What is Schema?
Or Schema.org? Well directly from their mouth(s);This site provides a collection of schemas, i.e., html tags, that webmasters can use to markup their pages in ways recognized by major search providers. Search engines including Bing, Google and Yahoo! rely on this markup to improve the display of search results, making it easier for people to find the right web pages.Wait a minute… Did you say Bing, Google and Yahoo all working together? If that’s true then I bet it’s a good idea to start marking up your structured data!
Why is Schema.org Important?
If you go to Google.com and search for a product’s model number, let’s say this one (KDL-40EX400). You should see something like this; Notice that you see an Image, the Title (which contains the search term), Ratings and the Price of the product. These are all basic Product Attributes and are covered with schema.org.By adding meta attributes to your product listings you can assist search engines in finding your products as well as showing Rich Snippets of your product.
Schema Example of a Product Page
First we need to know which data schema.org is looking for. Since we are creating a product page, we need to go to http://schema.org/Product. Here we see that Description, Name, Image and URL are all part of schema.org/Thing and we should use them all.
Product has the following properties;
- aggregateRating
- brand
- manufacturer
- model
- offers
- productID
- reviews
Here is an example of a Product Page for a Sony Bravia HDTV (the one in my living room) marked up for Schema.org.
Begin Example
Sony BRAVIA EX 400 Series 40-Inch LCD TV
By Sony
Price: $699.00
Availabilty: In Stock
Product Information
Experience Full HD 1080p, incredible contrast and sharp, vibrant images with this 40-inch Sony BRAVIA EX400 Series HDTV (model KDL-40EX400). It features Ambient Sensor and LightSensor Technology that automatically adjust the color and backlight based on a room’s lighting. And you can connect a USB drive and share your favorite photos and music with family and friends.
Customer Reviews:
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Great Quality – by John Doe, April 1, 20115/ 5starsAmazing HQ quality.
-
So many HD Inputs – by Jim Gaudet, June 1, 20115/ 5starsAmazing HQ quality and has enough HD inputs for all my devices and more..
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Easier Setup – by Jane Doe, May 1, 20114/ 5starsCould be easier to setup.
End Example
If you check out Google’s Rich Snippet Tool and plug in this URL you will see that I have configured most of the attributes accordingly
By adding this meta data you are allowing the three big US search engines to better understand the content on your page which will in turn bring you better search traffic.