Schema.org

Schema.org is a standard for semantic data markup on the web, announced by Google, Bing, and Yahoo! search engines in summer 2011.

Semantic markup serves to make the internet more comprehensible and structured, enabling search engines and dedicated software to easily extract and process information for user-friendly display in search results.

You can mark up documents using special attributes that are entered directly in HTML code. You don't need to create any separate export files.

Why use microformats

You can use semantic markup to improve your site's snippets in the search results.

Compare the snippets in search results for a Yandex Dictionaries partner site's page: one snippet with semantic markup and one without.

• The site without semantic markup.
  
• The site that uses semantic markup.
  

The standard provides a set of classes describing a variety of entities and their properties. There are already several hundred of them. The standard is constantly being improved, with adding new properties and extending the existing ones.

For the standard description, go to the documentation section on the Schema.org official site.

Basic markup principles

Every Schema.org markup is carried out in two steps:

1. First you wrap a certain type in a container and specify the markup schema:

   <div itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Organization" >
   ...
   </div>
   

2. Then you enter the appropriate values for each markup attribute:

   <span itemprop="streetAddress">Lev Tolstoy, 16</span>
   

Document without markup

<div>
  <span>Yandex</span>
  Contact details:
  <div>
    Address: 16 Leo Tolstoy St.,
    119021,
    Moscow,
  </div>
  Phone number: +7 495 739-70-00, 
  Fax number: +7 495 739-70-70,
  Email: pr@yandex-team.ru
</div>

Document with Schema.org markup

<div itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Organization">
  <span itemprop="name">Yandex</span>
  Contact details:
  <div itemprop="address" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/PostalAddress">
    Address:
    <span itemprop="streetAddress">16 Leo Tolstoy St.</span>
    <span itemprop="postalCode"> 119021</span>
    <span itemprop="addressLocality">Moscow</span>,
  </div>
  Phone number:<span itemprop="telephone">+7 495 73-70-00</span>,
  Fax number:<span itemprop="faxNumber">+7 495 739-70-70</span>,
  Email: <span itemprop="email">pr@yandex-team.ru</span>
</div>

Getting started with Schema.org

• Introduction to Schema.org
• Article on the official site

Tools for using semantic markup

• Structured data validator in Yandex Webmaster.
• For popular CMS, plug-ins for implementing micro-markup can be developed. You can check whether there is a plugin for your site in the CMS or in the description of the site building platform.

How Yandex uses the markup data

Semantic markup is used by various Yandex services:

• Products and prices markup helps Yandex search generate special snippets for pages with this kind of markup.

• Software information markup (applications, computer programs, games, and so on) helps the search generate special snippets for pages with this kind of markup.

• Recipe markup helps the search generate special snippets for pages with this kind of markup.

• Film description markup helps the search generate special snippets for pages with this kind of markup.

• Markup of questions and answers for mobile search helps Search highlight the best answer and generate special snippets for pages with this kind of markup.

• Marking up student research and similar works helps the search generate special snippets for pages with this kind of markup.

• Marking up organization information and its address helps Yandex Business and Yandex search generate special snippets for pages with this kind of markup.

• Marking up information about images helps enhance their appearance in Yandex Images.

• Marking up information about videos helps improve the way they are displayed.