Question about schema.org
-
Hi guys,
I have a website that has many local based pages. In other words we're featuring local businesses in many many cities. So my question is, will it help if i add schema markup to each page while each markup will be appropriate to the city each page belongs to? Will it help with ranking those local pages?
Thanks
-
Hi Miriam, thank you for helping! Yes, this is what i wanted to know if there is a way to somehow to mark local page with numbers of vendors on it (not individual pages with only one vendor).
Thanks
-
Wow, great discussion going on here, everybody!
Marina, you would use local business Schema markup on the individual listings. So, markup for plumber A and markup for plumber B ... but not local business markup for the page itself.
...At least, I'm pretty sure that's what you're asking
-
Thank you all for helping me to figure it out!
Richard, i'm trying to assign structured data to identify the whole page itself as a list of plumbing businesses from specific area. I just want to add a location markup and potentially type of vendor (i.e. plumber, roofer..). Is that possible?
Andy, can you elaborate what you mean by "you can add schema to the listings on the page though?"
Thanks!
-
As per the confusion I too was thinking it would be individual pages for each business in a location. As for the markups I suppose it depends on the different businesses being used.
If however they are all on one page then as per Andy I am not sure you can feature all the schema at the same time without causing some issues.
-
Hi Marina,
Im afraid you cant do this. There is no page level markup for a page like this. You can add schema to the listings on the page though.
-Andy
-
Marina,
This is an excellent question. Thank you for clarifying. Just to be clear, Are you trying to assign structured data to identify each of the businesses in this listing as plumbers from that area, or simply trying to identify the page itself as a list of plumbing businesses from that area?
Sorry for any confusion. Thanks again for clearing that up. Sorry to keep asking question, just want to be absolutely sure I know your intent. Thanks!
-
Thank you for answering!
So yes, i see i haven't articulated my question clearly enough. Andy is right, i have local pages where there are several local businesses are featured on the same local page. For example, 5 plumbers in Atlanta, GA. So all of these local businesses are located in Atlanta, GA but they don't have any relation to each other.
My initial question was if i can mark such local pages (with number of local businesses from the same city on every page) with schema.org so search engines will only see that this page is about a local business (let's say plumbers) and its location (let;s say Atlanta GA).
THank you again!
-
No need to apologise Richard - We need Marina to confirm the structure
-Andy
-
If that is the case, then by all means I apologize. From what I gathered, she said she has local business in many cities. I'm assuming that each of the "local pages" she is referring to, is a page optimized for that business in a specific city, with different pages for each city.
If I am wrong I stand corrected and apologize for any confusion.
-
And this is absolutely correct for a business, but from what I understand, it is the page that all of these businesses sit on that Marina was referring to.
If I have this wrong and Marina is only looking to markup each business on a page, then this is what you would do and there is absolutely no issues with that.
-Andy
-
She said she has a website that has many local based pages. You can easily markup different pages for different locations.
-
Marina, here is an example of how you can do this for your business.
Your Business Name
Your Street Address
You City/Town,
Your State
Your Zip CodeUnited States
Your Phone Number
Cash
Credit Card
Check
Mon-Sat 9am - 5:30pm -
From what I understand Richard, Marina is wishing to Markup a page that relates to multiple different businesses that are not related. I'm not even sure what Markup you would use in this instance.
Local Markup relates to businesses, not pages that are more like a directory.
If I have misunderstood the page concept, then I could have this wrong, but I don't think I have.
-Andy
-
I completely understand what you are saying Andy. I just don't see much risk with location markup so long as the correct location is used and the markup is valid. It will certainly help Marina to add structured data to improve location association for a page already optimized for Local SEO for that city. If Marina is simply adding this markup for a business location, I can't see how a penalty would arise so long as the correct information was used.
If Marina was using structured data to associate a location to a business page that the business wasn't actually located at, then I'd be worried. I agree with what you are saying, but I think the risk is minimal in this instance so long as your markup is correct and your location data is correct.
-
Hi Marina,
The trouble is, Markup isn't meant to be used in this manner. It is for a single item or single entity. If you had a page dedicated just to one business or chain, then it's a little different. Someone might be able to suggest a way around this but I am not aware of a way to Markup a page in the manner you are looking for.
Have a read of these examples over at Google.
-Andy
-
Hi guys. Thank you so much for insights! I really appreciate so rapid responses!
Tim Holmes, can you please advise what markups i should add to better determine the locality of the pages? You also said "just make sure you implement it correctly so you don't conflict with each entry." Can you please give me more details on how to implement it correctly so i don't make conflict with each entry?
Andy Drinkwater, yes i read these guidance and i totally understand them. However, as i understand this applies to rating and reviews only. What i want to do is just to mark each local page with local markups. Please let me know if i'm missing something.
Thank you in advance!
-
It's not so much the writing of spammy markup Richard - it's the incorrect use of it. You wouldn't use Markup to help classify a page full of businesses in a specific location in this manner. This goes against the uses that are suggested as they are not specific items.
It's a little difficult to imagine the exact setup of the site and pages without seeing them, but I would be hard pushed to say this would be a recommended technique as it goes against the uses that Google suggests.
-Andy
-
As far as what Andy is saying, you should have no worries if your website is being monitored in Google Search Console. If you have Structured Data on your website, Google will notify you if there are any issues with the markup of your structured data. However, you can easily prevent the possibility of writing bad structured data markup.
Google provides a Structured Data Testing Tool, as well as an on page data highlighting tool directly in Google Search Console to test structured markup with. In Google Search Console, there is a tab called Search Appearance in the side navigation. Under this tab, you can find Structured Data. If you have structured data on your website, you can also use this tab to validate that Google is aware of your structured data, and that there are no errors.
While Andy is correct that Google is now penalizing websites for spammy structured data markup, you can easily avoid these penalties with tools that they provide you, as well as receive notifications directly from Google if you website is in violation of these rules. Just make sure your website is added to your Google Search Console account, and that you are receiving notifications. Hope this helps!
-
Hi Marina,
Approach this with caution. Google is penalising sites that abuse / over optimise their schema markups. What you are suggesting sounds like you could cause your site harm:
Review and rating markup should be used to provide review and/or rating information about a specific item, not about a category or a list of items. For example, "hotels in Madrid", "summer dresses", or "cake recipes" are not specific items. See also our structured data policies for multiple entities on the same page. Read more here
Tread very carefully and I would advise testing with a small control group first of all if you want to do this. Remember that Google is targeting spammy use of markup, so just don't fall into this category. You are wanting to markup other locations that are not directly related to yourself.
My gut feeling is don't do this if you think what you have planned falls into this e.g "business in LA" or "restaurants in London".
-Andy
-
As per the previous two posts, I would imagine that it will help Google determine the locality of the pages and that of the featured businesses a little easier, just make sure you implement it correctly so you don't conflict with each entry.
More details on local schema markup can be found below.
https://schema.org/LocalBusiness
https://developers.google.com/webmasters/business-location-pages/schema.org-examples
Brett provided the great testing tool above too
Cheers
Tim
-
Hello Marina,
I would certainly recommend it, you will also future proof the sites structure as schema.org seems to be the only thing the 3 top engines can agree on to mark it up Google has a free tool https://developers.google.com/structured-data/testing-tool/ with some tutorials. Hope this helps
-
Hi Marina,
Good question, it most certainly will have an impact on how Google sees the page as you have spend some time making sure the pages are marked up in the right way. I would never put it as a first priority but would make sure that your pages have some some elements of the markup.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Can I use Schema zip code markup that includes multiple zip codes but no actual address?
The company doesn't have physical locations but offers services in multiple cities and states across the US. We want to develop a better hyperlocal SEO strategy and implement schema but the only address information available is zip codes, names of cities and state. Can we omit the actual street address in the formatting but add multiple zipcodes?
Local Website Optimization | | hristina-m0 -
Question About Local SEO
Hey all, If a business operates in one city but works with associated organizations across multiple regions how would this impact a local SEO campaign? For example, a transportation company is located in Texas but services the Northwest and New England by outsourcing to smaller transportation companies in each of those regions. Would it be wise to create pages for each region they service on their website and then break that down in further into specific cities? Also, would it be worth targeting local search terms even though specific cities are serviced by the associated organizations and not the parent company itself? Thanks in advance, Andrew
Local Website Optimization | | mostcg0 -
What is the SEO effect of schema subtype deprecation? Do I really have to update the subtype if there isn't a suitable alternative?
Could someone please elaborate on the SEO effect of schema subtype deprecation? Does it even matter? The Local business properties section of developers.google.com says to: Define each local business location as a LocalBusiness type. Use the most specific LocalBusiness sub-type possible; for example, Restaurant, DaySpa, HealthClub, and so on. Unfortunately, the ProfessionalService page of schema.org states that ProfessionalService has been deprecated and many of my clients don't fit anywhere else (or if they do it's not a LocalBusiness subtype). I find it inconvenient to have to modify my different clients' JSON-LD from LocalBusiness to ProfessionalService back to LocalBusiness. I'm not saying this happens every day but how does one keep up with it all? I'm really trying to take advantage of the numerous types, attributes, etc., in structured data but I feel the more I implement, the harder it will be to update later (true of many things, of course). I do feel this is important and that a better workflow could be the answer. If you have something that works for you, please let us know. If you think it's not important tell us why not? (Why Google is wrong) I understand there is always a better use of our time, but I'd like to limit the discussion to solving this Google/Schema.org deprecation issue specifically.
Local Website Optimization | | bulletproofsearch0 -
Schema training/resources for local SEO?
I am currently in the process of apply schema for dozens of clients (many are large retailers). Although I am not a developer, I do know the basics of schematic markup & structured data. I do work with a development team and I'm trying to provide them with schema application best practices. Obviously there are many good articles/blog posts out there about schema. However I'm looking for a more substantial training course, webinar or resource website about schema application. Does anybody have any good recommendations?
Local Website Optimization | | RosemaryB0 -
Structured Data Question: Is there any value in "Custom Search Result Filters" structured data?
I have been doing a structured data test for a client who is looking to improve their local SEO. After running several tests in Google Developer Tools structured data testing tool I have been noticing data sets for "Custom Search Result Filters" and "Unspecified Type" structured data properties. I have plans to apply Organization and Local Business schematic markup. However my question is this: do the "Custom Search Result Filters" and "Unspecified Type" offer any value at all? I would like to have a response to our client if they ever ask about this. I attached a snapshot of what this looks like. ydu32k6.jpg?1
Local Website Optimization | | RosemaryB0 -
What to do with localised landing pages on listings website - Canonical question
Hi Run a pet listings website and we had tonnes of duplicate content that we have resolved. But not sure what to do with the localised landing pages. We have everything pointing back back to the main listings URL http://www.dogscatsandpets.co.uk/for-sale-stud-and-adoption/ but haven't pointed the URLs that show pets for specific towns and cities eg http://www.dogscatsandpets.co.uk/for-sale/dogs-and-puppies/in-city-of-london/ back to the main url. Obviously this is giving us duplicate content issues, but these pages do rank in local search and drive traffic into the site. So my question is should we canonicalise the local pages back to the main url and if we do will this mean our local landing pages will no longer rank? Is there any alternatives?
Local Website Optimization | | dogscatsandpets0 -
Structured Data Schema for Local business
Hi Where should you add ‘local business’ schema, the 'Home Page', ‘About Us’ page, 'Contact Us' page etc etc ? I presume the page with the address such as 'contact us' page but if say the address is on every page say in a footer for example is it ok to add address schema to every page ? I know someone who did this and havn't got any rich snippets out of it so presume best to focus on one primary page such as 'contact' or 'about' type pages ? Also: If your business serves multiple areas can you add schema for the other areas too or is it only for your primary business address ?
Local Website Optimization | | Dan-Lawrence
For example if your business address is listed in say ‘Wandsworth’ but you visit & serve customers in ‘Clapham’, ‘Balham’ & other regions of South West London, anyway of adding local business address structured data to your site for these areas too (to help target local searches including these other regions) Many Thanks
Dan0 -
Duplicate content question for multiple sites under one brand
I would like to get some opinions on the best way to handle duplicate / similar content that is on our company website and local facility level sites. Our company website is our flagship website that contains all of our service offerings, and we use this site to complete nationally for our SEO efforts. We then have around 100 localized facility level sites for the different locations we operate that we use to rank for local SEO. There is enough of a difference between these locations that it was decided (long ago before me) that there would be a separate website for each. There is however, much duplicate content across all these sites due to the service offerings being roughly the same. Every website has it's own unique domain name, but I believe they are all on the same C-block. I'm thinking of going with 1 of 2 options and wanted to get some opinions on which would be best. 1 - Keep the services content identical across the company website and all facility sites, and use the rel=canonical tag on all the facility sites to reference the company website. My only concern here is if this would drastically hurt local SEO for the facility sites. 2 - Create two unique sets of services content. Use one set on the company website. And use the second set on the facility sites, and either live with the duplicate content or try and sprinkle in enough local geographic content to create some differential between the facility sites. Or if there are other suggestions on a better way to handle this, I would love to hear any other thoughts as well. Thanks!
Local Website Optimization | | KHCreative0