STRUCTURE DATA IN WEB DEVELOPMENT
So-called structured data can provide the search engines with additional information about the content on the website. With the help of this, the search engine crawlers can be supported in interpreting and assigning the content to the search queries. This improves the visibility in the following and can push your own ranking. The data can consist, for example, of opening times, address details, videos, pictures, shop items, guides, recipes, articles or knowledge databases. The web development services in Lahore are the best provider website services. However, it is not always easy for the search engine bot to recognize what type of data is involved.
For example, the codes can be
used to precisely tell the crawlers:
·
that a particular file is
an image
·
that there is an apple in
the picture
·
that the numbers on the
contact page are the phone number
·
that other numbers are
opening times
·
that the text contains a
recipe
·
and much more
The scheme
The structuring of data follows a
certain scheme. According to this, the content of the website is also made
available to the search engines with on-page SEO. In 2011 the open source
project Schema.org was jointly developed by the major search engines Google,
Bing, Yahoo and Yandex. The aim of this project is to develop a common labeling
method that makes the interpretation of websites better and more
resource-efficient. With Schema.org a general dictionary with common vocabulary
was finally created, through which online content of various kinds can be
categorized. The vocabulary can be viewed by anyone on the Schema.org website.
Markup languages
A language can only be understood
if the individual words are correctly linked with one another according to grammatical
rules. With Schema.org an extensive and functioning reference work for markups
has emerged, but this is only practically usable if the individual variables
are also related to one another. In the case of structured data, this can be
implemented using the annotations (markup languages). You can choose from
JSON-LD, Microdata and RDFa. Each one of them is characterized by its own
properties and different possibilities.
JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked
Data)
JSON-LD is the youngest but already
the most common markup language. This language is supported by the search
engine giant Google itself, as some special features (published in the Google
Developers Portal) can only be used with JSON-LD. This markup language is also
used by Bing and the Chinese search engine Baldu. A particular advantage of
this markup language is its independence from the rest of the source code. The
code is practically only placed on top of the page code, in that it is placed
in the <head> area of an HTML document and is therefore independent of
changes, such as the page template.
RDFa
With this markup language, in
contrast to the previous one, the structured data is stored decentrally in
several sections of the page content and not combined in one block. The existing
HTML elements are supplemented with so-called HTML5 extensions and expanded
with additional information.
Microdata
Microdata works in a similar way
to RDFa. However, this markup language is considered obsolete and will no
longer be further developed. However, a few websites continue to use it, as,
for example, the Russian search engine Yandex only supports this language in
addition to RDFa.
What is structured data for?
In addition to website name, meta
description and URL, the search results of the search engines can be
supplemented with further parameters, which in the following then result in
rich results (also called rich snippets) from snippets. In this case, the
snippets are supplemented by the excellent information of the structured data.
Since more information encourages more frequent clicks, structured data
definitely improves the click rate and this can lead to higher sales in an
online shop, for example. Common additions to the snippets are, for example,
item prices, ratings, images or even event locations. Enrichments make the
search results in the following not only more informative, but also larger in
terms of area, which means that they are noticed more quickly on the search
results page.
Markups of the types Recipe and
Article are particularly useful because search engines often display them in
separate boxes at the top of the search results page. Structured data is
essential for the spaces in the boxes. Structured data is also necessary for
rich results, but is not a guarantee.
Advantages of structured data on mobile devices
If, for example, recipes are
provided with images using structured data, they appear in the so-called
carousels. The carousels, which were originally only developed for the mobile
search area, display information with high-quality images in the upper area of
the search results page. The convenience lies in the fact that you can go
through the results with a simple swipe.
The rich cards are similar, but
they are used more for image-heavy content such as films.
When using carousels for
commercial purposes, it should be noted that they are not based on structured
data, but only on the basis of paid advertising (SEA).
Technical implementation of structured data
In principle, it must be ensured
that certain framework conditions are adhered to. For example, it is important
to only mark up unique, self-created content. Furthermore, certain technical
aspects are important, for example the crawlers must not be blocked so that the
websites can also be indexed by the search engines. The most common mistakes in
labeling are listed below.
Error 1: Content that is invisible to the user
Content that is not visible to
human users should not be marked. It must be evident in the search engine
results where the advertised content can be found on the website. In the case
of mobile websites, however, there are exceptions in favor of usability. This
means that content can be labeled that is in tabs or toggles, for example, even
if it is only displayed when you click it. However, the content must of course
be indexable and readable for the crawlers.
Mistake 2: Misleading or inappropriate content
When creating structured data,
the correct classification of the awards is of great importance. For example, a
shoe in an online shop may not be declared as an outdoor accessory or a package
tour may not be declared as a concert event. An imprecise designation of
products should also be avoided. The term “essential equipment for the outdoor
experience” is not permitted for a tent, for example. A more precise
description of the product, model and properties such as size or color is
necessary here.
Error 3: Domain-wide labeling of review content
that comes from third parties.
In the case of ratings or
reviews, this is especially true if they are displayed in a third-party widget
that is visible on every subpage of your own domain. For example, an overall
rating of the company, which can be seen on all sub-pages via a widget, would
be assigned to each individual point. The markup for ratings always marks the
main content of a page. Such an approach should be avoided because it is
considered misleading and will be rated as spam. In the case of third-party
reviews, a link should be used to identify where the reviews come from.
Practical tools for labeling with structured
data
Valuable tips and explanations
are offered on Google Developer Tools, for example, but currently only in
English. We also recommend the “Schema Markup Generator (JSON-LD) from
Technicalseo.com. With the help of this tool, the code can be easily generated
and inserted into your own website using copy-and-paste. With the “test tool
for structured data” from Google, already implemented codes, snippets of them
and entire URLs can be tested. In addition, the source code of every URL can be
checked for structured data in the web browser with the help of a JavaScript
bookmark. For this purpose, a new bookmark is created in which the following
code is inserted instead of the URL:
javascript:(function(){window.open('https://search.google.com/structured-data/testing
tool/u/0/#url='+encodeURIComponent (location.href))}) () ;
Click on the bookmark to open
this page in the Google test tool. The plug-ins for various CMS systems are
particularly practical. The WordPress plug-in “Schema App Structured Data” is
one example of this. This only has to be installed and does its work in the
background below. Small difficulties, such as the fact that the language cannot
be entered correctly under <href>, can usually be corrected quickly and
added to the code.
The future of structured data
Google updates its search
algorithm regularly. For example, the speak able content was added as a
criterion. This marks sections of text on a website that are best suited for
audio playback using speech output and that can be read out on devices. Google
Assistant uses the structured speak able data, for example, to answer search
queries about current news on intelligent loudspeakers.
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