4. Schema refers to saved knowledge, a framework that can be
linked to. All major information systems have a schema so it’s
nothing new, just repurposed for search application.
It can take the form of a featured snippet to show more relevant, rich
results for the search intent.
Schema is a type of structured data which takes several formats, properties and
types within its framework hierarchy. It can be explained as:
• Converts HTML from unstructured mess to something structured and easier to
understand for the search engine. Can be in RDFa or JSON-LD.
• Search engines are smart as it is so the more structured, intelligent data we can
feed them, the better the results will show and the more it helps with machine
learning.
• When a crawler reads a webpage as an XML or JSON object the better the
search results can be tailored to the page resulting in better visibility.
What is Schema?
@bethbarnham
5. Most Popular Types of Information (Things)
Used in tandem with properties within the
"Thing"
Event – with types covering anything from a
theatreEvent, comedyEvent, Hackathon,
BusinessEvent. A new property was added
considering the pandemic:
eventattendanceMode
Place – physical extension, address,
amenityFeature, branchCode, geo,
hasDriveThroughService,
CovidTestingFacility. Can also appear as a
value; jobLocation, serviceLocation for e.g.
Person – representing a person of any description
including fictional. Types
include: additionalName, award,
birthPlace
Event
Place
Person
@bethbarnham
6. Most Popular Types of Information (Things)
Used in tandem with properties within the
"Thing"
Product – types covering any product service
spanning clothes, food, house listings, car rental,
or streamed tv show
Organization – MedicalOrganization (hospital,
GP), school, NGO, club, business,
SportsOrganization
CreativeWork – books, films, streaming, music.
creativeWorkStatus for a new series, editor,
learningResourceType, translationOfWork
Product
Organization
CreativeWork
@bethbarnham
7. Knowing the best schema for your website
• Look at search trends in your niche
• Look at what’s happening in the world
• What are competitors doing?
• How creative can you get?
• What cool pages do you have? FAQ
pages, content or blog pages?
@bethbarnham
11. suitableForDiet
Can include lowFat if qualifies for a healthy diet; diabetic, halal, vegan,
or vegetarian
aggregateRating
Highlight reviews from across the web for this recipe
recipeCategory
Cakes, slow cooked recipes, baking, traybakes, curries, pressure
cooker recipes
recipeYield
Important for phrases with a number in; ‘cakes to feed five people’ for
example
Recipe
@bethbarnham
13. LocalBusiness
image
Correlates with your logo or recognisable business image
geo
Enables precise location. Make sure this is consistent with your website
openingHoursSpecification
Set for the opening hours, temporarilyClosed, or operating online only
OnlineOnly
Not open physically now? Try the OnlineOnly property
sameAs
Link to Google My Business Listing or other business listing on the web
14. Depending on the type of HowTo content there are
many different properties to utilise. This is an example
for a “How to help during Covid’’ blog.
HowToStep
Explains what the step is in the process or article that you are
referencing
HowToTip
Explains what the user/reader could potentially do. Can be used
instead of or alongside HowToDirection
HowTo
@bethbarnham
17. announcementLocation
Example is of a school announcement in Cardiff and the context for
why it was closed
webFeed
Lets you include additional information through a URL for when that
specific webpage is updated. Good for closures/openings, medical
openings, face mask announcements
dateFeed
Highlight the date range for the feed and when it is valid for
schoolClosuresInfo
The information surrounding the school closures such as school name,
date, time, status
SpecialAnnouncement
@bethbarnham
23. A very basic HowTo description for a piece of content to
match a search term ‘how to defer finance agreement.
HowToStep
Explains what the step is in the process or article that you are
referencing
HowToDirection
Explains what the user/reader should do. Can be used alongside
HowToTip
HowToSection
@bethbarnham
25. • Schema doesn’t need to be maintained. Simply
write, check, implement, and leave to work its magic
• Set targets that are achievable and actionable even
if that means adapting your digital strategy to react
• Adaptable and customisable so it doesn’t matter
what your niche is, there’s a type that will suit your
audience
• It’s easy to implement even without the help of a
dev. Lots of learning resources to help write your
own or JSON generators to utilise
• Can be added via a custom tag on Google Tag
Manager
Benefits
@bethbarnham
26. • Schema is reactive and proactive
• Schema is versatile and suits almost every website in some way
• Schema is there to help whatever the problem there’ll be an achievable
solution from the various libraries, or use properties to contribute
• Schema is still massively underserved in the SEO industry which means
that there is a big gap for search engines to understand your
business
• SEO is a changing game every day so preparing your site for volatility
or changes in the SERPs is essential
• Not making the most of schema is a lot like having a physical outlet but
not registering it with an address. No one knows how to find it!
What can we learn for search?
@bethbarnham