SMX West Structured Data Practical and Advanced

#SMX #24a1 @AlexisKSanders
Game (while we wait!): Find 5 errors in this JSON-LD.
<script type="application/ld-json">
{
"@context": "http://schema.org",
"@type": “Product",
"name": "Super Product!",
"image": "https://example.com/image.jpg"
"offers": {
"@type": "Offers",
"priceCurrency": "USD",
"price": "12.99",
}
}
</script>
Clue (for two errors):

Successful SEO Using Markup & Structured Data
Structured data
for SEO =
annotating vital
elements on a
page to support
search engines.

Merkle SEO team works across a vast array of clients

I’m Sophia’s #ProudAunt too.
"relatedTo": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Sophia"
}

• Overview
• Why we <3 it
• Practical
• Advanced
• Implementing A-Z (hopefully not zzz)
• Common pitfalls
Agenda

Structured data
n. Information with a high degree of organization.
Structured DataUnstructured Data (e.g., text)
< >
Markup types
JSON-LD
Microdata
Microformats
RDFa

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
The story of web structured data: sometimes less is more.DomainUsage(Millions)
201720162003 2004 2008 2010/1 2012 2013 2014 20151997 2000
< >
https://www.slideshare.net/rvguha/sem-tech2014c
http://webdatacommons.org/structureddata#SMX #24a1
*

(Item) type
Schema.org is a vocabulary (of many), but really is more
comparable to a dictionary.
http://schema.org/Product
Definition

MICRODATA < >
Implementation
What is it? HTML JavaScript
Easier to copy
and paste on
page
Can be easier
for templated
pages
Support
JSON-
LD
Microdata versus JSON-LD
*
*Rich results for products not consistently population, yet

<div itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Event">
<span itemprop="name">SMX West</span>
<span itemprop="description">SMX West 2018 - 3 days of expert-led training,
cutting-edge content, and exclusive networking for search marketing
professionals.</span>
<meta itemprop="url" content="https://marketinglandevents.com/smx/west/" />
<meta itemprop="startDate" content="2018-03-13T7:00" />
<meta itemprop="endDate" content="2018-03-15T16:15" />
</div>
Mircodata*
< >
*Note: Missing required properties, for illustrative purposes only

{
"@context": "http://schema.org/",
"@type": "Event",
"name": "SMX West",
"description": "SMX West 2018 - 3 days of expert-led training, cutting-edge
content, and exclusive networking for search marketing professionals.",
"url": "https://marketinglandevents.com/smx/west/",
"startDate": "2018-03-13T7:00",
"endDate": "2018-03-15T16:15"
}
</script>
JSON-LD*

Nesting
n. where information is organized in layers or
where objects contain other similar objects.

Product
name :
offers :
price :
priceCurrency :
@type : Offer
reviewCount :
aggregateRating :
@type : AggregateRating
ratingValue :
Match Nest Me!
Rated 4.5 out of 5
$7.29 (USD)
75 reviews
Super Shine Apricot Shampoo
brand :
name :
@type : Thing
JĀSÖN

Product
name :
offers :
price :
priceCurrency :
@type : Offer
reviewCount :
aggregateRating :
ratingValue :
Match Nest Me!
Rated 4.5 out of 5
$7.29 (USD)
75 reviews
brand :
name :
@type : Thing
JĀSÖN
4.5
75
7.29
USD
JĀSÖN

{ "@context": "http://schema.org/",
"@type": "Product",Product
name :
offers :
price :
priceCurrency :
@type : Offer
reviewCount :
aggregateRating :
ratingValue :
Match Nest Me!
Rated 4.5 out of 5
$7.29 (USD)
75 reviews
brand :
name :
@type : Thing
JĀSÖN
4.5
5
75
USD
JĀSÖN
}
</script>
" "
" "
" "
" "
" "
" "
" "
" "
" "
" "
" "
" " " "
" "
" "
" "
" "
" "
" "
" "
" "
,
,
,
,
,
,
}
}
}
{
{
{
,
,

Random Trivia: According to Dunderpedia, Michael Scott’s favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip.
Benefits: Why
<3 Structured
Data
Structured Data

Product
AggregateRating
Offer
1. Enhanced SERP Results
Note: Schema.org doesn’t necessarily need to be present for rich results to appear

Movie
AggregateRating

MusicEvent

Article
BlogPosting
Book*
BreadcrumbList
ClaimReview*
Course
Dataset*
Event
ImageObject
ItemList
JobPosting
LocalBusiness*
1. Google supported featured snippets with rich results
Movie
(WatchAction*)
MusicAlbum*
MusicArtist*
MusicGroup*
NewsArticle
Occupation
Organization
(ContactPoint, logo,
sameAs)
Person (sameAs)
Product (Offer)
Rating
AggregateRating
Recipe
Review*
SoftwareAppplication*
TVEpisode
(WatchAction*)
TVSeason (WatchAction*)
TVSeries (WatchAction*)
VideoObject
WebPageElement
(isAccessibleForFree for
Paywall Content)
WebSite (SearchAction)
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/guides/
*Opt-in, express interest

Share these #SMXInsights on your social channels!
#SMXInsights
Google offers structured
data documentation for
+26 item types that
enhance the SERP!

2. CTR for Rich Results appears (in most cases) to be
higher than results without

#SMXInsights
For a majority of
eCommerce sites with
product rich results, rich
results will outperform
regular listing.

#SMX #24a1 @AlexisKSandershttps://searchengineland.com/gary-illyes-ask-anything-smx-east-285706
@methode
Gary Illyes
Google
WebmasterTrendsAnalyst
(House Elf and Chief of
Sunshine and Happiness*)
*Somebody needs to give him some socks
“I want to live in a world where schema is not
that important, but currently, we need it. If a
team at Google recommends it, you probably
should make use of it, as schema helps us
understand the content on the page, and it is
used in certain search features (but not in
rankings algorithms).”
3. Gary at SMX - Google uses structured data to better
understand pages

• Google doesn’t mind if people markup non-
supported markup (change in SERP may not be
noticeable)
• We don’t use Schema.org as a quality factor
• Start with Google Search Documentation
• Prioritize snippets and what immediately provides value
• It can help extract entities better
Google Webmaster Hangout 2/1/18 ~42 Minutes: https://goo.gl/dsZRc6
@JohnMu
John Mueller
Google
WebmasterTrendsAnalyst
4. John on Webmaster Hangouts - Google is using
structured data to extract entities

4. Structured data adds to Semantic Relevance (i.e., what
your business is “known for”)
“Known for” =
representative term (e.g.
[server], [host], [dinner] in
article about restaurant)
Google Patent: Assigning terms of interest to an entity 8,589,399, 3/26/12
Example of Associating Terms with Business Listing

4.5 It all boils down to confidence in answers
Patent: Synonym identification based on co-occurring terms 8,538,984, 3/3/12
How confident are search engines that the information is trustworthy and useful?
My Friend, Gia

5. Support your paid team - Product Merchant Center Feed
Updates with Product Structured data (March 2017)
https://support.google.
com/merchants/answe
r/6069143
Structured data markup must be present in the HTML returned from the
web server (i.e., no JavaScript generated tags)
Benefits:
• Automatic item updates
• Google Sheets Merchant
Center add-on

6. Future: Support Voice (hypothesis)
According to Wikipedia, ‘El Pueblo de
San José de Guadalupe was founded
by José Joaquín Moraga on November
29, 1777, the first pueblo-town not
associated with a mission or a military
post in upper Las Californias.’
[who discovered san jose]
Google Mini pulls from featured snippets. Featured snippets appear when
Google has high confidence in usefulness of response. Structured data can
support confidence ratings.

#SMXInsights
• Microdata: 76%
• JSON-LD: 25%
• OGP: 68%
• Twitter Summary Cards: 27%
+25K eCommerce URLs
populating with featured snippets:
Twitter SEO Experiments: https://goo.gl/fRzmgf
Important Note: Correlation does not imply causation.
Huge thanks to

#SMXInsights
Top Occurring Microdata for eCom with Snippet:
Huge thanks to
OfferCatalog, 18%
ListItem, 14%
AggregateRating, 9%
Product, 8%Review, 8%
Rating, 7%
NewCondition, 6%
Offer, 5%
Thing, 4%
BreadcrumbList, 4%
Other, 17%

#SMXInsights
Top Occurring JSON-LD for eCom with Snippets:
Huge thanks to
ListItem, 25%
Offer, 16%
Product, 15%WebPage, 6%
BreadcrumbList, 5%
Organization, 4%
SiteNavigationElement, 4%
AggregateRating, 3%
WebPageElement, 3%
ImageObject, 3%
Other, 16%

6. Future: Support Voice (speculative)
http://pending.schema.org/speakable
http://pending.schema.org/SpeakableSpecification
http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/18/media/black-panther-box-office/index.html

Minesweeper cheat code: XYZZY+ Shift-Enter + Enter, watch dots in upper left corner of frame
Practical Schema
for pragmatic,
busy people

0 500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,000 3,000,000
ListItem
WebPage
Event
Place
PostalAddress
LocalBusiness
Person
Organization
SearchAction
WebSite
Popular Schema: Top 10 JSON-LD by Domain
http://webdatacommons.org/structureddata
Sept '14
Oct '14
Jan '15
Jan '15
Sept '14
Dec '15
Dec '15
Dec '15
Aug ‘16

0 200,000 400,000 600,000 800,000 1,000,000
Organization
PostalAddress
Offer
Article
Person
Product
Blog
WPHeader
SiteNavigationElement
WebPage
Popular Schema: Top 10 Microdata by Domain
< >
http://webdatacommons.org/structureddata

Practical Schema: All sites
BreadcrumbList
Person
Organization
WebSite
ItemList
Properties
itemListElement
sameAs
logo, contactPoint, sameAs
potentialAction
itemListElement
TypeMarking up
Breadcrumbs
Person
Organization
Sitelink Searchbox
Carousel Lists

https://technicalseo.com/s
eo-tools/schema-markup-
generator
@maxxeight
Max Prin
Merkle
Implementing Practical Schema - Beginner

Step 1: Navigate to JSON-LD Schema Markup Generator
https://technicalseo.com/seo-tools/schema-markup-generator

Step 2: Select your Item Type from Dropdown Menu

Step 3: Fill-in-the-Blank
As you type, the JSON-LD will Update

Step 4: Click “G Validate” to test in Google’s Structured
Data Testing Tool

Implementing Practical Schema - Intermediate
https://developers.g
oogle.com/search/d
ocs/guides/

Step 1: Read Guidelines - Give rules and expands on
Google’s usage
Rules
Additional
Opportunity

Step 2: Review Item Properties (especially note
“Required”)!
Required
Properties

Step 3: Check out Example Markups
Examples

Step 4: Reverse-engineer by replacing RED values
Update
Red
Properties
(JSON-
LD)

MPH Average Human = 8; Snake = 12; Mongoose = 20; Usain Bolt = 27.8; Panther = 36
Schema
for
overachievers

Schema.org (for brave souls)
http://schema.org/d
ocs/full.html

Stages of Working with Schema.org
::a ton of confused
stares::
::intense
concentration::
::coffee + intense
concentration::
::unlocking the
eternal mysteries
within Schema.org::
http://schema.org/docs/full.html

Step 1: Select Item Type from Schema.org’s Full Hierarchy
Select For All
Extensions

Item Type Page
http://schema.org/Aquarium
(Item) type
Where lives in
hierarchy
Description
Usage

Item Properties, Expected Type, and Description

Organization of Item Properties
CivilStructure
Place
Thing

“Expected Type” tells you what needs to be nested
Nest everything other than data types
• Boolean
• False
• True
• Date
• DateTime
• Number
• Float
• Integer
• Text
• URL
• Time
Data Types
Game – Should I be nested?

“Expected Type” tells you what needs to be nested
Nest everything other than data types
• Boolean
• False
• True
• Date
• DateTime
• Number
• Float
• Integer
• Text
• URL
• Time
Data Types
Game – Should I be nested?
Text - no
Map - yes
URL - no
Boolean - no
Text - no
ImageObject - yes
URL - no
Integer - no
OHS - yes
ImageObject - yes
Photograph – yes
Boolean -no

Step 2: List Item Properties, Expected Type, and Values

Step 3: Add Syntax (JSON-LD)
{
"@context": "http://schema.org/",
"@type": "Aquarium",
"name": "National Aquarium",
"alternateName": "National Aquarium in Baltimore",
"telephone": "+1-410-576-3800",
"address": {
"@type": "PostalAddress",
"streetAddress": "501 E Pratt St",
"addressLocality": "Baltimore",
"addressRegion": "MD",
"postalCode": "21202",
"addressCountry": "US"
}
}
</script>
Beginning
Type
Properties
Type
Properties
end
http://schema.org/Aquarium http://schema.org/docs/full.html

Step 3: Add Syntax (Microdata)
<div itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Aquarium">
<span itemprop="name">National Aquarium</span>
<meta itemprop="name" content="National Aquarium in Baltimore" />
<span itemprop="telephone">+1-410-576-3800</span>
<div itemprop="address" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/PostalAddress">
<span itemprop="streetAddress">501 E Pratt St</span>
<span itemprop="addressLocality">Baltimore</span>
<span itemprop="addressRegion">MD</span>
<span itemprop="postalCode">21202</span>
<span itemprop="addressCountry">US</span>
</div>
</div>
Type
Properties
Type
Properties
end

Pitfall Cheat Code: Left, Square, Circle, Down, Square, X, Square, Circle to get unlimited canteen.
Common
Pitfalls
You

Pitfall #1
Syntax
• “” are not the same as ""
– Microsoft switches "" to “”
– Use a text editor
• Mind your Commas
• Tip: Pay attention to in SDTT

Pitfall #2
Vocabulary
• Pay attention to required/allowed
properties
• Schema.org types and properties are
case sensitive reference
• Tip: Check in the Structured Data
TestingTool
Vocabulary

Pitfall #3
• Adding information that is not on the
page
• Check Google’s Structured Data Policies:
https://developers.google.com/structure
d-data/policies
Policy Violation

Pitfall #4
• Make sure to attribute properties to
correct item type
– E.g., using “name” and giving the
location the event name
• Tip: Pay close attention to {} and
itemscope
Nesting Errors

Dwight, At 3:30 p.m. the coffee at SMX is okay. No instructions to follow. Cordially, Future Dwight
Future
Predictions

Future Predictions Google Schema.org Support
AboutPage
ApartmentComplex
AudioObject
AutoDealer
Brand
CollectionPage
Comment
ContactPage
Corporation
Hotel
1. Top Schema.org usage without Google documentation (for websites):
ImageGallery
MusicPlaylist
MusicRecording
PriceSpecification
RealEstateAgent
Residence
Store
Table
UserComments
ViewAction

2. Item types that support voice efforts
SpeakableSpecification
HowTo
HowToDirection
HowToSection
HowToStep
HowToTip
HowToDirection
HowToItem
HowToSupply
HowToTool
HowToStep
HowToTip
QAPage
Question
Answer

3. More for publishing and eCommerce (especially actions)
AnalysisNewsArticle
BackgroundNewsArticle
OpinionNewsArticle
ReportageNewsArticle
ReviewNewsArticle
EmployerReview
UserReview
ProductIndividualProduct
ProductModel
SomeProducts
BuyAction
QuoteAction
GS1
Publishing eCommerce

4. Things users want, e.g., medical answers from Dr. Google (http://health-
lifesci.schema.org)
LifestyleModificationDiet
PhysicalActivity
ExercisePlan
MedicalSignOrSymptom
MedicalSign
VitalSign
MedicalSymptom
MedicalCondition
InfectiousDisease
MedicalGuideline
MedicalProcedure
DiagnosticProcedure
PhysicalExam
SurgicalProcedure
TherapeuticProcedure
http://health-lifesci.schema.org
Proactive Health Reactive Health

Fun stuff for you 
https://technicalseo.com
/homework/structured-data/
https://technicalseo.com
/seo-tools/schema-markup-
generator/visual/

@methode
Gary Illyes
@JarnoVanDriel
JarnoVan Driel
@aaranged
Aaron Bradley
Experts to Follow
@maxxeight
Max Prin
@searchliaison
Danny Sullivan
@JohnMu
John Mueller

https://www.flaticon.com/authors/:
• dinosoftlabs
• eucalyp
• freepik
• gregor-cresnar
• maxim-basinski
• nikita-golubev
• pixel-buddha
• pixel-perfect
• popcorns-arts
• smashicons
• vectors-market
• basic-flat-icons
Icon Sources

LEARN MORE: UPCOMING @SMX EVENTS
THANK YOU!
SEE YOU AT THE NEXT #SMX
@AlexisKSanders
/in/alexissanders

SMX West Structured Data Practical and Advanced

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SMX West Structured Data Practical and Advanced

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