What is structured data?
Structured data is a standardized format for systematically structuring and classifying the content of a website. It helps web crawlers to better understand the content of a page and give it greater relevance. Structured data enables search engines such as Google or Bing to better interpret content. Structured data also provides the opportunity for so-called rich snippets.
What are rich snippets?
Rich snippets are an extended form of conventional search results that can contain additional elements such as rating stars, links, images, prices and other information.
What is schema.org?
The search engine providers Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Yandex have launched the joint Schema.org project to improve the structuring of data. The Schema.org mark-up is freely available to website operators on the
Where can structured data be used?
Structured data is mainly used to generate so-called rich snippets. These are automatic excerpts from the website that display the most important information directly in Google’s SERPs.
Schema.org offers a variety of semantic markups for frequently used element types. These include, among others:
- Questions and answers (FAQ)
- Products
- Instructions
- events
- Job advertisements
- Recipes
- Books
- and much more.
How is structured data implemented?
When implementing Schema.org, the website operator can choose between the markup languages JSON-LD, RDFa and Microdata. Google itself recommends the use of JSON-LD. This is also the latest and most widely used markup language.
JSON-LD | Has the advantage that it is detached from the actual object. The integration takes place via a <script>-day in the <head> or <body> of the website. |
RDFa | Can be used to mark up HTML elements using attributes. The HTML attributes are integrated directly into the element to be marked up. |
Microdata | Markup language developed by the open community that enables HTML elements to be marked up with structured data via attributes. As with RDFa, HTML attributes are integrated directly into the element to be marked up |
The Google structured data test tool can be used to check whether structured data has been implemented correctly. There you have the option of checking URLs or code snippets for correctness.
It is also possible to create structured data with the help of a special generator. There you can select the element types to be marked up and only have to fill in the fields and the generator synchronously generates the code, which then only has to be implemented in the website.
What is the importance of Schema.org for SEO?
Markup according to Schema.org supports search engines in structuring the source code and ensures better indexability of structured data.
The rich snippets generated with the help of structured data increase the attractiveness and visibility of search results and can therefore significantly improve the click-through rate.
In addition, the structured data can play an important role in the use of digital assistants such as Google Home. FAQ pages that are labeled according to Schema.org enable these systems to provide meaningful answers to simple questions.
Conclusion
Marking up content according to Schema.org does mean additional work and takes some time, but it makes it easier for search engines to interpret the content and thus ensures better indexability of the website. There is also the chance of rich snippets, which make the search results more attractive and can therefore improve the click-through rate. When implementing, you should opt for JSON-LD as the markup language, as this is also prioritized by Google.
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