Many brands and SEO professionals have begun using Schema markup to improve visibility and accessibility, and there are a handful of Schema markup types that have become quite popular (and even considered a standard).
But the thing is, there are so many types of Schema markup to the point that it becomes overwhelming! Just take a look at the full hierarchy of Schema types. While some have become widely used (event listings, recipes, reviews, etc.), others are barely given any attention.
Digging through the different types of Schema markup can be confusing and time-consuming if your marketing team doesn’t have experience with SEO marketing, and even more so if you end up implementing markup to your site. Getting help from an SEO agency can help you navigate all of the information as SEO consultants know how to best use it to serve you.
What Is Schema Markup?
If you’re completely unfamiliar with the concept, here’s a blurb from Schema.org describing the purpose of this microdata and how it can be used:
Schema.org provides a collection of shared vocabularies webmasters can use to mark up their pages in ways that can be understood by the major search engines: Google, Microsoft, Yandex and Yahoo!
You use the Schema.org vocabulary along with the Microdata, RDFa, or JSON-LD formats to add information to your Web content.
Brands can use this microdata to tell search engines like Google more information about their content to enhance the appearance of search listings.
Instead of Google filtering through content using just keywords, your site can show up on a search engine results page (SERP) because it has the type of content that someone is looking for. This can improve your SEO marketing strategy by casting a wider net to draw in new site visitors.
Overlooked Types of Schema Markup
Because there are so many types of Schema markup, it’s easy to miss some that could further improve your SEO marketing strategy. If you have an SEO consultant on your team, they’ve probably implemented some of the more popular types, but here are some that are likely being overlooked:
1. TechArticle
Schema markup allows you to not only indicate that you have articles and other creative works, but also calls out the genre of those articles and creative works.
Using Schema markup to identify an article is a common and popular practice. However, have you gone deeper to identify the genre? Check out this TechArticle markup example:
According to Schema.org, tech articles include how-to (task) topics, step-by-step, procedural troubleshooting, specifications, etc.
In the example above, you can see how Google has created a snippet that includes the number of steps, materials needed, how long it takes to complete the steps, and a bit of text from the first few steps.
At a glance, searchers will know enough about this article to determine whether it’s useful to them. In this example, if they don’t have a Mac computer, they may decide to keep looking for a tech article that better fits their needs.
This is relevant beyond just tech articles too. Other ways that you can use Schema markup to identify articles and their purpose include:
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AdvertiserContentArticle
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NewsArticle (There are also several Schema markup types under this parent type.)
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Report
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SatiricalArticle
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ScholarlyArticle
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SocialMediaPosting
2. ItemAvailability
Using ItemAvailability markup allows you to inform your audience of the status of a product or service. Here’s an example from Steam for the presale of Cyberpunk 2077, and you can see the “preorder” status that fans of this game will likely appreciate:
This particular bit of microdata is incredibly useful for all stages of your product availability. It can include any of these statuses:
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Discontinued
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InStock
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InStoreOnly
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LimitedAvailability
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OnlineOnly
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OutOfStock
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PreOrder
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PreSale
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SoldOut
These different options are called “enumeration members” and are in the lowest level of the Schema markup hierarchy and updating your website with these tags can be incredibly convenient for your audience. Users don’t have to click around on your website to find the info that they need – they can find it immediately in the SERP when your pages are optimized with markup.
The less time it takes for your audience to get from a web search to making a purchase, the better for you. If it takes a searcher too long to find the information they need, they may end up going to one of your competitors.
3. LearningResource
For our SaaS and tech clients we often will utilize learning resources and tutorials to provide valuable materials for the user. We then make it easy to find these materials by using the LearningResource markup for classes, courses, informational videos, and other educational materials.
Here’s a Schema markup example for a Photoshop course on Educba.com:
Because of the LearningResource markup, this listing contains valuable information at a glance. This information includes the name of the course, the way the course is taught, average user ratings, and the certification you’ll receive if you complete the course.
You can go even more in-depth with this type of Schema markup by using tags like “assesses” on quizzes to determine the competency level of a user, or “educationalLevel” to separate beginner materials from materials for advanced users.
With the right combination of tags, a searcher can enter a query like “Photoshop courses for beginners” and easily skim through the options before making a decision. If you’re targeting people who want to learn Photoshop basics, but your pages don’t use Schema markup, your offerings could be overlooked. Make it as easy as possible for people to find information.
4. FinancialService
If you’re a FinTech brand offering financial services, you can use FinancialService Schema to help identify your products and services to search engines. Here’s an example of this type of markup in action:
You can see on the bottom line of this listing that services include money movement, support, and a risk-free trial. Tags like these make it easy for search engines to classify what sort of products and services are offered. With this information right in the listing, potential customers can easily see whether you offer the service they’re looking for.
Leverage Schema Markup Today
Not sure if your website is optimized with the right types of Schema markup? With help from our SEO experts here at First Page Strategy you’ll be better able to keep up with your competition and bring new visitors to your site with enhanced SERP listings.
