Schema markup is structured data added to a webpage's HTML that helps search engines understand the content's meaning and context — not just its text.
How it works
Search engines like Google can read words on a page, but they can't always interpret what those words mean. Schema markup (using a standardized vocabulary from schema.org) labels your content explicitly.
For example, the number "4.5" on a page could mean anything. With schema markup, you can tell Google: "This is a star rating for a product review."
A simple example
Without schema, a search engine just sees text:
html
<p>The Great Gatsby - 4.5 stars</p>
With schema markup, it understands the data:
json
{
"@type": "Book",
"name": "The Great Gatsby",
"aggregateRating": { "ratingValue": "4.5" }
}
Why it matters
Rich results in search — Schema can trigger enhanced listings (rich snippets) in Google, like star ratings, event dates, or recipe info displayed right in the search results.
Better SEO understanding — It helps Google correctly categorize your content, which can improve relevance for the right search queries.
Voice search & AI — Structured data makes content easier for voice assistants and AI tools display accurately.
Common schema types
- Product — brand, category, review
- Album – label, genre
- Book – author, publisher, isbn
- Article / BlogPosting — author, publish date
- Recipe — ingredients, cook time
- Event — date, location
- LocalBusiness — address, phone number, coordinates
- Person — name, social profiles
How it's added
Schema is typically written in JSON-LD format (Google's preferred method) and placed in a <script> tag in the page's <head>. It can also be written in Microdata or RDFa directly in the HTML.
In short: schema markup is a way of speaking search engine — translating your content into a format machines can understand and act on.
How does Metro Publisher use schema markup?
Metro Publisher builds schema markup (which we call "microdata") directly into several of our content types automatically, so publishers don't have to add it manually. Here's how it works:
Reviews — This content type is ideal for writing about local businesses, products, and more.
Recipes — Recipes contain information about the dish, ingredients, prep time, meal type, and more.
Events — The format of an Event is similar to that of a Review (essentially an article with a location attached), but it contains additional information about the time and date. Events are automatically included in your Events Calendars.
Locations — Metro Publisher makes extensive use of maps and map-based location searches that enable publishers to highlight local events and businesses. Locations make valuable connections between other content such as Reviews, Roundups, and Events, making them more robust and increasing their SEO significance.
Roundups — The Roundup content type allows editors to gather up lists of Locations, Events, or other content. They provide more opportunities to highlight advertisers and have solid SEO benefits.
Articles — Articles contain all the important qualities that publishers need as well as the important details "under-the-hood" for SEO.
Can clients add custom markup for their websites?
The key thing to understand about Metro Publisher's approach is that this is baked in automatically — our CMS handles the structured data output on your behalf as you create content. Metro Publisher's team continuously tracks changes and requirements in SEO, refining, optimizing, and automatically delivering improvements to all clients with every new release. So when you fill in the fields for a recipe or an event, Metro Publisher is generating the appropriate schema behind the scenes without you needing to write any code.
If you want to insert custom HTML for Schema markup, It is possible to do so, though it is a manual process.
You can modify/customize site header code:
- admin > settings > html embed > header html
Additionally, pro users can customize the site header on individual sections and/or content.To activate the header fields turn the fields on in:
- admin > settings > content
- Header Field for Section
- Header Field for Content
Once the fields are activated, the additional fields will appear on section/content forms.
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