Need a layman's definition/analogy of the difference between schema and structured data

[RosemaryB]

I'm currently writing a blog post about schema.  However I want to set the record straight that schema is not exactly the same as structured data, although both are often used interchangeably.  I understand this schema.org is a vocabulary of global identifiers for properties and things.   Structured data is what Google officially stated as "a standard way to annotate your content so machines can understand it..."

Does anybody know of a good analogy to compare the two?

Thanks!

[MattRoney]

Hi Rosemary! There's actually a pretty decent explanation here: https://moz.com/learn/seo/schema-structured-data

Structured data is a system of pairing a name with a value that helps search engines categorize and index your content. Microdata is one form of structured data that works with HTML5. Schema.org is a project that provides a particular set of agreed-upon definitions for microdata tags.

Does that make sense?

[RosemaryB]

Yes, thank you.  However I'm looking for a simple layman's analogy.  Most of the blog post readers are not going to be able to comprehend the technical aspects.

[MattRoney]

Well, let's see. Structured data in this sense comes down to a method of labelling elements of your site in order to clarify what they are for search engine crawlers, microdata is a form of structured data that works in HTML5, and Schema is a standard for microdata. So Schema is microdata is structured data. All Schema (in this use) is structured data, but not all structured data is Schema.

Maybe something like, if structured data represents all the team sports in the world, and microdata represents every game intended to be played on a football pitch, then Schema may be the Laws of the Game—the standard rules for international soccer.

Also, go Seattle Sounders!

[BeanstalkIM]

Hi Rosemary, Dave here.

I like to think of it like our addressing system.  Because we all use the same system and format for our addresses on an envelope we don't need a code to tell us but as you know ... everyone displays their product information and other data differently on a page. Because of that the engines can have difficulty telling what bit of data is what.  Is "blue" the color of the product, the color of the screen or simply used on the page in a "Don't feel blue ... buy XYZ !"

Structured data, as Matt well-noted, is just an idea really of matching information with what it means.  Like saying "blue" = "product color".

Of course, that's all well-and-good but we can all build our own systems and many have been.  If we're all using different systems then nothing makes sense so folks got together and created Schema.org simply as a body that could help create a standard.  Like saying, "on an envelop you put the name first, then the address, then the city, then the state, then the zip code".  If we put things on the envelop differently things would get messy so Schema basically gives us the instruction on how to pass information across.  Schema isn't the idea or even the data, it's the instructions on how to tell Google what specific data means.

Clear as mud?