Intro
The Schema can be used to improve the way SERPS view a website. Schema is a particular type of vocabulary microdata. Schema.org is a collective of search engines Bing, Google, Yandex, and Yahoo. The collective helps provide the information search engines need to decipher content on the web. It helps the search engines provide the most accurate search results every time.
Schema markups improve page displayed to SERPs by creating enriched snippets displayed on title pages. Schema is different from microdata and structure data. Structured data is a method that is used to pair names and values to categorize search engine content. Microdata is a form of the aforementioned structured data, but this form works with HTML5. Schema.org is a collaborative effort that has predetermined definitions for microdata tags.
Code Sample:
<div itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Book"> <span itemprop="name"> Learn SEO: Schema.org Structured Data</span> <span itemprop="author">Felix Collins</span> </div>
Schema and Open Graph
Open graph is a Facebook markup tool that parses information to determine image selection or display descriptions. Schema is more detailed than Open Graph. While they can be used in conjunction, open graph is not a suitable replacement for Schema.
Top SEO Tactics: Schema Structured Data
Schema describes multiple types of data. Structured data can be marked in various ways and of multiple types. It is frequently used to provide information about the following:
- Events
- People or Individuals
- Places
- Items/Products
- Companies/Organizations
There is an entire list of the items that can be marked up using Schema. All the information types that can be marked up with Schema have properties that can be used to provide highly descriptive item snippets. For example, an event can be classified as a theater-event or a business-event. A book can be described as a creative work.
Schema Equipped Search Engines
Most search engines use Schema. It is recognized and maintained by Bing, Google, Yahoo, and Yandex. These search engines markup this information to make various changes to the SERPs. It is not known whether Schema has an impact on SERP rankings. It is not certain if markups improve rankings, but there have been indications that they impact click-through rates with enriched snippets.
Schema and Structured Data
RDFa and JSON-LD can be used with Schema, but mircoformats are not supported.
External Resources
- Bing's information resource describing how they support structured data. Bing Guide to Marking Up Your Site
- The official site. Here you can find the latest updates, a guide to implementing Schema, and FAQs. Schema.org
- BuiltVisible's guide to generating rich snippets. Rich Snippets: Everything You Need to Know