your Website
1.You can generate your own code using Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper
2.Select the type of data you have on your website
There are several options listed. For example, on our website we have used “Articles” and it is the common type of content category.
3.Paste the URL of the page or article that you want to markup
After you fill in the fields, you need to click “Start Tagging” and it will load the markup tool, and take you to the next phase of the markup.
4.Highlight and select the type of element to be marked up.
In our case, “Lead Generation via inbound marketing” will be the Name. After I highlight the name of the article I will add the “Name” as markup.
5.Continue adding markup items.
Use the list of data items as a guide, and highlight the items you need to add a markup to.
6.Create the HTML
Once you finish creating the rest of the markup items, click on “CREATE HTML”. In the following page you see the HTML with the relevant microdata inserted.
7.Use the Structured Data Testing Tool to find out if it will show the added markup
This tool will analyze your published web page and determine whether you have used the markup correctly. Here you can fetch you URL or insert the HTML you’ve just copied after you finish the markup.
Tools that will Help You Understand Schema Markup
Dev w3 – This specification defines the HTML microdata mechanism. This mechanism allows machine-readable data to be embedded in HTML documents in an easy-to-write manner, with an unambiguous parsing model. It is compatible with other data formats including RDF and JSON.
Schema.org. This is their official website. It’s the best resource for understanding how to use schema markup.
We strongly advise you to use schema markup for your website. It will help you rank better in search results and provide the relevant information to users without impacting the overall structure of the website.
If you have any difficulties in implementing schema markup on your website, don’t hesitate to drop me a line at andrei@beaglecat.flywheelsites.com. I’m always happy to help.
