Google adds structured data for perspectives, forums

Some news for SEOs that like to dig into code and improve their standing, as Google has added support for more structured data.

They’re new additions to what Google will read, even if the structured data being talked about isn’t that new, though it could be ideal for publications and forums alike, particularly with how Google is shaping its engine.

Much like when Ratatouille‘s Anton Ego craves some fresh, clear, well-seasoned perspective, so too does Google, gleaning perspectives from known and established writers, and helping its Knowledge Graph systems to join some dots.

One addition doing just that is ProfilePage, which according to Schema.org is a variation on WebPage, and will be used like a way to understand author details on the author page. It means you can expect details to contribute to what Google knows about an author, such as social names, a profile photo, and in turn connect to follower counts.

According to Google’s demo structured data for ProfilePage, this seems mainly skewed towards forums and discussion groups, and that’s fitting given the other type of data being added directly deals with that: forums.

Specifically, it’s the addition of DiscussionForumPosting, a structured data type coming out of a variant of Article types and covering the topic and comments built from the text of what’s there.

Think of this as a way for Google to understand what’s being said in the discussion group without having to necessarily index every bit of information on the page.

How will these add perspective to Google?

According to Google, the additions of ProfilePage and DiscussionForumPosting will help Google Search understand both the author and the posting more clearly, as well as the popularity of content, and likely works in tandem with Google’s announcement earlier in the year on how perspectives were being connected to the rest of the search experience.

It’s worth noting that just because Google is adding these structured data types, there’s no guarantee that you including them will give you some extra search listing juice, nor that it will even guarantee appearance.

However, if you’re like me and you’re always looking for any possible extra way to impress upon Google to importance of your content, structured data is definitely one thing that can work to your advantage. And now, there just happens to be a little more that you can use.