Schema.org: discover the definition

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Schema.org

To understand the role of Schema.org In order to improve our natural referencing, we first need to know its definition.

In this article, we're going to introduce you to the basics of Schema.org and explore its usefulness in terms of SEO.

What is Schema.org?

Schema.org is a collaborative project initiated by web giants such as Google, Bing, Yahoo and Yandex, to create a shared vocabulary for structuring data on the Internet.

This is an initiative aimed at defining a standard for structured data enabling search engines to better understand the content of web pages and provide more relevant results for users.

The advantages of using Schema.org

Using this standardised language makes it easier for search engines to extract precise and relevant information from web pages, improving their understanding of the content and facilitating indexing.

This can also help generate enriched extracts (rich snippets) which are additional pieces of information displayed in the organic search results.

• • Improving visibility in SERP : Structured data from Schema.org can make your results more attractive and informative, potentially increasing the click-through rate and traffic to your site.
  • Promoting understanding of the content : By using standardised tags, you will make it easier for search engines to understand the context and meaning of your content. This can improve the indexing and ranking of your web pages.
  • Increased relevance : Structured data helps to refine search results by providing additional information about web pages. As a result, it can help to increase the relevance of results for web users, and thus their satisfaction.

How does Schema.org work?

Schema.org is based primarily on three widely adopted formats (supported by search engines) for describing specific elements in a web page: RDFa, Microdata and JSON-LD. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, but they all share the same objective: to add metadata to content to make it easier for search engines to analyse it.

The different types of schematics

The Schema.org vocabulary is vast and covers a wide range of domains and subjects. Here are some of the most commonly used types:

• • The person: An individual (for example, an actor, musician, politician, etc.).
  • Organisation: An entity such as a company, an association or a political group.
  • Product : A tangible item (e.g. clothing, furniture, electronic equipment, etc.).
  • Event : An event taking place at a specific time and place (e.g. a concert, exhibition, conference, etc.).
  • Location: A geographical location, such as a country, a town, a district, an address, etc.
  • Creation : A book, film, TV series, video game or any other artistic work.
  • Action : An activity carried out by a person or organisation (e.g. buying, selling, booking, etc.).

Putting Schema.org into practice for SEO

To use Schema.org and benefit from its advantages in terms of natural referencing, you need to implement the corresponding tags in the code of your web pages. Here are a few steps to help you:

1. Identify the types of content on your site : Before you start adding structured data, take a close look at the different types of content present on your website and choose those that can be improved using Schema.org (for example, articles from blog(for example, recipes, reviews, company contact details, etc.).
2. Choose the appropriate format: Decide which structured data format (RDFa, Microdata or JSON-LD) best suits your website and your development skills.
3. Implementing Schema.org tags : Add the appropriate tags for each type of content chosen. You can refer to the official Schema.org documentation to find out about the different properties available and their syntax.
4. Validate the implementation : Use tools such as Google's structured data tester or the HTML5 validator to check that your structured data is correctly implemented and readable by search engines.
5. Monitor results: Analyse your website's performance metrics, such as impressions, clicks and positions in the SERPs, to assess the impact of implementing Schema.org on your natural referencing.

In short, adopting the Schema.org standard can bring significant benefits to your natural referencing strategy.

This improves search engines' understanding of your content, which increases its chances of appearing higher in search results.