Why Use Semantic Markup? Because Making Google Smarter Lets You Stand Out From the Competition
If you’re like most people, the standard markup language of the web-hypertext markup or HTML-is hard enough to learn and master. So the realization that there is a new, powerful kind of markup-semantic markup-gaining traction might make your eyes glaze over. This Growth Spurts blog post, however, will explain what semantic markup is and why you should very much care about, and start using it, now.
When you’re designing an HTML page, you are essentially telling a computer how to present or display your information: how many columns there are on the page, what font size, what words are italicized, and so on. So for example,
$9.99 is an instruction that tells the browser to italicize all the characters between the begin and end tags when it renders the page.
When you are using semantic markup on the other hand, you are telling a computer the meaning, or semantics, of your information, something ultimately much more powerful and valuable than simply how the info should display.
$9.99 is an instruction that tells a search engine like Google that the 5 characters between the begin and end tags should be definitively understood as the price of a specific product.
Without this markup, a search engine will likely use heuristics (i.e., using common formats or conventions to make educated guesses) to try to discern meaning, but this causes difficulty and errors when confronted with uncommon formats and ambiguous situations (e.g., $9, 00).
How is Semantic Markup Used Today?
Once the meaning of information is accurately known, there are nearly unlimited possibilities for how that may be constructively used by search engines. For example, if on Monday you ask Google the following question, it replies with a very appropriate, intelligent answer:
Notice that Google’s answer appears in a large font, right above the natural search results and below the ads-and this prominent placement, which very much draws your eye on the search result page, is completely free (unlike the pay-per-click ads).
The reason why Google can appear to respond so intelligently to this natural language question is because Sales Renewal has put the semantic ‘openingHours’ markup (from schema.org) on the Concord Flower Shop’s About page indicating to Google the meaning of the string of letters “Mo-Fr 9:00-17:30”
Hours:
Monday-Friday: 9:00 – 5:30
More competitive advantage from using semantic markup
Another real world example of the advantage you can gain from semantic markup involves e-commerce.
Another Sales Renewal client, MATsolutions, sells lab refurbished test & measurement equipment online. If you search for Agilent 53181A (a popular device manufactured by Agilent), the MATsolutions listing stands out as the only one that includes the price.
As in many other used markets, price is one of the first things prospects want to know and is an important buying criteria. And MATsolutions is the only firm conveniently supplying this info right on the search result page!
Now you might think you could put the price in the last two descriptive lines in the snippet, but Google builds these lines itself and you really don’t have any control of what Google places there. By semantically marking up the price on MATsolutions.com, you are guaranteed that Google will display price on its own, incremental line … which also results in the client’s snippet being a little bit bigger and a bit more noticeable than the rest.
And in case the above reasons haven’t convinced you of the advantages of semantic markup, a recent research report finds that helping Google understand your pages improves their rank: pages with semantic markup rank four positions better on average, compared to pages without semantic markup!
So do Google and yourself a favor: start using semantic markup to help Google get smarter and your snippets stand out from the crowd.
About the author: Keith Loris is currently the president and CEO of Sales Renewal but before he went over to the dark side of sales and marketing, he had lots of fun researching natural language understanding and neural networks, being awarded U.S. Patents 5, 642, 435, 5, 239, 593 and 4, 876, 731 along the way.
Sales Renewal’s insight:
If you’re like most people, the standard markup language of the web-hypertext markup or HTML-is hard enough to learn and master.
The realization that there is a new kind of markup-semantic markup-gaining traction might make your eyes glaze over.
This Growth Spurts blog post, however, will explain what semantic markup is and why you should very much care about, and start using it, right away.
How to Grow, and NOT, Grow Sales: SalesMemes 34: When 1+1=3
Sales Renewal’s insight:
Don’t you love it when 1 + 1 = 3?
To see a real world case study on how Sales Renewal routinely pulls this off, read New Strategies, Brand, Site, Marketing Programs and … a Blue Ribbon.
Check http://www.SalesMemes.com every Friday to see the latest SalesMemes: the best and worst ideas to increase sales. See more #GoodExecutionErica and her colleagues: #BadExecutionBob, #SmugMarketerSam, #HucksterHank and #TrustworthyTom.
How to Grow, and NOT, Grow Sales: SalesMemes 34: When 1+1=3
Sales Renewal’s insight:
Don’t you love it when 1 + 1 = 3?
To see a real world case study on how Sales Renewal routinely pulls this off, read New Strategies, Brand, Site, Marketing Programs and … a Blue Ribbon.
Check http://www.SalesMemes.com every Friday to see the latest SalesMemes: the best and worst ideas to increase sales. See more #GoodExecutionErica and her colleagues: #BadExecutionBob, #SmugMarketerSam, #HucksterHank and #TrustworthyTom.
Client’s Collaboration with Sales Renewal Leads to New Strategies, Brand, Site, Marketing Programs and … a Blue Ribbon
It is generally rare for two different companies, let alone a client and its vendor, to work together so thoroughly, on so many levels, that the resulting whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
However, thanks to Sales Renewal’s revolutionary JointSourcing Solution (a unique hybrid combining elements of joint venturing with elements of outsourcing, in which shared risks and rewards align Sales Renewal’s economic incentives with those of its clients), such synergies are the norm.
If you’ve been wondering how JointSourcing and its three, Blueprint, Build and Sell steps actually works in practice, in the real world, this latest installment of our JointSourcing in Action Case Studies series is for you.
This issue provides a detailed, step-by-step view of how Sales Renewal partnered with our client MATsolutions to overcome their business, marketing and sales challenges to produce a marketing & sales system neither company could have developed as quickly or efficiently on its own. One result of the collaboration: MATsolutions receiving the prestigious Blue Ribbon Small Business of the Year for 2014 award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
As Steve Wedler, VP Sales and Marketing, MATsolutions has said:
“Over the last year with Sales Renewal’s critical assistance, we’ve rebranded the company, launched a new e-commerce site and introduced marketing programs and supporting technologies that truly distinguish MATsolutions from its competitors. Having two highly dedicated and bright teams responsible for this transformation has allowed us to deliver something far superior than either team alone could have. This award is a great acknowledgement of the advances we have made.”
Read the JointSourcing in Action case study.
Sales Renewal’s insight:
If you’ve been wondering how JointSourcing and its three, Blueprint, Build and Sell steps actually works in practice, this latest installment of our JointSourcing in Action Case Studies series is for you.
This issue provides a detailed, step-by-step view of how Sales Renewal partnered with our client MATsolutions to overcome their business, marketing and sales challenges to produce a marketing & sales system neither company could have developed as quickly or efficiently on its own. One result of the collaboration: MATsolutions receiving the prestigious Blue Ribbon Small Business of the Year for 2014 award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
How to Grow, and NOT, Grow Sales: SalesMemes 46 – Promotions
Sales Renewal’s insight:
We’ve heard that the head of the egg department is quite clever too.
For both humans and Google, headlines are far and away the most important words in any blog post, white paper, etc. So check out our 6 Tips to Writing Better Headlines.
Check http://www.SalesMemes.comevery Friday to see the latest SalesMemes: the best and worst ideas to increase sales. See more#GoodExecutionErica and her colleagues:#BadExecutionBob, #SmugMarketerSam, #HucksterHank and#TrustworthyTom.
Most Salespeople Feel Unprepared for the Most Critical Parts of the Sales Process
According Corporate Vision, here are the percentages of Salespeople who felt they were prepared for:
- Creating opportunities from status quo – 38%,
- Demonstrating financial justification – 26%,
- Mastering purchasing negotiations – 25%,
- Having effective executive conversations – 24%,
- Having effective executive conversations – 16%,
- Achieving successful competitive differentiation – 14%,
- Showcasing compelling product presentations – 13%,
- Demonstrating financial justification – 10%,
- Mastering purchasing negotiations – 9%
If you feel like you could benefit from sales training, get in touch.
Sales Renewal’s insight:
Read about the alarming small percentages of salespeople who felt they were prepared for the most critical part of the sales process: mastering purchasing negotiations, achieving successful competitive differentiation, etc.
How to Grow, and NOT, Grow Sales: SalesMemes 29 – Skin in the Game
Sales Renewal’s insight:
An ad agency with skin in the game? Did hell just freeze over too?
We’ve got some great ideas for DIY search advertising, but if it seems scary, like #TrustworthyTom, Sales Renewal shares the costs of our client’s advertising campaigns.
Check http://www.SalesMemes.com every Friday to see the latest SalesMemes: the best and worst ideas to increase sales. See more #GoodExecutionErica and her colleagues: #BadExecutionBob, #SmugMarketerSam, #HucksterHank and #TrustworthyTom.
How to Grow, and NOT, Grow Sales: SalesMemes 26 – Review Magic
Sales Renewal’s insight:
What’s next, turning lemons into lemonade?
For advice about reviews, and other ideas to increase your sales, check out this month’s Quick Tip Tuesday post in Growth Spurts.
Check http://www.SalesMemes.com every Friday to see the latest SalesMemes: the best and worst ideas to increase sales. See more #GoodExecutionErica and her colleagues: #BadExecutionBob, #SmugMarketerSam, #HucksterHank and #TrustworthyTom.
How to Grow, and NOT, Grow Sales: SalesMemes 45 – July 4th Special
Sales Renewal’s insight:
Tastes like freedom?
For some marketing ideas that don’t involve eating endangered species, check out The Red, White and Blue of Marketing Your Business Online
Check http://www.SalesMemes.com every Friday to see the latest SalesMemes: the best and worst ideas to increase sales. See more #BadExecutionBob and his colleagues: #GoodExecutionErica, #SmugMarketerSam, #HucksterHank and #TrustworthyTom.
How to Grow, and NOT, Grow Sales: SalesMemes 43 – It’s Your Fault
Sales Renewal’s insight:
Because of course, he’s the source of all knowledge and always right… right?
Finger pointing is not how Sales Renewal does things. From our business model–shared risk and reward–to how we work with clients–collaboratively–we’re into win-win instead.As a client recently put it when they were selected as a small business of the year by the Chamber of Commerce,
“Having two highly dedicated and bright teams (our own and Sales Renewal’s) responsible for this transformation has allowed us to deliver something far superior to what either team alone could have created.”
Check http://www.SalesMemes.com every Friday to see the latest SalesMemes: the best and worst ideas to increase sales. See more #HucksterHank, and his colleagues: #BadExecutionBob #GoodExecutionErica, #SmugMarketerSam and #TrustworthyTom.