If you want a high-performance website for your Internet business – then you need to understand Semantic Standards (Web 3.0) & the implications.
Semantic Web Standards may sound complex, but at the wholistic level, they’re easy to apply.
You apply the standards across your website with construction & SEO techniques, using plugins like Rank Math for better searchability.
Semantic Web Standards
By applying Semantic Web Standards (SWS) with structured data, you improve search engine’s understanding of a site’s purpose & relevancy.
“SWS are a set of guidelines & technologies created by W3C to make web data machine-readable.”
W3C created standards & guidelines to build a web based on principles of accessibility, privacy, & security.
“Their goal was to create a Web of Data that is machine readable, through structured data processing.”
Key technologies included Resource Description Framework for information, Web Ontology Language for relationships, & SPARQL for RDF data.
“Advocates follow SWS to improve website searchability, interoperability, & data sharing.”
Adding SWS to a web page, e.g. Schema Markup, primary keywords, page titles, meta descriptions, H1 tags, & image alt text, assists search understanding.
SWS assists the sharing of data across different sources – think search results pulling data from websites, Google Business Profile, & social media.
1. Using Semantic Sections
Data sharing across websites, directories, & social media is a key benefit of structured data.
If you’re using WP there’s builder features & SEO plugins to support structure data implementation.
“One example is adding Sections in web pages, for sub-topics using the metatag <section>.”
It’s good practice to use Sections to segment pages into sub-topics with the <section> metatag to support search engine understanding.
Some sub-topic examples are; services, features, testimonials, examples, portfolio, pricing, & FAQs – each with a <section> metatag.
This structure provides context helping search engines to understand the web page, & it improves accessibility for impaired visitors.
“Always remember when your sub-topic changes, add a new Section & tag with your website builder.”
If you’re using Bricks builder, the Section element is enhanced – as Bricks automatically tags Sections & enables the tagging of other elements.
Sections also provide predefined spacing when using Bricks builder, so adding them assists page spacing.
2. Using Schema Markup
Schema Markup (SM) was developed in 2011, as a collaboration between Google, Microsoft, Yahoo & Yandex, to implement a structured data framework.
“Schema Markup improves a page’s visibility, making it more understandable to search engines.”
The markup defines the content on web pages in a format called metadata that enables machines to read & understand the data.
You determine which markup is best to apply to your web pages, e.g. for services, articles, products, events, by reviewing Schema.org & using a plugin.
“There are several WP plugins that add Schema Markup like Rank Math SEO.”
SM is auto placed in your web page using one of the supported formats – JSON-LD, Microdata, or RDFa.
I use SM tags like “@type”: “WebSite” for Home page, “@type”: “Service” for Services pages, & “@type”: “BlogPosting”, “datePublished” for articles.
“SM has categories for Local Businesses, Pages, Articles, Authors, Orgs. & more.”
When I publish an article with SM, e.g. “BlogPosting”, “Author”, & “Publisher” are a few of the tags added by Rank Math SEO.
SM is mandatory for important YMYL articles on medical, health, or financial information.
Add Rich Snippets For Local Business
SM helps search engines create richer author snippets, of an individual’s work, bio, & social profiles.
Website SM for Local Business is critical & tags your business type, NAP data, open hours/days, & URL.
Next time you search your name or business, when it displays, ask yourself is it accurate & pulling from SM or social media?
“Stand out with Local Business SM to enhance a rich snippet in the SERPs.”
SM for Local Businesses helps search engines understand your information, which can improve visibility in Google Maps & their Local Pack.
Adding SM for Local Business, NAP metadata, & your Google Business Profile is critical for a new business.
Find your Local Business category from Schema.org.
SBMarketer is a coaching & consulting business, so type “Service” is appropriate.
If you’re an entrepreneur in a new Internet business make sure your SM is managed with a plugin applying semantic web standards.
3. Using Open Graph
Open Graph (OG) enables web pages to become rich objects & controls how your content appears when shared on Facebook & other social media.
“Open Graph is a subset of SWS, created by Facebook to enhance web page displays & boost engagement.”
OG ensures your content displays with the right title, description, & image on LinkedIn, making your posts more engaging to potential clients
Open Graph (OG) uses RDF in attributes (RDFa) to embed structured data in pages.
In WordPress, SEO plugins like Rank Math typically manage OG tags automatically & can be checked before publishing.
But it’s still good to see how your content shares on social media after publishing.
OG boosts social media referrals to a page by giving the appearance of a well-designed card display with a title, description, & image.
OG code examples:
- “og:locale” content = “en_us” for US English;
- “og:type” content = “article” for blogs;
- “og:title” content = “Page title;”
- “og:description” content=”Page description;”
- “og:image” content = “Hero image URL.”
If you’re an entrepreneur in a new Internet business make sure your OG is managed with a plugin applying semantic web standards.
4. Using Twitter Card
Twitter Card (TC) is a subset of SWS (like OG), making it easier for Twitter’s crawler to display content.
“Twitter Card was developed by Twitter for enhancing website appearances & sharing via structured data in web pages.”
Twitter offers four types – a Card with thumbnail, a Card with large image, an App Card for direct downloading, & Player Card for video & media.
Remember to check your TC metadata before you publish by using a plugin like Rank Math or similar.
After publishing, use Twitter’s composer (replaced validator tool) to check how your card displays.
Do this by drafting a Tweet with the URL of your article or page to see how it displays.
Twitter code examples:
- “twitter:card” content=”summary_large_image;”
- “twitter:title” content=”Page title;”
- “twitter:description” content=”Page description;”
- “twitter:image” content=”Hero image URL;”
- “twitter:data1″ content=”Troy Miller.”
If you’re an entrepreneur in a new Internet business make sure your TC is managed with a plugin applying semantic web standards.
How Semantic Standards Help UX & SEO
Semantic Web Standards like page Sections (tagged ) guide readers on key topics & help search engines understand the hierarchy of ideas.
Schema Markup gives search engines clearer context about content, improving indexing & displays.
Rich Snippets enhance search results by showing extra details such as ratings, author bios, or FAQs, boosting click‑through rates.
Open Graph ensures your pages look polished when shared on Facebook & LinkedIn, increasing traffic.
Twitter Cards provide same benefits on X, turning plain links into engaging previews improving visibility & engagement.
When building a website or publishing articles – ask how can I tag this information to achieve Semantic Web Standards?
“Semantic Sections, Schema Markup, OG & TC when building & optimising websites is essential”
When it’s time for SEO add Schema Markup, OG, & TC to improve your searchability & shareability.
Check your pages & posts when publishing to see if the SM, OG, & TC metatags are correct in your page source code & by test posting in socials.
Achieving Semantic Web Standards
Semantic Web Standards like Schema Markup improve the effectiveness of search engines to deliver on search queries.
You can see from these 4 Semantic Standards, it’s not that hard to apply them.
Get an SEO plugin like Rank Math to handle most of these, & provide better shared displays in socials.
To see examples of my SM, OG, or TC metatags on this page – in Chrome, right click on the page, & select “View Page Source.”
Alternatively try sharing this article on social media.
If you need assistance adding SM, OG, or TC metatags to your website, send me an email with your URL & request for assistance.
What is your favourite Semantic Web Standard? Let me know in the comments below.
Let’s Rank High Punters!
