Schema.org

Schema.org is a semantic markup format for online data. The format was published by Google, Bing and Yahoo! search engines in summer 2011.

The purpose of semantic markup is to make the internet more understandable and structured. Also, it makes it easier for search engines and special software to extract and process key information and display it in the 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.

  1. Why use microformats
  2. Basic markup principles
  3. Getting started with Schema.org
  4. Tools for using semantic markup
  5. How Yandex uses the markup data

Why use microformats

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

Compare the snippets for a page from a Yandex.Dictionaries partner site. One snippet is based on semantic markup and the other one isn't.

  • 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">Lva Tolstogo, 16</span>

Document without markup

<div>
  <span>Yandex</span>
   Contacts:
  <div>
    Address: ul. Lva Tolstogo, 16, 119021, Moscow,
  </div>
    Telephone: +7 495 739–70–00, Fax: +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>   Contacts:
  <div itemprop="address" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/PostalAddress">     Address:
    <span itemprop="streetAddress">ul. Lva Tolstogo, 16</span>
    <span itemprop="postalCode"> 119021</span>
    <span itemprop="addressLocality">Moscow</span>,
  </div>   Telephone:<span itemprop="telephone">+7 495 739–70–00</span>,   Fax:<span itemprop="faxNumber">+7 495 739–70–70</span>,   Email: <span itemprop="email">pr@yandex-team.ru</span>
</div>

Tools for using semantic markup

  • Semantic markup 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:

Note.

Information marked up according to the Schema.org standard becomes publicly available and can be extracted or used by any service.

Tell us what your question is about so we can direct you to the right specialist:

The markup is created within two weeks. If Yandex doesn't support any of the markup types on the page or the markup is incorrect, it skips it.

The Yandex robot will be able to index the site information even without markup, and it doesn't affect displaying pages in the search results. To set the desired page description in the search results, use the Description meta tag.

For a detailed description of errors, see Structured data validator.


This feedback form is intended for questions about Yandex partner programs and markup. If you are in doubt whether you should use a particular partner program provided by other services (not Yandex), we can't comment on how it influences your site's state in the search.