14 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
14 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

SEO & Structured Data

by vema123
13 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Do you think a website with errors on structured data can still rank high on SERP? It's because I'm building site now and was thinking of removing the errors on structured data but still with no success till now. I've tried many ways to remove the errors but they're still there, up to the point that it truly makes me sick!

Now I'm thinking of forgetting about removing the errors on structured data and focusing on building back links however I still doubt if I don't remove the errors all my back link effort will be useless.

My question is:

Does anyone has a newly built site (aged less than 2 yr) which ranks high on SERP (on page 1) but still has errors on structured data?

thanks in advance
#data #seo #structured
  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    Structured data is optional but it can have advantages, for instance it's possible on some keywords to have a weaker link profile than the #1 ranked page and still rank above the #1 position with a featured snippet.





    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10981833].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Tony Marriott
    Generally structured data helps Google but is not the b all and end all.


    Google is not looking for technical perfection. They are looking for unique, useful and relevant content combined with authority.

    You would be better served focusing on link building and content.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10981898].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author savidge4
      Originally Posted by Tony Marriott View Post

      Generally structured data helps Google but is not the b all and end all.


      Google is not looking for technical perfection. They are looking for unique, useful and relevant content combined with authority.

      You would be better served focusing on link building and content.
      The flip side of this.... Structured data could be used to help Google identify your content as unique useful and relevant - that is kinda why the whole concept was designed. However... Its hard to tell exactly how much the data actually influences ranking. There are aspects that without question assist in ranking ( event date etc ) but review ratings etc... who knows.

      As far as the "snippet" is concerned as shown by Yukon.... that actually has nothing to do with schema mark-up. https://support.google.com/webmaster.../6229325?hl=en ( read the "how can I mark....? )
      Signature
      Success is an ACT not an idea
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10982059].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author yukon
        Banned
        Originally Posted by savidge4 View Post

        As far as the "snippet" is concerned as shown by Yukon.... that actually has nothing to do with schema mark-up. https://support.google.com/webmaster.../6229325?hl=en ( read the "how can I mark....? )


        Google will create featured snippets without schema (random luck) but they also use schema so it only makes sense to structure a page for something known instead of guessing.

        Here's a quote from your Google link...

        How can I mark my page as a featured snippet?
        You can't. Google programmatically determines that a page contains a likely answer to the user's question, and displays the result as a featured snippet.

        No SEO says, Oh, Google said it can't be done even If I see it happening on Google SERPs.

        Never bet the farm on what Google tells you.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10982302].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author savidge4
          Originally Posted by yukon View Post

          Google will create featured snippets without schema (random luck) but they also use schema so it only makes sense to structure a page for something known instead of guessing.

          Here's a quote from your Google link...




          No SEO says, Oh, Google said it can't be done even If I see it happening on Google SERPs.

          Never bet the farm on what Google tells you.
          LOL there is not a single statement within SEO that cant be proven wrong. What's funny is that its not that Google "Uses" Schema.. they ARE Schema. Ironically the link you showed beating out #1 doesn't have any markup on the page.

          All I can say is I have never seen a repeatable pattern in those listings. I take that back.. the structure of all of the snippets is pretty universal text to the left, and image to the right. they all are over views / definitions of the topic, and in general there is a pretty decent article below the snippet... Is that repeatable to the point you could get a result, let alone some amount of consistent results?. who knows.. but there is the pattern for you!
          Signature
          Success is an ACT not an idea
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10982364].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author yukon
            Banned
            Originally Posted by savidge4 View Post

            LOL there is not a single statement within SEO that cant be proven wrong. What's funny is that its not that Google "Uses" Schema.. they ARE Schema. Ironically the link you showed beating out #1 doesn't have any markup on the page.

            All I can say is I have never seen a repeatable pattern in those listings. I take that back.. the structure of all of the snippets is pretty universal text to the left, and image to the right. they all are over views / definitions of the topic, and in general there is a pretty decent article below the snippet... Is that repeatable to the point you could get a result, let alone some amount of consistent results?. who knows.. but there is the pattern for you!



            Yes, there's patterns.

            There's always patterns, that's how algorithms work.
            • If this, do this...
            • Else If not this, do this...
            • etc...

            Everything in Google Search is an If/Else statement.

            Keep in mind there's multiple algos. which is what you're seeing.
            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10982383].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Tony Marriott
        Originally Posted by savidge4 View Post

        The flip side of this.... Structured data could be used to help Google identify your content as unique useful and relevant - that is kinda why the whole concept was designed. However... Its hard to tell exactly how much the data actually influences ranking. There are aspects that without question assist in ranking ( event date etc ) but review ratings etc... who knows.
        ........................
        I completely agree and in a perfect world it makes sense to have the schema correct.

        The key point I was trying to put over was that the OP has tried to correctly add the Schema but is getting errors even after multiple attempts to fix them.

        Although I have no idea what the errors are or how he is checking them it seems reasonable to focus his time on things he CAN DO that will add 'ranking power' to his site.

        It is unrealistic to think that a 'broken schema' will 'nul and void the link building' that the OP worried about.

        Sometimes (often) imperfect action is better than no action at all.
        Signature
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10982471].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author savidge4
          Originally Posted by Tony Marriott View Post

          I completely agree and in a perfect world it makes sense to have the schema correct.

          The key point I was trying to put over was that the OP has tried to correctly add the Schema but is getting errors even after multiple attempts to fix them.

          Although I have no idea what the errors are or how he is checking them it seems reasonable to focus his time on things he CAN DO that will add 'ranking power' to his site.

          It is unrealistic to think that a 'broken schema' will 'nul and void the link building' that the OP worried about.

          Sometimes (often) imperfect action is better than no action at all.
          Yes, I would agree up and until you suggest leaving broken code.... that is pretty much a page breaker. Trying to rank broken is just not a good idea... I would remove the code that is not working correctly until I found a way to make it right.

          Schema is in itself a programming language not much different than say html, CSS or PHP. Think about this for a moment.. when was the last time you were on a site you clicked on thru google that don't function right? It may not have "displayed" correctly.. but regardless of that the code itself was working.
          Signature
          Success is an ACT not an idea
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10982686].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author Tony Marriott
            Originally Posted by savidge4 View Post

            Yes, I would agree up and until you suggest leaving broken code.... that is pretty much a page breaker. Trying to rank broken is just not a good idea... I would remove the code that is not working correctly until I found a way to make it right.

            Schema is in itself a programming language not much different than say html, CSS or PHP. Think about this for a moment.. when was the last time you were on a site you clicked on thru google that don't function right? It may not have "displayed" correctly.. but regardless of that the code itself was working.

            Although I have no idea exactly what is broken, the OP said the structured data and I assumed (rightly or wrongly) that meant the actual schema rather than any HTML errors.


            Clearly if the page is broken( display errors/links or functions not working) then it needs fixing.


            If the errors are just found when testing the structured data it could be very minor, i.e. most of the data tells Google about the page, or worst case Google can't read it at all.


            I'd guess in either case it would not be detrimental to the site ranking other than Google not having the additional information about the page structure. But to be completely open that is just my opinion and not something I have tested.


            Logically then removing the errant structured data (as savidge4 advised) would be no worse, so that would seem a sensible path to take.


            So to answer the Ops original question...


            I personally do not have or know of a site with broken structured data code that is currently on page one of Google. Likely not many, as most site owners who are at the top of the search results will probably be doing the correct SEO and fixing any page issues anyway.




            However you will find plenty that have no markup and rank on Page 1.


            So to be absolutely sure your best option may be to remove the errant code from your web page(s)


            Obviously fixing the original error is your best course of action and logically should not be difficult. However if you really are stuck then better to cut your losses and move on with something you can do.


            These 'minor' issues hold back too many people in this game. You will hear a phrase 'imperfect action' bandied around. It just means better to do something constructive than sit around trying to make everything perfect. The point is, don't keep working for perfection in every area. It will be to your detriment. It will hold you back from success.
            Signature
            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10987476].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Aneek Jangra
    <script type="application/ld+json">{ "@context": "http://schema.org", "@type": "Organization", "url": "http://www.your-company-site.com", "contactPoint": [{ "@type": "ContactPoint", "telephone": "+1-401-555-1212", "contactType": "customer service" }]}</script>

    This is a Structured Data example.

    Whenever you enter a query in a search engine and hit 'enter' you get a list of web results that contain that query term. Users normally tend to visit websites that are at the top of this list as they perceive those to be more relevant to the query. If you have ever wondered why some of these websites rank better than the others then you must know that it is because of a powerful web marketing technique called Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10983230].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author KylieSweet
    Originally Posted by vema123 View Post

    Does anyone has a newly built site (aged less than 2 yr) which ranks high on SERP (on page 1) but still has errors on structured data?
    It can still ranks and also update regularly. Must focus on the content structure of the site in which the search engines likes most.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10983265].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Valasys Business solution
    As you aware structured data allows search engines to not only crawl your site, but to truly understand it. So it is not strictly necessary to add a schema. I had resolved the same issues in my website with the help of https://developers.google.com/search...tructured-data
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10986979].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author SEOtraveler
    Well, Google provides all kinds of guidelines on how to add it in the first place (Structured Data Markup Helper) and on how to fix it (Structured Data Testing Tool) with really actionable tips - showing you which value to add and where, or which property is incorrect and why. So I, personally, wouldn`t just leave it there broken.

    I believe Google is so willing to help you with the markup as it`s getting smarter in terms of defying the relevancy of any page to any search query, but still could use your help too; not all page elements (obvious to a user) are that obvious to a crawler. When the proper markup is in place - it`s easier for a crawler to understand the elemets and relations between them (like an event and its date), which you can benefit from, in terms of rankings. So why not make use of that?

    Still, you don`t necessarily have to use the microdata, so you may probably just remove it completely not to confuse a crawler, until you`re ready to look into it and fix it properly.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10987291].message }}

Trending Topics