The Saints Fan’s Guide To Schema
October 27th, 2014 by
Saints season is underway as our boys in black and gold try to bring another Super Bowl win back to the Bayou. Fall season isn’t just a time to enjoy football accompanied by ice cold bevs, a few Lit’l Smokies, and a seven-layer dip, it’s also the best time to ask yourself if you’re getting the most out of schema – one of the most untapped resources in online marketing.
QUARTER ONE – SCHEMA, BUT WHAT IS IT?
First off, Who Dat. Secondly, schema is an HTML markup that you can add to web pages to make them more easily readable by search engines. Schema is essentially a type of label similar the numbers on a player’s jersey. Schema gives the crawler an idea of what the content on a page can be categorized as, sort of like how numbers on a jersey can tell you what position a player is (btw, go number 9!!! #breesus).
QUARTER TWO – OKAY…SO, WAIT, WHAT?
Trust me, schema is great. Still don’t believe me? According to a Searchmetrics case study, pages with schema.org integration on average rank four positions higher compared to pages without schema. Not to mention Google officially recognizes schema in the same way that coors light Bud Light is recognized as the official beer of the NFL.
HALFTIME – STAND UP & GET CRUNK!
Also, time to dispose of a few soft pretzels and tray of N’awlins Nachos.
QUARTER THREE – I AM PRETTY FULL, BUT WHISTLE MONSTA IS HERE, SO LET’S DO THIS.
Now that you are all in on the schema bandwagon, you need to figure out what kind of schema you should be using. This is where you need to develop your schema playbook. There is an incredible amount of schema out there – and that is an understatement. To get started, try checking out the local business schema on schema.org. If you have reviews on your page, another good starting place may be schema.org/Review.
QUARTER FOUR – CLEAR HIERARCHY, FULL HEARTS, CAN’T LOSE
Time to implement schema and bring home that elusive win. Schema markup is added within HTML tags on site pages. Both HTML and the schema are structured according to a clear hierarchy, which is important to remember when choosing which schema properties to use for markup.
0:00 4TH QTR – FINAL SCORE: SAINTS WIN! SAINTS WIN!!!!
And most importantly, you win too. Schema is often misunderstood, but if used correctly, it can be one of the most powerful tools in an online marketer’s arsenal. Thanks for reading, and GO SAINTS!
Take a more in-depth look at schema with this blog from SI web developer, David Fransen.
