Understanding Your Schema.org Implementation

This document explains how Schema.org structured data works on your site and how to verify it’s working correctly.

What is Schema.org?

Simple definition: Schema.org is a vocabulary of tags (or structured data) that you can add to your HTML to help search engines understand your content better.

How it appears: As invisible JSON-LD code embedded in your page’s <head> section. Humans don’t see it, but search engines read it.

What it does:

Tells search engines the type of content (Article, Tutorial, Software Project)
Provides structured information (author, dates, keywords, technologies used)
Makes you eligible for rich snippets in search results (enhanced listings with images/dates)
Does NOT guarantee better rankings—it’s about structure, not magic

How Your Site Implements It

The Include File

Your site automatically generates Schema.org markup via _includes/schema.html, which is included in _includes/head.html on every page.

Three Schema Types

Article Schema - Regular blog posts
HowTo Schema - Tutorial posts (auto-detected when categories or tags include “tutorial”)
SoftwareSourceCode Schema - Projects in your _projects collection

The Mapping

When you write this in your YAML front matter:

title: "Getting Started with GitHub Pages"
subtitle: "Launch a free website in minutes"
excerpt: "A beginner-friendly guide..."
tags: [github-pages, tutorial, web-development]
date: 2024-07-28

Your site automatically generates this Schema.org markup:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "HowTo",
  "headline": "Getting Started with GitHub Pages",
  "alternativeHeadline": "Launch a free website in minutes",
  "description": "A beginner-friendly guide...",
  "datePublished": "2024-07-28T00:00:00-06:00",
  "keywords": "github-pages, tutorial, web-development"
}

How to Verify It’s Working

Method 1: View Page Source

Visit any blog post on your site (e.g., https://barbhs.com/blog/metadata-matters/)
Right-click → “View Page Source”
Press Cmd+F (Mac) or Ctrl+F (Windows)
Search for: "@type": "HowTo" or "@type": "Article"
You should see the JSON-LD structured data block

Method 2: Google Rich Results Test

Go to: https://search.google.com/test/rich-results
Enter your page URL: https://barbhs.com/blog/metadata-matters/
Click “Test URL”
Google will show you what structured data it detected

Method 3: Schema.org Validator

Go to: https://validator.schema.org/
Enter your page URL
See validation results and any warnings

Method 4: Interactive Visualization

Open the interactive visualization at: /assets/visualizations/schema-examples.html

This shows side-by-side comparisons of:

Your YAML front matter (what you write)
Generated Schema.org JSON-LD (what search engines read)
Field mapping (which YAML fields map to which schema properties)

What to Look For

Good signs:

✅ JSON-LD is present in page source
✅ Google Rich Results Test validates successfully
✅ All key fields are populated (headline, description, date, author)

Warning signs:

❌ No JSON-LD found in page source (check that schema.html is included)
❌ Google test shows errors or warnings
❌ Missing key fields (usually means YAML front matter is incomplete)

Understanding the Visualization

The interactive visualization (/assets/visualizations/schema-examples.html) has three tabs:

Tab 1: Article Schema

Shows regular blog post example
Demonstrates basic Article schema
Maps YAML → Schema.org fields

Tab 2: HowTo Schema

Shows tutorial post example
Demonstrates HowTo schema with “about” field (from stack array)
Explains auto-detection logic

Tab 3: Software Schema

Shows project page example
Demonstrates SoftwareSourceCode schema
Shows how stack becomes programmingLanguage

Common Questions

Q: Does Schema.org improve my search rankings? A: Not directly. It makes your content more understandable to search engines and eligible for rich snippets, but it doesn’t guarantee ranking improvements.

Q: How do I know if it’s working? A: Use the verification methods above. If Google’s Rich Results Test validates successfully, it’s working.

Q: Do I need to do anything to maintain it? A: No. As long as you include proper YAML front matter (title, excerpt, date, tags), the schema is generated automatically.

Q: What if I want to add more fields? A: Edit _includes/schema.html to add additional schema properties. Refer to https://schema.org for valid properties.

Files Involved

_includes/schema.html - Template that generates JSON-LD
_includes/head.html - Includes schema.html on every page (line 4)
assets/visualizations/schema-examples.html - Interactive visualization
Individual content files (YAML front matter provides the data)

Resources

Last updated: December 27, 2024

Dr. Barbara