Rich snippets - occasionally very useful

Microdata is HTML code that lets search engines understand data in your pages, resulting in improved SERP appearance - i.e. rich snippets.

Why use microdata?

A snippet is the text below a link in a page of search engine results.  A normal snippet:

screenshot of search results with a normal snippet

Here is an example of a rich snippet:

image of google results showing rich snippet

The rating along with related links are the difference.  In other contexts, the image and name of the author of an article may appear, or the times and prices for an event.

Should you consider using microdata?

Probably, but only in certain circumstances.  If the content in question concerns or contains:

  • Creative works: CreativeWork, Book, Movie, MusicRecording, Recipe, TVSeries ...
  • Embedded non-text objects: AudioObject, ImageObject, VideoObject
  • Event
  • Organization
  • Person
  • Place, LocalBusiness, Restaurant ...
  • Product, Offer, AggregateOffer
  • Review, AggregateRating

How to mark up content for rich snippets

This is not a straightforward task, you need to enter HTML code into your content.  Please contact Wholething for instructions on how best to do this.