{"id":103416,"date":"2014-06-18T21:48:00","date_gmt":"2014-06-19T02:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/man-vs-robot-the-seo-perspective-2\/"},"modified":"2024-12-19T16:41:53","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T21:41:53","slug":"man-vs-robot-the-seo-perspective-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dacgroup.com\/en-gb\/insights\/blog\/search-optimization\/man-vs-robot-the-seo-perspective-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Man vs. Robot: The SEO Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"

In follow-up to our recent recap of SMX Advanced<\/u>, I wanted to expand and share some takeaways from an SEO perspective. As always, the SMX team did a fantastic job of assembling a stellar lineup of experts to share industry insights and predictions in the world of search and Search Engine Optimisation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"ManRobotiStock_000011019536Medium\"<\/p>\n

From an SEO perspective, two things really stood out:<\/b><\/p>\n

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  1. Schema markup and the impact it has on robots crawling online media<\/li>\n
  2. G+ is here to stay!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n

    Schema Markup \u2013 Pleasing the Robots!<\/h2>\n

    As we know, websites are typically built with the focus placed squarely on user experience and making sure that they provide high-quality content<\/a> in the best format possible. When done well, this helps businesses build their digital footprint as thought leaders, helping them earn trust and establish authority within their product and\/or service arenas.<\/p>\n

    That\u2019s great, but\u00a0how is this information organised and how will it fit moving forward into the semantic search space?<\/p>\n

    Enter the Search Bots!<\/h2>\n

    The search bots are no different than human visitors. They want to understand what a site is about in a clear and concise way so they can organise and generate the best web pages in the search results. To help with this process, schema markup is more commonly being used to label specific \u2018information or content\u2019 on a page to help the bots quickly identify what the content is about.<\/p>\n

    A full ninety-minute session based on schema markup and how it has impacted larger sites such as Best Buy and Disney really sparked my interest as the presenters dove into great detail on how they are using it to make sure the search bots not only understand the information on the page, but that they understand it in a thematic way.<\/p>\n

    In the following example, Disney has used the semantic markup in a thematic and logical manner so the information is presented to bots in an orderly way that not only makes sense to them but also to us as humans.\"Disney_Schema\"<\/p>\n

    What stood out to me was their approach and how they looked at and spoke about schema markup. It was almost like a conversation between man and robot.<\/p>\n

    Disney: “Hey Robot, this page is about an \u2018event\u2019. The event’s title is \u2018Radio Disney Music Awards\u2019, the date of the awards is \u2018April, 26, 2014\u2019, the location of the awards is \u2018L.A.\u2019 and more specifically it is located at this address” \u2018777 Chick Hearn Ct.\u2019”.<\/p>\n

    This ‘conversational’ approach allows us to naturally understand what schema markup tags are needed and how we should chronologically organise them on the page.<\/p>\n

    Provided that website pages house quality content, well organised thematic schema markup will make it easier for the bots to highlight and identify important information, help them logically understand what the website is about and, more importantly, allow them to present the marked up information in the knowledge graph.<\/p>\n

    The key takeaway<\/b> is not to add schema markup for markup’s sake, but to organise it in a way that is thematic in nature to better help the robots understand what the page is truly about. Just like humans, the robots want to view information in a way that makes sense.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0\"Google-plus-icon\"<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

    G+ is Here to Stay<\/h2>\n

    The second big SEO nugget was Google\u2019s announcement around Google My Business<\/a>, the one-stop shop for small businesses, allowing them to manage and connect with customers via search, maps and Google+. In Google\u2019s own words they want businesses to “engage with customers”, “be found” online and have “insights” into how your content and website is performing.<\/p>\n

    The main backbone to Google My Business is the G+ platform. Like it or not, G+ is here to stay. In my opinion, Google will strategically use Google My Business as a way to help them understand more about people and businesses. It is this information that will be used and incorporated into Google\u2019s semantic search and knowledge graph.<\/p>\n

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