Structured data and Schema.org have become increasingly important for websites and search engines. Schema.org was created in 2011 as a joint effort by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others to create a common set of schemas for structured data markup on web pages. Google and others now use structured data to better understand websites and display richer information in search features like Knowledge Panels. At a recent conference, a Google employee emphasized that implementing structured data using Schema.org can help websites appear in more search features and be better understood during crawling.

1. Structured Data
Where did that come from
and why are Google†asking for it
†and others
Richard Wallis
Evangelist and Founder
Data Liberate
richard.wallis@dataliberate.com
@rjw
SMXL Workshop
Milan
November 14th 2017

2. richard.wallis@dataliberate.com — @rjw

3. Independent Consultant, Evangelist & Founder
richard.wallis@dataliberate.com — @rjw

4. Independent Consultant, Evangelist & Founder
richard.wallis@dataliberate.com — @rjw
40+ Years - Computing
27+ Years – Cultural Heritage technology
12+ Years – Semantic Web & Linked Data

5. Independent Consultant, Evangelist & Founder
W3C Community Groups:
• Schema Bib Extend (Chair) - bibliographic data
• Schema Architypes (Chair) - Archives
• Financial Industry Business Ontology – fibo.schema.org
• Tourism Structured Web Data (Co-Chair)
• Schema Course Extension
• Schema IoT Community
• Educational & Occupational Credentials in Schema.org
richard.wallis@dataliberate.com — @rjw
40+ Years - Computing
27+ Years – Cultural Heritage technology
12+ Years – Semantic Web & Linked Data

6. Independent Consultant, Evangelist & Founder
Worked With:
• Google – Schema.org vocabulary, site, extensions
documentation and community
W3C Community Groups:
• Schema Bib Extend (Chair) - bibliographic data
• Schema Architypes (Chair) - Archives
• Financial Industry Business Ontology – fibo.schema.org
• Tourism Structured Web Data (Co-Chair)
• Schema Course Extension
• Schema IoT Community
• Educational & Occupational Credentials in Schema.org
richard.wallis@dataliberate.com — @rjw
40+ Years - Computing
27+ Years – Cultural Heritage technology
12+ Years – Semantic Web & Linked Data

7. Independent Consultant, Evangelist & Founder
Worked With:
• Google – Schema.org vocabulary, site, extensions
documentation and community
• OCLC – Global library cooperative
W3C Community Groups:
• Schema Bib Extend (Chair) - bibliographic data
• Schema Architypes (Chair) - Archives
• Financial Industry Business Ontology – fibo.schema.org
• Tourism Structured Web Data (Co-Chair)
• Schema Course Extension
• Schema IoT Community
• Educational & Occupational Credentials in Schema.org
richard.wallis@dataliberate.com — @rjw
40+ Years - Computing
27+ Years – Cultural Heritage technology
12+ Years – Semantic Web & Linked Data

8. Independent Consultant, Evangelist & Founder
Worked With:
• Google – Schema.org vocabulary, site, extensions
documentation and community
• OCLC – Global library cooperative
• FIBO – Financial Industry Business Ontology Group
W3C Community Groups:
• Schema Bib Extend (Chair) - bibliographic data
• Schema Architypes (Chair) - Archives
• Financial Industry Business Ontology – fibo.schema.org
• Tourism Structured Web Data (Co-Chair)
• Schema Course Extension
• Schema IoT Community
• Educational & Occupational Credentials in Schema.org
richard.wallis@dataliberate.com — @rjw
40+ Years - Computing
27+ Years – Cultural Heritage technology
12+ Years – Semantic Web & Linked Data

9. Independent Consultant, Evangelist & Founder
Worked With:
• Google – Schema.org vocabulary, site, extensions
documentation and community
• OCLC – Global library cooperative
• FIBO – Financial Industry Business Ontology Group
• Various Clients – Implementing/understanding Schema.org
British Library — Stanford University — Europeana
W3C Community Groups:
• Schema Bib Extend (Chair) - bibliographic data
• Schema Architypes (Chair) - Archives
• Financial Industry Business Ontology – fibo.schema.org
• Tourism Structured Web Data (Co-Chair)
• Schema Course Extension
• Schema IoT Community
• Educational & Occupational Credentials in Schema.org
richard.wallis@dataliberate.com — @rjw
40+ Years - Computing
27+ Years – Cultural Heritage technology
12+ Years – Semantic Web & Linked Data

10. • Where• What
• Why
Where did that come from
and why are Google†asking for it
†and others
Richard Wallis
Evangelist and Founder
Data Liberate
richard.wallis@dataliberate.com
@rjw
SMXL Workshop
Milan
November 13th 2017
Structured Data

11. • Where• What
• Why
Where did that come from
and why are Google†asking for it
†and others
Structured Data

12. Structured Data
• Where
• What
• Why

13. Structured Data
— did it come from
— is Schema.org
— does Google need it
• Where
• What
• Why

14. Structured Data
— did it come from
— is Schema.org
— does Google need it
• Where
• What
• Why

15. The Web Conceived
Tim Berners-Lee

16. The Web Conceived
● 1989●
March
Tim Berners-Lee

17. The Web Conceived
● 1989●
March
Tim Berners-Lee
Vague but exciting …

19. ● 1999●

20. ● 1999●
Tim Berners-Lee, 1999
“I have a dream for the Web [in which computers] become
capable of analyzing all the data on the Web – the content, links,
and transactions between people and computers. A ‘Semantic
Web’, which should make this possible, has yet to emerge, but
when it does, the day-to-day mechanisms of trade, bureaucracy
and our daily lives will be handled by machines talking to
machines. The ‘intelligent agents’ people have touted for ages will
finally materialize”

21. ● 1999●
Tim Berners-Lee, 1999
“I have a dream for the Web [in which computers] become
capable of analyzing all the data on the Web – the content, links,
and transactions between people and computers. A ‘Semantic
Web’, which should make this possible, has yet to emerge, but
when it does, the day-to-day mechanisms of trade, bureaucracy
and our daily lives will be handled by machines talking to
machines. The ‘intelligent agents’ people have touted for ages will
finally materialize”

22. ● 1999●
Tim Berners-Lee, 1999
“I have a dream for the Web [in which computers] become
capable of analyzing all the data on the Web – the content, links,
and transactions between people and computers. A ‘Semantic
Web’, which should make this possible, has yet to emerge, but
when it does, the day-to-day mechanisms of trade, bureaucracy
and our daily lives will be handled by machines talking to
machines. The ‘intelligent agents’ people have touted for ages will
finally materialize”
Intelligent Agents …

23. ● 1999●
Tim Berners-Lee, 1999
“I have a dream for the Web [in which computers] become
capable of analyzing all the data on the Web – the content, links,
and transactions between people and computers. A ‘Semantic
Web’, which should make this possible, has yet to emerge, but
when it does, the day-to-day mechanisms of trade, bureaucracy
and our daily lives will be handled by machines talking to
machines. The ‘intelligent agents’ people have touted for ages will
finally materialize”
Intelligent Agents …

24. ● 1999●
Tim Berners-Lee, 1999
“I have a dream for the Web [in which computers] become
capable of analyzing all the data on the Web – the content, links,
and transactions between people and computers. A ‘Semantic
Web’, which should make this possible, has yet to emerge, but
when it does, the day-to-day mechanisms of trade, bureaucracy
and our daily lives will be handled by machines talking to
machines. The ‘intelligent agents’ people have touted for ages will
finally materialize”
Intelligent Agents …

25. “A Linked Data Web” – Introducing Linked Data

26. “A Linked Data Web” – Introducing Linked Data
● 2009
Feb
Linked Data

27. 05-2007
Linked Open Data Cloud

28. Linked Open Data
05-200711-200709-200809-200707-200909-201009-201108-2014
Linked Open Data Cloud

29. Linked Open Data
05-200711-200709-200809-200707-200909-201009-201108-2014
Linked Open Data Cloud
Impressive!

30. Linked Open Data
05-200711-200709-200809-200707-200909-201009-201108-2014
Linked Open Data Cloud
Impressive! • Raw Data
• Many Vocabs
• SPARQL

31. Linked Open Data
05-200711-200709-200809-200707-200909-201009-201108-2014
Linked Open Data Cloud
Impressive! • Raw Data
• Many Vocabs
• SPARQL

32. Linked Open Data
05-200711-200709-200809-200707-200909-201009-201108-2014
Linked Open Data Cloud
Impressive!
But Useful?
• Raw Data
• Many Vocabs
• SPARQL

33. Structured Data
— did it come from
— is Schema.org
— does Google need it
• Where
• What
• Why
— did it come from
— is Schema.org
— does Google need it
• Where
• What
• Why

34. Structured Data
— did it come from
— is Schema.org
— does Google need it
• Where
• What
• Why

36. 2
● 2011 ●
June
Introducing Schema.org

37. 2
● 2011 ●
June
Introducing Schema.org

38. 2
● 2011 ●
June
Introducing Schema.org

39. 2
● 2011 ●
June
Introducing Schema.org

40. Knowledge Graph

41. Knowledge Graph
16
● 2012 ●
May
Google Knowledge Graph

42. Knowledge Graph
16
● 2012 ●
May
Google Knowledge Graph

43. Knowledge Graph
16
● 2012 ●
May
Google Knowledge Graph

44. Google Knowledge Graph

45. Google Knowledge Graph

46. Google Knowledge Graph

47. Google Knowledge Graph

48. Knowledge Graph
Related Entities in a Graph

49. Knowledge Graph
Bart Simpson
Related Entities in a Graph

50. Knowledge Graph
Bart Simpson
Nancy Cartwright
Played By
Related Entities in a Graph

51. Knowledge Graph
Bart Simpson
Nancy Cartwright
Dayton Ohio
Played By
Born In
Related Entities in a Graph

52. Knowledge Graph
Bart Simpson
Nancy Cartwright
Dayton Ohio
Dayton Aviation
Heritage National Park
Played By
Born In
Place of Interest
Related Entities in a Graph

53. Knowledge Graph

54. Knowledge Graph
Sources for the Graph

55. Knowledge Graph
Sources for the Graph

56. Knowledge Graph
Sources for the Graph

57. Knowledge Graph
Sources for the Graph

58. Knowledge Graph
Sources for the Graph

59. Knowledge Graph
Sources for the Graph

60. Knowledge Graph
Powered by the Graph

61. Knowledge Graph
Powered by the Graph
Knowledge Panel

62. Knowledge Graph
Powered by the Graph
Knowledge Panel
Info Box

63. Knowledge Graph
Powered by the Graph
Knowledge Panel
Info Box
Answer Box

64. Knowledge Graph
Powered by the Graph
Knowledge Panel
Info Box
Answer Box
Rich Snippets

65. Knowledge Graph
Powered by the Graph
Knowledge Panel
Info Box
Answer Box
Rich Snippets
Voice

66. Using Schema.org

67. Using Schema.org
•Data embedded in website html
-Microdata / RDFa / JSON-LD

68. Using Schema.org
•Data embedded in website html
-Microdata / RDFa / JSON-LD
•Harvested during normal web crawls

69. Using Schema.org
•Data embedded in website html
-Microdata / RDFa / JSON-LD
•Harvested during normal web crawls
•Under control of the [site] publisher

70. Schema.org today

71. •In use on over 12 million domains
•Broad core vocabulary:
-Types: 597 Properties: 867 Values: 114
Schema.org today

72. •In use on over 12 million domains
•Broad core vocabulary:
-Types: 597 Properties: 867 Values: 114
•Extensions published:
- auto.schema.org
- bib.schema.org
- health-lifesci.schema.org
Schema.org today

73. •In use on over 12 million domains
•Broad core vocabulary:
-Types: 597 Properties: 867 Values: 114
•Extensions published:
- auto.schema.org
- bib.schema.org
- health-lifesci.schema.org
Schema.org today
12+ Million
Web Sites
Found On30% Pages*
* In a 10 billion page sample - 2015

74. Schema.org today
A de facto vocabulary for
structured data on the web12+ Million
Web Sites
Found On30% Pages*
* In a 10 billion page sample - 2015

75. Schema.org today
A de facto vocabulary for
structured data on the web12+ Million
Web Sites
Found On30% Pages*
So, what does it look like ….
* In a 10 billion page sample - 2015

76. Banc of California

77. Banc of California

78. Banc of California

79. Banc of California

80. Structured Data
— did it come from
— is Schema.org
— does Google need it
• Where
• What
• Why
— did it come from
— is Schema.org
— does Google need it
• Where
• What
• Why

81. Structured Data
— did it come from
— is Schema.org
— does Google need it
• Where
• What
• Why
†and others
†

93. At Pubcon yesterday, Gary Illyes
from Google focused quite a bit of
time on structured data

94. At Pubcon yesterday, Gary Illyes
from Google focused quite a bit of
time on structured data "Structured data. This is one of those
things that i want you to pay lots of
attention to this year.

95. At Pubcon yesterday, Gary Illyes
from Google focused quite a bit of
time on structured data "Structured data. This is one of those
things that i want you to pay lots of
attention to this year.
… we started caring more and more and more about
structured data. That is an important hint for you if
you want your sites to appear in search features,
implement structured data.

96. At Pubcon yesterday, Gary Illyes
from Google focused quite a bit of
time on structured data "Structured data. This is one of those
things that i want you to pay lots of
attention to this year.
… we started caring more and more and more about
structured data. That is an important hint for you if
you want your sites to appear in search features,
implement structured data. … add structure data to your pages
because during indexing, we will be
able to better understand what your
site is about.

97. At Pubcon yesterday, Gary Illyes
from Google focused quite a bit of
time on structured data "Structured data. This is one of those
things that i want you to pay lots of
attention to this year.
… we started caring more and more and more about
structured data. That is an important hint for you if
you want your sites to appear in search features,
implement structured data. … add structure data to your pages
because during indexing, we will be
able to better understand what your
site is about.
And don’t just think about the structured data
that we documented on developers.google.com.
Think about any schema.org schema that you
could use on your pages

98. At Pubcon yesterday, Gary Illyes
from Google focused quite a bit of
time on structured data "Structured data. This is one of those
things that i want you to pay lots of
attention to this year.
… we started caring more and more and more about
structured data. That is an important hint for you if
you want your sites to appear in search features,
implement structured data. … add structure data to your pages
because during indexing, we will be
able to better understand what your
site is about.
And don’t just think about the structured data
that we documented on developers.google.com.
Think about any schema.org schema that you
could use on your pages
… add structure data to your pages
because during indexing, we will be
able to better understand what your
site is about.

99. What I would have said….
(If I had another 20 minutes here!)

100. What I would have said….
(If I had another 20 minutes here!)
Summary
Schema.org Structured Data:
• Its about describing Things

101. What I would have said….
(If I had another 20 minutes here!)
Summary
Schema.org Structured Data:
• Its about describing Things
Not necessarily web pages

102. What I would have said….
(If I had another 20 minutes here!)
Summary
Schema.org Structured Data:
• Its about describing Things
Not necessarily web pages
To aid discovery and discoverability

103. What I would have said….
(If I had another 20 minutes here!)
Summary
Schema.org Structured Data:
• Its about describing Things
Not necessarily web pages
To aid discovery and discoverability
• Its about describing relationships

104. What I would have said….
(If I had another 20 minutes here!)
Summary
Schema.org Structured Data:
• Its about describing Things
Not necessarily web pages
To aid discovery and discoverability
• Its about describing relationships
With other things — People, Places, Events, Offers,
Suppliers, Reviews, Authoritative Descriptions

105. What I would have said….
(If I had another 20 minutes here!)
Summary
Schema.org Structured Data:
• Its about describing Things
Not necessarily web pages
To aid discovery and discoverability
• Its about describing relationships
With other things — People, Places, Events, Offers,
Suppliers, Reviews, Authoritative Descriptions
• It is new to us but not scary

106. What I would have said….
(If I had another 20 minutes here!)
Summary
Schema.org Structured Data:
• Its about describing Things
Not necessarily web pages
To aid discovery and discoverability
• Its about describing relationships
With other things — People, Places, Events, Offers,
Suppliers, Reviews, Authoritative Descriptions
• It is new to us but not scary
No more than CSS, JavaScript, HTML5 was

107. What I would have said….
(If I had another 20 minutes here!)
Summary
Schema.org Structured Data:
• Its about describing Things
Not necessarily web pages
To aid discovery and discoverability
• Its about describing relationships
With other things — People, Places, Events, Offers,
Suppliers, Reviews, Authoritative Descriptions
• It is new to us but not scary
No more than CSS, JavaScript, HTML5 was
Built on sound Semantic Principles core to the Web

108. What I would have said….
(If I had another 20 minutes here!)
Summary
Schema.org Structured Data:
• Its about describing Things
Not necessarily web pages
To aid discovery and discoverability
• Its about describing relationships
With other things — People, Places, Events, Offers,
Suppliers, Reviews, Authoritative Descriptions
• It is new to us but not scary
No more than CSS, JavaScript, HTML5 was
Built on sound Semantic Principles core to the Web
• Don’t just sprinkle Schema terms in html

109. What I would have said….
(If I had another 20 minutes here!)
Summary
Schema.org Structured Data:
• Its about describing Things
Not necessarily web pages
To aid discovery and discoverability
• Its about describing relationships
With other things — People, Places, Events, Offers,
Suppliers, Reviews, Authoritative Descriptions
• It is new to us but not scary
No more than CSS, JavaScript, HTML5 was
Built on sound Semantic Principles core to the Web
• Don’t just sprinkle Schema terms in html
It needs some thought & planning

110. What I would have said….
(If I had another 20 minutes here!)
Summary
Schema.org Structured Data:
• Its about describing Things
Not necessarily web pages
To aid discovery and discoverability
• Its about describing relationships
With other things — People, Places, Events, Offers,
Suppliers, Reviews, Authoritative Descriptions
• It is new to us but not scary
No more than CSS, JavaScript, HTML5 was
Built on sound Semantic Principles core to the Web
• Don’t just sprinkle Schema terms in html
It needs some thought & planning
Think about the non-web page scenarios

111. What I would have said….
(If I had another 20 minutes here!)
Summary
Schema.org Structured Data:
• Its about describing Things
Not necessarily web pages
To aid discovery and discoverability
• Its about describing relationships
With other things — People, Places, Events, Offers,
Suppliers, Reviews, Authoritative Descriptions
• It is new to us but not scary
No more than CSS, JavaScript, HTML5 was
Built on sound Semantic Principles core to the Web
• Don’t just sprinkle Schema terms in html
It needs some thought & planning
Think about the non-web page scenarios
• What should we be doing now/next

112. What I would have said….
(If I had another 20 minutes here!)
Summary
Schema.org Structured Data:
• Its about describing Things
Not necessarily web pages
To aid discovery and discoverability
• Its about describing relationships
With other things — People, Places, Events, Offers,
Suppliers, Reviews, Authoritative Descriptions
• It is new to us but not scary
No more than CSS, JavaScript, HTML5 was
Built on sound Semantic Principles core to the Web
• Don’t just sprinkle Schema terms in html
It needs some thought & planning
Think about the non-web page scenarios
• What should we be doing now/next
Learning about it / trying it

113. What I would have said….
(If I had another 20 minutes here!)
Summary
Schema.org Structured Data:
• Its about describing Things
Not necessarily web pages
To aid discovery and discoverability
• Its about describing relationships
With other things — People, Places, Events, Offers,
Suppliers, Reviews, Authoritative Descriptions
• It is new to us but not scary
No more than CSS, JavaScript, HTML5 was
Built on sound Semantic Principles core to the Web
• Don’t just sprinkle Schema terms in html
It needs some thought & planning
Think about the non-web page scenarios
• What should we be doing now/next
Learning about it / trying it
Start giving the search engines the data they need
to drive users to our products/services

114. Structured Data
Where did that come from
and why are Google†asking for it
†and others
Richard Wallis
Evangelist and Founder
Data Liberate
richard.wallis@dataliberate.com
@rjw
SMXL Workshop
Milan
November 14th 2017

115. Structured Data
Where did that come from
and why are Google†asking for it
†and others
Richard Wallis
Evangelist and Founder
Data Liberate
richard.wallis@dataliberate.com
@rjw
SMXL Workshop
Milan
November 14th 2017
http://slideshare.net/rjw