An Introduction of Schema: Beginner’s Guide to Structured Data

schema

If you work in SEO service field, you might want to know Schema as this tool is terribly helpful for you. Schema is a structured data vocabulary that defines entities, actions and relationships on the internet. By this vocabulary, search engines can easily understand the meanings behind subject matter (entities) on the web. Hence, as a result, it serves a better user experience for internet users. Especially, for a semantic web, these markups become increasingly valuable in effective internet communication.

There are some different languages of code – including RDFa, Microdata and JSON-LD that you can use to implement the mark ups.

RDFa is an acronym for Resource Descriptive Framework in Attributes. It is a form of code that can be added to any HTML, XHTML, and XML-based document.

JSON-LD stands for Javascript Object Notation for Linked Objects. This style of annotation can implement schema by pasting directly in the <head> or <body> tag of a web document. The notation uses “@context” and “@type” attributes to specify the vocabulary (schema.org).

Examples

Here’s a basic example of how the “Book” markup type would look on a webpage using microdata:

Without markup:

 <div>  <h3>Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets</h3>  <table summary="Bibliographic Details">  <tr>  <th>Main Author: </th>  <td>Rowling, JK</td>  </tr>  </table>  </div>  <table summary="Holdings details">

With Microdata markup: 

 <div itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Book">  <h3 itemprop="name">Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets</h3>  <table summary="Bibliographic Details">  <tr>  <th>Main Author: </th>  <td itemprop="author">Rowling, JK</td>  </tr>  </table>  </div>  <table summary="Holdings details">

And here’s the same example in JSON-LD:

<script type="application/ld+json"> {"@context":"http://schema.org/", "@type": "Book", "name": "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", "author": "Rowling, JK", "offers":{"itemOffered": "#record"}} </script>

Structured Data + Semantic Search

The main purpose of structuring data is to get better communication with search engines like Google. It is because when Google understands entities on a deeper level, it serves better results to searchers.

In fact, Google has clearly stated that properly structured data can enhance you appearance in their search results.

So, what are you waiting for?

If you haven’t convinced yet, we have some examples for you:

  1. With structured reviews, Google can show recipes with the most five star ratings at the top of their results.

image-2

  1. Google display what songs an artist sings as a series of rich cards with structured data on songs and albums.

image-3

For SEOs and marketers, having more structured markups will bring better impacts to their result. In fact, a trend of implementing structured data is known as “semantic SEO.”

How to Add Schema to Your Website

So, are you ready for getting started adding schema to your site? Here are a number of online tools to help you out.

Schema Markup Generator

This tool helps you enter information about a local business, person, product, event, organization, or website.

Schema Markup Validator

Just drag and drop your webpage or line of code to test for any errors or warnings.

SEMrush Site Audit Tool

It will check for markups and tell you what percentage of your website uses Schema, Open graph, Twitter Cards, and Microformats.

Content Markup Guide

You can use this tool for implementing Creative Work Schema to acquire rich snippets.