Schema is a new computer language that tells Google what it’s looking at on a webpage. Now, I don’t know how to code Schema. I don’t know that anybody does except for people at MIT that invented it. But, there’s 100 plugins that help. I use the one called WPSEO Structured Schema or Structured Data, something along those lines. My friend and associate, Phil Singleton, created it. He’s a brilliant SEO in Kansas City. It has a very easy interface where I can put in a name, address, phone number, type of business, and contact information. I put that in the plugin and then it converts all of that information into Schema.
I say Google is getting lazy, but it’s probably that there’s just so much new information online that the computing power to adequately interpret a million new webpages a second, as well as the old ones that already exist, is tough. Now with Schema, it can tell Google “Hey Google this is the phone number, this is the name of the business, this is the address of the business.” Instead of Google Scouring the text on the webpage and trying to interpret what it means, Schema tells them exactly what it’s looking at.
You can use it for product pages as well. You can tell what the product is, what the description of the product is, provide a photo of the product, and what the reviews are. There’s a Schema for just about everything.
Aside from plugins, if you’re in Google Search Console there’s a thing now called Data Markup where you can go in and it will pull up a picture of the webpage. You can then highlight within Search Console on your webpage and tell Google what that Schema is. However, don’t do both. Don’t do the Schema plugin as well as Search Console, because then you’re sending two pieces of Schema data and that looks like spam. Pick one or the other. I try to do the plugin.
