Markup

Markup is an abbreviation for the word markup language. It allows machines to organize and format text content. There is the descriptive markup language and the procedural markup language.

The Internet and its contents consist almost exclusively of markup languages. One of the most important is HTML (Hypertext Markup Language). Without this language, the Internet as we know it today would not exist. Accordingly, HTML is a descriptive markup language, since it specifies the content of a page. For example, HTML helps highlight headings by identifying them so that browsers know how to display them. However, markup is often mentioned in connection with search engine optimization. Markup is in fact responsible for the correct display and has a high relevance in SEO. Here, the schema markup is mainly used to make the content of a website more readable for Google.

With the Schema Markup different elements of a web page can be marked up, so that these are then understood by Google and displayed in the search results. The Schema Markup thus ensures the optimal presentation of the most important content of a page, in order to make the most relevant information more easily available to users and Google. This markup is inserted directly into the HTML code of the page and is not an additional file that you have to store on the server. Thus, the number of documents for building the web page remains the same and the browser does not have to make an additional request to the server.

What schema markups are there?

There are many ways to markup content on a website. Here is a list of the most popular and important schema markups:

• Reviews / Stars
• Price
• Availability
• Breadcrumb
• FAQs
• Recipes
• Author
• Opening hours

Why should content be structured with markup language from Schema.org?

The benefit is obvious if you take a look at the search results. Usually, the first results that catch your eye are those that stand out from the crowd with so-called rich snippets. Google creates these snippets based on markup language. The markup gives structure to the elements and makes them easier to understand for the search engine. As a reward, Google subsequently displays them as snippets in the search results in the form of stars or prices or many other options.

Search results thus stand out more by taking up more space on the search results page through Google’s desirable rich snippets. Users also get additional valuable information about the content of the web page. If a user can see at a glance that the product is highly rated and currently in stock, then the likelihood of a successful conversion increases.

However, using markups does not guarantee rich snippets in Google’s SERPs. However, by correctly marking up the appropriate content, Google gets the opportunity to use this content for the organic search result. Whether a snippet is displayed or not is influenced by many factors. However, it never hurts to mark up your website with the markup from schema.org to get the chance for rich snippets.

How can markups for rich snippets be created?

There are various markup generators that only need to be fed with content and then output a finished markup according to Schema.org. This then only has to be integrated on the own page. Thus, even site operators without programming skills can optimize their own website with markup to be more visible in search results.

Those who are a bit more confident with programming languages can also create their own markup with the help of Schema.org and insert it on the page. This website offers an overview of all possible markups and how they can be included. This has the advantage that you can access all markups and do not have to rely on a tool that may not cover all markups.

However, there are tools for various CMS that help markup content as you create it. A good plug-in for WordPress in this case is Yoast, as it provides other important SEO features in addition to markup. Depending on which CMS is used, a quick Google search can help to find effective tools for generating markups.

No matter how the structured data is marked up, the markup language JSON-LD should always be used. This is Google’s preferred markup language and is easier to read because the markup of the data is right at the beginning of every web page. It is therefore found in the same place on every page, making it easier for search engines to read and recognize.

Use tools to test your markup at any time

To check the markup, there is a Markup Testing Tool from Google. After all, it is also in Google’s interest that as much structured data as possible is labeled with the help of markups. With each markup, the search engine can better understand and assign the website and its content in order to provide users with the optimal search result. Google’s top priority is still to satisfy users’ search queries, and this is easier when content is structured and formatted using Schema.org markup.

Questions about markups