A website's structured data success story

1. A website’s structured data success story August 19th, 2015 Jarno van Driel SEO Specialist @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

2. 1. Introduction @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

3. Jarno van Driel • In-‐house SEO for Sanoma Digital NL • Degree in Mechanical Engineering • Working on the web since 1998 • Semantics enthusiast since 2001 @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

4. As a moderator for the Google+ community Semantic Search Marketing I sometimes help out with structured data issues @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

5. Which is how I ran into CosmeticSurg.net autumn 2013 @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

6. Then, late January 2014, a request came in We need help writing microdata with schema.org for our procedure pages. Are you available for this sort of thing? @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

7. A pretty straightforward request @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

8. We called @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

9. But wouldn’t you know it… @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

10. Spring 2012 we noticed the site’s traffic and leads were on a steadily declining path @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

11. @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

12. I compared their data @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

13. Houston, we have a problem! @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

14. We think we got hit by Panda @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

15. No, not this one @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

16. This one! New and important site quality algorithms @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

17. Which Google deployed worldwide less than 2 months after introducing them @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

18. Algorithms based on ideas, research and a mindset that Google engineer Amit Singhal tried to clarify @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

19. We responded by doing a range of things @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

20. Summer/Autumn 2012 • Rewrote meta titles and descriptions site wide • Changed the URL structure of photo galleries • 301 redirects, page deletions • Merged all photos of the same patient into a single gallery page • Beefed up photo gallery pages surrounding content • Started investigating link profile • Attended to the usual*   Winter 2012/2013 • Site redesign and launch: Refined site hierarchy and templates, revamping the home page, the procedure info pages, and the photo gallery pages • Started posting questions on Google’s Product forum • Methodical review of Amit Singhal’s Content Quality 23 point list • Modified the site’s URL parameters • Continued scrutinizing site content (editing and deleting pages) • Edited +25% of old blog posts, added images and sub-‐ headings. • Attended to the usual* Spring 2013 • Site audit • Revised all site video pages and YouTube channel— integrated YT videos into site content. • Local citation audit (and re-‐submission to top tier portals) • Made MapMaker corrections • Attended to the usual* Summer 2013 • Got in touch with Google engineer John Mueller after taking another big hit in May. We learned the algorithms were having a ‘hard time recognizing the overall quality of the website’. • Focus group review of Amit Singhal’s Content Quality 23 point list • Continued improving the depth of current content • Scaled up the publication of new content and Social Media participation • Updated KML files • Attended to the usual*   Autumn 2013 • Added G+ authorship markup • Started adding structured data • Went to SMX New York to attend   semantic track sessions • Attended to the usual*       * The “usual” generally consisted of: • Finding and fixing technical glitches • Keeping a close eye on Google Webmaster Tools (now Google Search Console) for crawl errors and html suggestions among other things • Adding new content • Optimising Google places, other business listings and profiles • Thwarting content scrappers • Fixing broken links • Being more and more active in social media • etc. @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

21. 01] 02/24/2011 -‐ Panda/Farmer 02] 04/11/2011 -‐ Panda 2.0 03] 05/09/2011 -‐ Panda 2.1 04] 06/21/2011 -‐ Panda 2.2 05] a -‐ 07/23/2011 -‐ Panda 2.3 05] b -‐ 08/12/2011 -‐ Panda 2.4 06] a -‐ 09/28/2011 -‐ Panda 2.5 06] b -‐ 10/05/2011 -‐ Panda "Flux" 07] 10/14/2011 -‐ Panda 2.5.2 08] 11/18/2011 -‐ Panda 3.1 09] 01/18/2012 -‐ Panda 3.2 10] 02/27/2012 -‐ Panda 3.3 11] 03/23/2012 -‐ Panda 3.4 12] a -‐ 04/19/2012 -‐ Panda 3.5 12] b -‐ 04/27/2012 -‐ Panda 3.6 01] 02/24/2011 -‐ Panda/Farmer 02] 04/11/2011 -‐ Panda 2.0 03] 05/09/2011 -‐ Panda 2.1 04] 06/21/2011 -‐ Panda 2.2 05] a -‐ 07/23/2011 -‐ Panda 2.3 05] b -‐ 08/12/2011 -‐ Panda 2.4 06] a -‐ 09/28/2011 -‐ Panda 2.5 06] b -‐ 10/05/2011 -‐ Panda "Flux" 07] 10/14/2011 -‐ Panda 2.5.2 08] 11/18/2011 -‐ Panda 3.1 09] 01/18/2012 -‐ Panda 3.2 10] 02/27/2012 -‐ Panda 3.3 11] 03/23/2012 -‐ Panda 3.4 12] a -‐ 04/19/2012 -‐ Panda 3.5 12] b -‐ 04/27/2012 -‐ Panda 3.6 13] a -‐ 06/08/2012 -‐ Panda 3.7 13] b -‐ 06/25/2012 -‐ Panda 3.8 14] 07/24/2012 -‐ Panda 3.9 15] 08/20/2012 -‐ Panda 3.9.1 16] a -‐ 09/18/2012 -‐ Panda 3.9.2 16] b -‐ 09/27/2012 -‐ Panda #20 17] a -‐ 11/05/2012 -‐ Panda #21 17] b -‐ 11/21/2012 -‐ Panda #22 18] 12/21/2012 -‐ Panda #23 19] 01/22/2013 -‐ Panda #24 20] 03/14/2013 -‐ Panda #25 21] 05/09/2013 -‐ Phantom (Quality algorithm) 22] 06/11/2013 -‐ Panda Dance 23] 07/18/2013 -‐ Panda Recovery I searched for clues @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

22. Nothing worked, so we want to see if structured data can turn things around @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

23. Turning Panda around with structured data! Have you lost your whiskers? @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

24. Then again, interesting concept -‐ and the site’s got plenty of content to work with @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

25. You know, what if… @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

26. We fix the structured data fundamentals first You stop what you’ve been doing for one year We wait and see what we can learn from that We act once we feel we’ve located the underlying issue @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

27. 2. Moving ahead @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

28. A. Investigating the evidence @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

29. Only 1 business showed up in the SERPs where there should have been 2 @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

30. Practice Surgery center @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

31. A hot topic @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

32. Oh! the joy of more @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

33. Surgeon @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

34. What can we do about this? @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

35. We are going to develop our own knowledge graph @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

36. You two! Go build that graph @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

37. Surgery center schema.org/MedicalClinic Surgeon schema.org/Person Practice schema.org/Physician @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

38. schema.org/sameAs @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

40. But just when we were about to release, Google updated Panda (May 16th 2014 ) @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

41. We adjusted plans and delayed release until the end of June @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

42. And calmly waited to see if something would happen @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

43. Bill Slawski SemTechBiz, August 19th 2014 @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek http://bit.ly/SemanticSearchSemTechBiz2014

44. 2 different types of businesses, sharing the same NAP information, showing up in the SERPs @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

54. His Royal Highness – Triples – King of the Graph @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

55. Want to know more about knowledge graphs and triples? Go to: http://bit.ly/KeyTakeawaysSemTechBiz2013 @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

56. B. Social Media optimization @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

57. The site’s blog contained some markup but there were still some big gaps to fill @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

58. Markup was added for Twitter’s Summary Card @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

59. and Summary Card with Large Image @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

60. og:article markup was added for Facebook @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

61. But getting Google+ right needed some sorting out @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

62. Schema.org types changed and graphs had to be rebuilt @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

64. Which led to the desired result for Google+ shares @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

65. But overall @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

66. Social Media requires more than just adding some markup @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

67. 3. The hunt for Panda @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

68. After the upgrade, Sessions refused to move @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

69. Time for some further investigation @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

70. Loads of GWT reports showed overlapping queries and pages @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

71. Looking at the site this made sense – plenty of topical overlap @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

72. Could it be Panda is struggling to tell Things apart? @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

73. The moment when Amit Singhal finally started to make sense @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

74. What can we do about this? @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

75. We’ll run a test to see if it helps when we specify what the articles are about @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

76. An example of an article about 2 topics (text values) @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

77. But alas, Sessions still wouldn’t move @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

78. We think we need more triples @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

79. Does the site have duplicate, overlapping, or redundant articles on the same or similar topics with slightly different keyword variations? Does the site have duplicate, overlapping, or redundant entities on the same or similar topics with slightly different property variations? @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

80. You two! Go build Next Gen graphs @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

81. MedicalProcedure + Service Thing Article about about @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

82. schema.org/sameAs @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

83. An example of an article about 2 topics (entities) @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

85. Will this work? @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

86. Sessions finally took off @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

87. And reached heights never reached before @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

88. Even after a new Panda update @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

89. 4. Satisfying the skeptic @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

91. Structured data tracking in GA! You know what you can do with that? @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

92. Google Tag Manager + Google Analytics http://bit.ly/ImplementAndTrackStructuredData @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

93. Having this type of data in GA is just the beginning @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

94. The real fun starts when you export GA’s enriched data @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

95. All pages Landing Page – All Sessions Imagine you'd like to know what the effects of adding ‘about’ triples were @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek t-‐1 = before Panda 4.0 t+1= after Panda 4.0

96. schema:Article (Subject) Landing Page – All Sessions October 6th 2014 – start adding ‘about’ triples @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

97. schema:Article (Subject) Landing Page – All Sessions @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

98. schema:Article (Subject) Landing Page – Pageviews / Session @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

99. schema:Article (Subject)   Landing Page – Avg Session Duration @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

100. schema:MedicalProcedure schema:Service (Object) Landing Page – All Sessions Over at the ‘Object’ side of the triples @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

101. schema:MedicalProcedure schema:Service (Object) Landing Page – All Sessions @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

102. Hail, Triples – King of the Graph @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

103. @JarnoVanDriel Feel like doing your own analysis? You can! The datasets used can be found at: http://bit.ly/structureddatasuccess #SmartDataWeek

104. Many thanks go out to (in alphabetical order) • Aaron Bradley – SEO Analyst – Electronic Arts • Daniel Bos – Director Data & Analytics – Takeaway.com • Leeza Rodriguez – Chief Marketing and Operations – CosmeticSurg • Leigh Aucoin – Web Development Team Lead – Search Influence • Lisa Melvin – SEO Consultant – Windy Hills, Inc. • Mike Arnesen – Founder & CEO – UpBuild  @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek

105. @JarnoVanDriel#SmartDataWeek twitter.com/JarnoVanDriel linkedin.com/pub/jarno-‐van-‐driel/75/470/36a plus.google.com/u/0/+JarnovanDriel Questions?

A website's structured data success story

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