Improve Search Rankings using Schema

What is Schema?

Schema is a type of structured data that makes it easier for search engines to parse and interpret the information on web pages more effectively so they can serve relevant results to users based on search queries.

Search engines will support structured data in the following formats, unless documented otherwise:

Format	Description and Placement
JSON-LD (Recommended)	JavaScript notation embedded in a script tag in the page head or body. The markup is not interleaved with the user-visible text, which makes nested data items easier to express, such as the Country of a PostalAddress of a MusicVenue of an Event. Also, Google can read JSON-LD data when it is dynamically injected into the page's contents, such as by JavaScript code or embedded widgets in your content management system.
Microdata	An open-community HTML specification used to nest structured data within HTML content. Like RDFa, it uses HTML tag attributes to name the properties you want to expose as structured data. It is typically used in the page body, but can be used in the head.
RDFa	An HTML5 extension that supports linked data by introducing HTML tag attributes that correspond to the user-visible content that you want to describe for search engines. RDFa is commonly used in both the head and body sections of the HTML page.

Schema Implementation Example

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 relevant 

 block makes it easier for search engines to identify that this content relates to a movie, as defined by the schema.org type hierarchy. Similarly, the addition of the itemscope attribute specifies that everything contained in that particular 

 block references a specific item – in this case, James Cameron’s $237 million remake of “Fern Gully.”

Another example from Schema.org

In this example, the inclusion of the Event itemtype attribute makes it clear that this is an event taking place on a specific date (as you can see by the addition of the startDate and datetime attributes), making it easier for search engines to return relevant results to the user. This eliminates any ambiguity for users searching for information about the 1984 film of the same name, which is arguably one of the finest movies ever made. Unlike “Avatar.”

Does Schema Help To Improve SEO?

Including schema microdata in HTML code can help search engine crawlers interpret the content of pages more effectively. This, in turn, can increase page visibility. However, it’s important to note that including schema (or any other structured markup format) in code is not a quick and dirty SEO “hack” – instead, think of schema as a best practice to make it easier for search engines to find and display your content.

Aside from making it easier for search engines to properly categorize site’s content, marking up pages with schema microdata can also be used to define and display rich snippets of page content in SERPs. Contrary to common misconception, Google does, in fact, use schema markup to display rich snippets. Clear, concise rich snippets can result in higher click-through rates, as users can quickly and easily determine whether the content on the site is what they’re looking for.

Markup Pages with Schema Microdata

Marking up pages with schema microdata can be kind of a pain, especially if site has hundreds (or thousands) of pages. The markup has to be added manually to each page, which is a lot of work for larger sites. However, Sites in the planning stages, then adding schema microdata will be less hassle. Follow the steps outlined in schema.org guide to get started. Once you’re satisfied with your markup, use Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool to check that everything is working correctly.