Schema.org Microdata or Microformats - Which Should We Use

[CSawatzky]

Hi All,

I'm wondering what would be the better alternative - schema.org microdata or microformats. I am aware that search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing recognize Schema.org as the standard. Question is, will it have any negative affect? Our web developer here says that schema.org microdata may result in negative html. I don't think that it will affect our SEO, but I guess that's also something to shed some light on.

So, what's the consensus here - should we implement schema.org or go with microformats - or, does it really make any difference?

[vmialik]

Hi Pedram,

You are correct when you say Schema.org is the standard by the major search engines.

Here's a great discussion on the subject here: http://programmers.stackexchange.com/questions/166612/schema-org-vs-microformats

Hope this helps

[EmpireToday]

i think the case can be made for any of the three main formats.  all have their pros & cons, but Google recommends schema.org microdata

https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/99170?hl=en

structured data offers search engines more information about the site.  more information they can use to evaluate the relevancy of your site to a query as well as the depth of content for a richer snippet. as far as it negatively affecting SEO, i would say take the same precautions as you would with any other tactic.  implement it as cleanly & honestly as possible.  if it's done with (perceived) manipulation for the sole purpose of better rankings it can negatively affect the a website's SEO.  but that's just a good rule of thumb regardless of the tactic.