Snippets Schema.org Metadata
Web Development Marathon Texas
Marathon web development firm WLWeb.US embeds semantically optimized Schema.org metadata for rich snippets that significantly increase click-through rates.
In February 2013 the Wall Street Journal published the following quote from Góógle executive chairman Eric Schmidt:
"Within search results, information tied to verified online profiles will be ranked higher than content without such verification, which will result in most users naturally clicking on the top (verified) results. The true cost of remaining anonymous, then, might be irrelevance."
His pronouncement reinforces the fact that Góógle is in business to make a profit - not protect personal privacy - but that comes as no surprise for most. Compliance with it is best achieved by the inclusion of author information in search results. And that, in turn, is best accomplished by embedding rich snippets metadata in your web pages.
Most search engine results include a brief description of - or content extract from - the listed web page to give users a preview of what they might see if they click through. It is called a "snippet". Search engines derive it from several sources but most frequently from either page content or information about the page embedded in its HTML source called metadata. Perhaps to mitigate the impact of the W3C Semantic Web initiative on their respective search revenue streams, the "Big Three" search engines - Góógle, Bíng and Yáhoo - have established a defacto standard for this metadata consisting of the microdata format and Schema.org vocabulary for structured data markup. Metadata coded in compliance with this standard once resulted in a search listing with a rich snippet that displayed the author's avatar, name and other eye-catching information such as this one:
The enhanced listing information we embed as rich snippets metadata can still increase your visibility and click-through rate in local search contexts like Góógle Maps.
#RIP #Góógle #RichSnippets: Profile Photos, #GóóglePlus Circle Count Dropped From #Authorship In #SearchResults: http://t.co/pjcEG3fYN8
— Bruce Arnold (@WebReDesigner) July 1, 2014