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How-to

– 9 min read –

August 29, 2019

How to implement micromarking on the website

Micromarking helps search engines quickly find content on the website and correctly understand it. The introduction of micromarking is the use of tags and attributes, the purpose of which is to structure information. We figure out how to do it quickly and efficiently.

Micromarking allows you to highlight the company's contacts, reviews, ratings, breadcrumbs, and more on the page. The structured data helps the site stand out in search results, which makes it more attractive, increasing the likelihood of navigation. They allow search robots to process content faster and interpret it more correctly.

Micromarking of the website consists of a language that uses the tags <div>, <span> and others. You can highlight the most important information for search robots, that is, indicate what type of specific content is.

For example, micromarking for an online store allows you to show contacts in the "About the Company" section: address, phone numbers, e-mail. In this case, when requesting "store X contacts", the user will receive the most relevant information in response. So you can highlight not only text content but also the company logo.

If you used micromarking, when scanning your site, the robot would understand that this particular image was a logo, not an ordinary picture. To mark a logo, specify the following elements:

Dictionary of micromarking.

Type of data that is tagged. Here is the Organization.

Site URLs.

Logo image URL, as in this example.

In the site code, the micromarking of the logo will look like this:

A similar principle is preserved for other types of information.

What can be distinguished by micromarking?

Microdata is possible for:

contact details;
logos;
recipes;
ratings;
authorship;
dates;
posters;
courses;
vacancies;
bread crumbs;
site links and more.

All data supported by Google micromarking is described in detail in the Google Search Gallery.

Does micromarking affect website promotion? Yes, but indirectly. The site becomes attractive in SERP, which can increase the CTR of the snippet, provided the Title and Description that are useful to the user. Good clickability affects behavioral factors that increase positions on a particular query.

Any additional information indicated in the extradition will help the user to quickly satisfy his request.

Methods for implementing micromarking

When introducing micromarking, you should not mark out all the data that is on the website. Start with the most important thing. Select the characteristics that are needed in the extended output. For example, if you have an online store, then products and reviews will be useful in issuing; highlight future events for the poster of the city. There are two main formats by which microdata is implemented on the site:

JSON-LD is a method of transmitting information that is implemented using the JSON text format. It is implemented in JavaScript. Using this method is preferable, as it makes it easy for a person to read, create, and edit marked documents. JSON-LD micro distribution options are implemented using Google Tag Manager.

Schema.org — the scheme contains a large number of templates that are well accepted by the search engines. Schema.org has certain hierarchies; a system is designed to structure data and organize it.

For social networks, there is a markup that is implemented using the dictionary Open Graph. It was developed by Facebook with the goal of beautifully marking the website on the social network. Google has also developed several helpers that you can use to create micro-markup on your site yourself.

Data marker

Using the Google Search Console, highlight, for example, events on a poster site without changing the site code. The developed Data Marker tool highlights events on the page in a few minutes:

Watch the video instruction from Google. In short: go to the panel Console and find in the "View in Search" — "Data Marker" section. Click the button "Start Selection". Then specify the URL address of the page where you are going to mark the data:

Selecting information in Google Data Marker

Select information on the site, for example, date, and right-click to bring up a context menu where you can set the type of information:

How to adjust micro markup using Data Marker Google

In the called menu, select the type to which the selected information refers: name events, date, place, image. The menu on the right will display what you highlighted.

When finished marking up the page, click Continue. You will be taken to the preview page. If everything suits you, post the changes.

Structured Data Markup Wizard

You can also use the Structured Data Markup Helper. This tool helps generate the markup code that you transfer to the site.

The principle of operation is the same as in the Data Marker. Select a website in the upper tab, specify the type of page, and enter its full URL in the bottom field. Highlight the information that you consider important. The tool will tell you which elements are usually highlighted with this type of page in the pane My Data Elements. When you're done, click on the button "Create HTML". Select a data format:

JSON-LD — this option recommends using Google. The resulting format should be inserted into the body of the page itself;

microdata is an international markup standard that describes information with attributes that are typed by methods (like Schema.org). The resulting code needs to replace the HTML page.

Details are described in the help of the Markup Wizard. This tool will require help from programmers. But in the end, you will get quality work that will take a couple of minutes from a competent specialist.

Micromarking plugins

Plugins for sites on CMS will automatically introduce markup. For example, WordPress micromarking is easily customizable with Yoast. When installing the plugin, fill in the information about the website, which will form the basic layout:

To create microdata for social networks, use the Open Graph dictionary. There is a separate section for this:

Open Graph meta data with Yoast SEO plugin

A lot of developed plugins give you the opportunity to choose the most convenient for yourself.

Micromarking validators

The micromarking validator allows you to verify the settings. The easiest way is to use special tools from Google.

The Structured Data Testing Tool verifies the correctness of microdata design. Go to the tool and specify the URL of the website or the code fragment that you are going to transfer.

After a few seconds, the Google micromarking validator confirms its correctness or indicates what exactly needs to be improved:

Conclusion

The micromarking of the site helps to improve its appearance in the search, makes the resource more attractive for the user and allows search robots to read the website faster. It consists of tags and attributes that allow you to highlight:

addresses;
phones;
developments;
dates;
articles;
logos;
locations and much more.

SEO is indirectly affected by SEO. It improves the appearance in SERP, which with good CTR affects behavioral factors. And they, in turn, affect the promotion of positions on demand.

The main formats used to implement micro-markup on the site are:

JSON-LD;
Schema.org;
Open Graph for social networks.

JSON uses a text format that allows people to create, edit, and read markup. Schema.org contains a number of predefined schemes that are used around the world. Open Graph works together with social networks to improve the display of the site.

Embed structured data in a variety of ways. Google offers several tools that help you create your own markup:

Data marker.

Structured Data Markup Wizard.

Before starting micromarking, go through validation tests from Google and Yandex to protect the site from errors.

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