METTEVO
DIGITAL AGENCY

Structured Data and Schema.org Microdata

Anastasia Melnyk
Oct 18, 2023
Digital city and servers

Structured data are tools that allow sites to provide information to search engines in a structured way. Using Schema.org markup, you can help search engines better understand your site's content.

These tools allow for better interaction between the site and the search engine. It can increase the site's visibility in search engine results. Moreover, proper markup of data on site pages can improve the site's functionality. You will be able to attract more potential customers.

But, structured data and markup can take time to understand and implement. It can be difficult for those just beginning their SEO and web development journey. To help you master these tools, we'll break down why you need to mark up data on website pages in the first place. You'll learn what types of data you can markup and what fields you can use for markup.

After reading this article, you will have all the knowledge you need. You can use structured data and markup to improve your site's visibility in search engines.

Why Do You Need to Mark up Data on the Site’s Pages?

Structured data is information organized in a way that can be easily processed and interpreted. In the context of web development, this means that structured data is a way of describing content on a web page in a format that search engines can understand.

When a search engine robot visits a web page and tries to analyze its content, it does not always understand what type of data a particular piece of content belongs to. Markup data is better and more accurately perceived by search engines, which results in faster indexing of the site and the construction of enhanced snippets in the rendering.

Data markup helps search engines understand what information should be highlighted as key. It allows search engines to build more accurate search results and better-looking snippets. 

For example, when we search for a movie, we see a bright and colorful picture with the movie's cover art, rating, length, etc. While the search robot sees tags and scripts such as img and video, titles, lists, links, clicks and other elements that help it better understand the page content and index it for search results.

Our way of viewing the page is:

A robot's view of the page is:

Types of Data

Structured data can include different types of information. The most common data types include home page, articles, news, contacts, etc.

All of this and more can be marked up with micro-partitioning and Schema.org. By doing so, you may assist search engines in better understanding the information on the page and providing more informative results in your results. 

Product markup, for example, can comprise information such as price, product description, photographs, and so on. Event markup can include details such as the date, time, location, organizers, and so on. In general, structured data enables sites to deliver structured information about content. It assists search engines in providing more informative search results.

It is important to understand that each page type may require different data types to achieve the best search engine results. Therefore, depending on its content, you should choose the appropriate data types for each page.

There are types of data that should be placed on different types of pages:

Common Types of Markup

https://schema.org/WebSite + https://schema.org/WebPageRecommended for sites with links to external resources (e.g., subdomains) or with many files/pictures. The robot, reading this markup, accurately determines that it is a web page that belongs to a specific website. 
https://schema.org/BreadcrumbListMarks breadcrumbs on the site, outputs them into a snippet, replacing page URL in snippet by "name" parameter in breadcrumbs.
https://schema.org/ImageObject + https://schema.org/VideoObjectMarks pictures and videos on the page, can display them in the extended snippet for some queries.
https://schema.org/FAQPageMarks frequent questions and answers, can be used both on the general FAQ page and on individual pages if they have such a block. It helps to get into a separate block People also ask in Google and can also get into the snippet. But remember that the latest Google updates for 2023 affected the FAQ markup and now it doesn't affect the advanced snippet like it did before.

Home Page

https://schema.org/OrganizationMarks up information about the organization, displays the data in a snippet.
https://schema.org/LocalBusiness Also marks up information about the organization, helps get into Google LocalPack witchdoctors.

Product Catalog Page and Product Cards

https://schema.org/Product Marks product cards can be used for extended snippets.
https://schema.org/AggregateOffer Marks the price of the product. It can be used in extended snippets.
https://schema.org/AggregateRating Labels product ratings, can be used in extended snippets.
https://schema.org/ItemList Labels the list of products in the catalog, you can use either product or it. It won't make much difference.
https://schema.org/Review If the products have reviews, it flags them and can be used in extended snippets.

Services Catalog Page and Specific Service

https://schema.org/Service Same as Products, but instead of Product markup, it uses this.

Article Pages

https://schema.org/Article Helps the robot to distinguish the article from other additional blocks (e.g. CTA blocks inside the article), and can be used in snippets and quick replies.
https://schema.org/AggregateRating Marks the article rating, can be used in extended snippets.
https://schema.org/Person Used to mark up the author of an article, strongly boosts the EAT factors of your articles, can be used in snippets.

News Page

https://schema.org/NewsArticle Marks news on the page, used in the carousel of news in Google.

Contacts Page

https://schema.org/ContactPage Same as for the home page, you can also use markup.

Instructional Articles

https://schema.org/HowTo Suitable for DIY pages/sites, used in snippets.

Events Pages

https://schema.org/Event Markup of a specific event within a page, used in snippets and sorcerers.

Important note: If you mark up a page on your website, it does not mean that you will build an extended snippet for that page or that your page will be included in any additional rendering blocks; this means that it will be much easier for the robot to read the data on the page.

List of Markup Fields

To understand what fields can and should be used in the markups, you need to read the documentation of each markup, and you can also look at your competitors to see what fields they use in structured data. In fact, you can mark up every block on the page, but the question arises whether it makes sense.

There are two types of data that can be pulled into the markup field: static and dynamic. 

If we need to implement markup for one page (for example, for the main page), you can choose any fields you want, but it is vital that they coincide with reality and do not confuse search robots. The programmer will simply add a piece of code to the page, and it will not be affected by changes on the page. However, it is crucial to understand that it is best to use only those types of structured data whose elements are on the pages of your site. Google can impose sanctions on your site if you use micro markup that does not match the content. If this happens, the site will not be able to get an extended snippet (which is what the micro-layout is for) until it gets out from under the sanctions.

An Example of Static Data Markup

Suppose you want to add Organization markup to the main page, but you don't have information about the organization address, phone number, mail, etc., on the main page or in thorough blocks, while all this information is present on the Contacts page. In this case, you can mark up the fields of Organization with static data, which will be manually filled in by the programmer, instead of referring to any elements in the code - this layout will not be considered an error, and you won't receive any complaints from the search engine.

If you want to implement markup on many similar pages (e.g., product cards), you must pull dynamic values into the fields, such as title tags, description, h1, page URL, price, rating, etc. With this approach, the data inside the block with micro markup will change along with page changes.

An Example of Dynamic Data Markup

We have a service listing; we need to mark up each service so that the search engine can better understand the list of services provided on the page and what parameters those services have (name, price, etc.). Let's take the page https://www.webshare.io/proxy-servers  and mark up the fields for it. To begin with, we need to determine what elements are present on the page and decide what types of micro markup we will need after analyzing them. On this page, there is a listing of services (ItemList), a specific service (in this case, we need the markup Product because we sell access to training materials), the image (ImageObject, but apparently forgot to implement :)), price (Offer). In the output, we have the following markup: 

The data are pulled from the elements of the page respectively; with the change of these elements, the data in the markup will also change.

Where to Check Markup

There are four services to check the markup

  1. Google Search Console tool
  2. https://validator.schema.org/
  3. https://search.google.com/test/rich-results?hl=en 

We usually check the markup on the schema's site, i.e. here https://validator.schema.org/, but also, after the page is indexed/reindexed, you should use the services of Google Search Console to make sure that the pages get an extended snippet. In GSC, just in the page report.

A List of Markups With Which Google Can Build a Nice Snippet in the Output

We have prepared for you a list of markups that can help build a beautiful snippet in the search engine results:

AggregateRatingUse the AggregateRating markup to display an overall rating for your product or service based on user feedback.
ReviewThe Review markup allows you to display individual user reviews of your product or service.
FAQUse the FAQPage markup to present the most frequently asked questions and answers related to your product or service.
OfferUse Offer markup to show the price of your product or service and possible discounts, promotions, and special offers.
OpeningHoursSpecificationUse the OpeningHoursSpecification markup to indicate the opening hours of your store, office, or other location.
PlaceThe Place markup allows you to specify your location's address, contact information, and geographic coordinates.
EventsIf your site offers event information, use the Event markup to include the date, time, location, and other details.
RecipeFor sites with recipes, apply Recipe markup to provide information about ingredients, cooking time, calories, and cooking steps.
VideoObjectUse the VideoObject markup to provide information about the video, such as duration, title, description, poster, and link to the video file.
Article, NewsArticle, BlogPostingMarkup of Article, NewsArticle and BlogPosting types can help Google better understand the structure and content of your content and can improve visibility in Google's newsroom.
ProductUse Product markup to represent product information such as name, description, image, and brand.
OrganizationOrganization markup allows you to provide information about your company, including name, logo, contact information, and social media links.
ItemListUse ItemList markup to structure a list of items, such as products, articles, or recipes, so Google can provide a clearer view of your page content.
BreadcrumbListBreadcrumbList markup helps Google understand your site's hierarchy and can display breadcrumbs in search engine snippets, improving user navigation.
ContactPointUse ContactPoint markup to provide contact information such as phone number, email address, and business hours for customer service.
ExchangeRateSpecificationIf your site provides information about exchange rates, use the ExchangeRateSpecification markup to specify the actual rates, date, and when they were last updated.
CourseFor sites that offer educational courses, use the Course markup to specify the course title, description, facilitator, duration, and cost.
JobPostingIf your site publishes jobs, use JobPosting markup to provide information about the position, salary, location, employment type, and publication date.
PersonUse Person markup to provide information about a specific person, such as name, title, education, skills, and contact information.
BookFor sites that offer books, use Book markup to provide the title, author, publisher, publication date, cover, and description of the book.

There are many more types of markup which can build a beautiful snippet; if you need ideas for beautiful snippets - you just need to view extradition for the requested page to be promoted, in extradition you can find new ideas from competitors and implement them on your site.

Are You Ready To Grow Your Website?

Understanding the ins and outs of website growth, we help ensure that your site grows over time with ever-increasing reach and accessibility. Not only do we employ the latest digital marketing techniques for driving traffic directly to your website, but our strategies also focus on gaining loyalty from those visitors so they come back again and again.
Leave your contacts to get a comprehensive and aggressive digital marketing plan taking your business to new heights.

Frequently asked questions

What is structured data markup?

Structured data markup is a way to provide search engines with information about the content on a webpage by adding specific tags to the HTML code.

Why do you need to mark up data on the site's pages?

Marking up data on a website's pages helps search engines understand the content of the page and present it in a more informative and visually appealing way in search results.

What is Schema.org microdata?

Schema.org microdata is a specific type of markup language that provides a standardized way of adding structured data to web pages, making it easier for search engines to understand and present the content.

learn with mettevo

Are You Ready To Grow Your Website?

Understanding the ins and outs of website growth, we help ensure that your site grows over time with ever-increasing reach and accessibility. Not only do we employ the latest digital marketing techniques for driving traffic directly to your website, but our strategies also focus on gaining loyalty from those visitors so they come back again and again.
Leave your contacts to get a comprehensive and aggressive digital marketing plan taking your business to new heights.