Getting Started with StructuredMarkup for SEO

Aaron BradleyInternet Marketer, InfoMine Inc.

Three semantic web fundamentalsSeparating the presentation and data layers, triples and linked data

Before we dive in: it’s not based on RDF but…“Structured data” is old news, its benefits are obvious, and I bet you’ve used it

For the record: benefits of structured markupPublishers get rich snippets (with higher CTRs), and searchers get richer results

Different flavors of structured markupMicroformats, microdata and RDFa: variations on a theme

Which structured markup is right for you?The correct choice depends on your topical domain and current technologies

A quick word about likingFacebook’s Open Graph protocol is so widely used it shouldn’t be ignored

Should I bother? – Part I: Yes, obviouslyIf rich snippets are supported for your content, there are clear benefits

Should I bother? – Part II: MaybeStructured markup might be beneficial, even in the absence of rich snippets

Google Custom Search Google extracts data from structured markup that can be used to filter, sort and rank results in a Google Custom Search Engine

Proposed schema.org extensionsW3C maintains a list of proposals for schema.org. Types on this list may end up becoming part of the schema.org specification

Semantic spamAttempting to game the search engines is, as usual, likely to end in tears

Keeping up with the (semantic) JonesesReference sites, testing tools and people in the know

Sources of Information

schema.org

structured-data.org

public-vocabs@w3.org

Tools and validators

Rich snippets testing tool

Structured data linter

Schema creator from Raven

People to follow

@danbri

@mfhepp

@jaymyers

@matthewjbrown

Technologists: @manusporny ∙ @jenit ∙@gkellogg

Thanks!Hope you enjoyed the presentation – please say in touch!

Twitter: @aarangedWeb: seoskeptic.com