Digging into Microdata Schema for SEO

Thousands of new articles are published on the internet every second. Every writer hopes that their article will rank on page one of Google, Bing, Yandex, and Baidu search results. Hhhmm… How can you compete among the millions of existing content?

Search engines use complex algorithms to sift through millions of articles and display the best and most relevant ones on the first page of search results. To help your article reach the coveted page one position, you need to follow the SEO rules set by the search engines themselves.

In this article, I’ll delve deeper into one SEO technique you may be familiar with but not fully understand: microdata schema.

What exactly is microdata schema?

Schema Microdata: The ‘Secret script’ for search engines

Microdata is one way to mark important information on web pages, making it easier for search engines to understand content for indexing purposes. Microdata schema is a structured data set, often referred to as a ‘secret code,’ used to mark important information on web pages.

For example, consider an online marketplace selling various products. Each product page displays crucial details like the product name, image, seller, price, discount, size, weight, reviews, buyer ratings, and other product information.

Structured microdata makes it incredibly easy for search engines to parse information, allowing them to accurately display the most relevant data snippets to users.

Now, you might be wondering, “Can’t search engines understand content without microdata?” Technically, they can. Search engines have sophisticated algorithms for parsing and indexing web page content. However, the use of microdata schemas, especially in formats like JSON-LD or RDFa, speeds up the search engine crawling process.

Benefits of JSON-LD Schema microdata

By using JSON-LD schema markup, you provide highly structured data to search engines. It’s like handing a map to a search engine, enabling it to recognize and understand your content better and faster than regular content without microdata.

This process takes less time for scanning, extracting relevant keywords, and indexing in the search engine database. As a result, your article becomes more effective at reaching a relevant audience.

Berkas file dengan lebel post-it. (©istockphoto)

If we were to draw a real-world analogy, it would go like this:

Imagine a busy office where a secretary prepares legal documents, project proposals, and important reports every day, all of which need the CEO’s signature. To simplify the CEO’s hectic schedule, the secretary uses colorful Post-it notes to mark the truly essential pages. This way, the CEO can easily find the pages needing a signature without having to go through every page from the beginning.

So, the conclusion about microdata schema is akin to using Post-it notes in important documents. It helps the reader—in this case, the search engine—navigate and understand relevant information more quickly.

How to implementing schema microdata

There are several types of structured microdata schemas, but one is favored by Google, making it important to use the right format.

Search engines support three types of structured data:

JSON-LD.
Microdata.
RDFa.

Now, among the three microdata schema types supported by Schema.org, which one do you think Google prefers?

In a YouTube video titled English Google Webmaster Central office-hours hangout Google’s John Mueller answered, “We currently prefer JSON-LD formatting. I think most new structured data is using JSON-LD for the first time. So, that’s what we prefer.”

So, now you know which type of microdata schema we should use, right?

Ya.. JSON-LD. And here’s an example of structured JSON-LD microdata schema format:

<script type="application/ld+json">
  {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "WebPage",
    "url": "https://insertapps.com/blog/skema-microdata-untuk-seo/",
    "inLanguage": "id-ID",
    "isPartOf": {
      "@type": "WebSite",
      "url": "https://insertapps.com/",
      "name": "InsertApps"
    },
    "primaryImageOfPage": {
      "@type": "ImageObject",
      "url": "https://cloud.insertapps.com/images/Webdesain_cover-image.webp",
      "width": 1280,
      "height": 720
    },
    "headline": "Menggali Lebih Dalam tentang Skema Microdata untuk SEO",
    "datePublished": "2023-09-30T18:52:27+07:00",
    "dateModified": "2023-09-30T18:52:27+07:00",
    "description": "Sebelum teknik SEO ini usang ditelan pencarian AI, kita bahas ulang lebih dalam tentang skema microdata. Apakah masih relevan microdata sebagai tujuan seo?",
    "breadcrumb": {
      "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
      "itemListElement": [
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 1,
          "name": "InsertApps",
          "item": "https://insertapps.com/"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 2,
          "name": "Blogs",
          "item": "https://insertapps.com/blog/"
        }
      ]
    },
    "mainEntity": {
      "@type": "Article",
      "headline": "Menggali Lebih Dalam tentang Skema Microdata untuk SEO",
      "mainEntityOfPage": "https://insertapps.com/blog/skema-microdata-untuk-seo/#webpage",
      "isPartOf": {
        "@type": "WebPage",
        "url": "https://insertapps.com/blog/skema-microdata-untuk-seo/"
      },
      "author": {
        "@type": "Person",
        "url": "https://insertapps.com/author/fauzan-my/",
        "name": "Fauzan My",
        "image": {
          "@type": "ImageObject",
          "url": "https://cloud.insertapps.com/images/user/fauzanmy.jpg",
          "width": 450,
          "height": 450
        },
        "jobTitle": "Founder",
        "description": "Saya terobsesi dengan seni desain yang elegan dan sederhana, baik yang melibatkan proses kreatif rumit maupun yang sederhana. Di sini, saya menggabungkan keduanya, desain dan coding: mencari best practice."
      },
      "datePublished": "2023-09-30T18:52:27+07:00",
      "url": "https://insertapps.com/blog/skema-microdata-untuk-seo/",
      "image": {
        "@type": "ImageObject",
        "url": "https://cloud.insertapps.com/images/Webdesain_cover-image.webp"
      },
      "publisher": {
        "@type": "Organization",
        "url": "https://insertapps.com/",
        "name": "InsertApps"
      },
      "description": "Sebelum teknik SEO ini usang ditelan pencarian AI, kita bahas ulang lebih dalam tentang skema microdata. Apakah masih relevan microdata sebagai tujuan seo?",
      "thumbnailUrl": "https://cloud.insertapps.com/images/Webdesain_cover-thumbnail.webp",
      "copyrightYear": "2023",
      "articleSection": "blog",
      "dateModified": "2023-09-30T18:52:27+07:00",
      "wordCount": 945
    }
  }
</script>

The JSON-LD script above is an example of structured data format that follows a hierarchy and logical flow, used to assist search engines in indexing and understanding web page content better.

Here’s a brief explanation of the items in your JSON-LD microdata schema:

WebPage: The main entity describing the viewed web page. It includes information such as the page’s URL, content language, publication date, and more.
WebSite: This describes the entire website, including the website’s name and main URL.
BreadcrumbList: A list of breadcrumbs used to show the page hierarchy within the website. This is useful for user navigation.
Article: An entity representing the main article or content on the page. It includes information like the article title, author, publication date, description, and the last updated date of the article.
Person: This entity describes an individual or the article’s author, including information like their name, avatar, job title, and description.
ImageObject: This represents an image object used to illustrate images related to the article or page. In this section, two image data are provided: the main image with dimensions 1280x720 and a thumbnail image with dimensions 720x404.

All of these items are used to describe different information about the web page, article, author, and the overall website in a format that’s easily understood by search engines and applications that support microdata schema.

By using JSON-LD and semantic schema like this, you provide clear guidance to search engines about your content and webpage structure.

How Does Microdata Schema Boost SEO?

By using microdata schema wisely, websites can:

Enhance search results appearance with date snippets and star ratings.
Increase click-through rates by attracting user attention.
Speed up content indexing by search engines.

If you want your content to rank on page one of search engines among millions of other articles, consider using microdata schema. It’s like providing search engines with colorful digital Post-it note clues to help them understand, appreciate, and rank your content highly.

So, start marking your content with this colorful ‘secret code,’ and let search engines help you reach the top of search results.