White Hat Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Structured Web Data for Libraries

Abstract

“White hat” search engine optimization refers to the practice of publishing web pages that are useful to humans, while enabling search engines and web applications to better understand the structure and content of your website. This article teaches you to add structured data to your website so that search engines can more easily connect patrons to your library locations, hours, and contact information. A web page for a branch of the Greater Sudbury Public Library retrieved in January 2015 is used as the basis for examples that progressively enhance the page with structured data. Finally, some of the advantages structured data enables beyond search engine optimization are explored.