Ever search on Google and you wonder how they got their own little "information box", or how they got featured images for that product? Or even who made it?
While my info box flagship photo is extremely ugly (there was no listing of the actual dimensions -- I updated it recently, but hasn't updated yet). However, the point! It's there!
There is no place to "submit" your schema (although you can push a refresh in Google Search Console; more later): Google crawlers (BOTs) will pick it up in a special "json-ld" format on your website. It's essentially a json format following schema.org -- eg, https://schema.org/VideoGame
BUT, there's very little info on HOW to do it! So frustrating! Well, I did the trial+error so you don't have to (since it's also difficult to know if you did it right since it doesn't actually show up for weeks to months to even a year). Just throw (below) this in your html header and edit to your own stuff. Use the screenshot above to compare to see what shows up. There are probably more useful things I haven't added yet (and I just recently updated this, so not everything reflects the screenshot). Also open my image links to get sample dimensions of what you should use (there may be better out there, but couldn't find it).
Before I spam the code, it's also important to note that I'm testing out some German localization, too. I actually have a full, separate one for my traditional Chinese one. To see it, just CTRL+F our source code @ https://www.throneoflies.com/tw for an example localization schema.
Be sure to lint your json file to ensure it didn't break! One err and nothing will be readable! Don't be fancy and try to embed it - Google can't read links to json-ld. And yes, I started with an array to list multiple Schema types to include Product, VideoGame, and info about the company.
*If you guys find additions/fixes to my template below, give me a shoutout! This data is super confusing and any guides are horrible. This simply "works" and I'd like to improve it. I feel that every schema obj supports [] arrays, so maybe you can add multiple screenshots, multiple resolution box arts ...? Let me know, if you find out!
<!-- START Google/YouTube Gaming/Schemas via json-ld -->
<script type="application/ld+json">
[{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "VideoGame",
"name": [{
"@language": "en",
"@value": "Throne of Lies®"
},
{
"@language": "de",
"@value": "Throne of Lies® Das Onlinespiel des Lügens & Betrügens"
}
],
"description": [{
"@language": "en",
"@value": "The 3D online multiplayer game of social deduction and mischief, inspired by medieval politics and the Werewolf/Mafia (1986) genre. Gather 'round the tabletop, uniting allies of the realm with strategy to distinguish friend from foe."
},
{
"@language": "de",
"@value": "Das Onlinespiel des Lügens & Betrügens ist ein Mehrspieler-Onlinespiel, inspiriert vom Werwolf-/Mafiagenre sowie mittelalterlicher Politik. Bis zu 15 Spieler können gleichzeitig spielen. Spielbar ist es auf PC, Mac oder Linux Systemen. Eine Early-Alpha-Phase (für Kickstarter-Unterstützer und frühe Benutzer) wird im vierten Quartal 2016+ erwartet."
}
],
"genre": [
"Role-playing",
"Choices",
"Strategy",
"Party game",
"Fantasy"
],
"url": "https://www.ThroneOfLies.com",
"dateCreated": "2017-09-27",
"discussionUrl": "https://discord.gg/tol",
"image": "https://www.throneoflies.com/images/GoogleSchema/tol-googleSchemaPoster-1024x1440.min.png",
"screenshot": "https://www.throneoflies.com/images/GoogleSchema/screenshot-fhd.min.jpg",
"sameAs": [
"https://tol.wikia.com",
"https://www.youtube.com/ThroneOfLiesGame",
"https://store.steampowered.com/app/595280/Throne_of_Lies_The_Online_Game_of_Deceit/",
"https://twitch.tv/ThroneOfLiesGame",
"https://discord.gg/tol",
"https://forum.imperium42.com",
"https://www.twitch.tv/directory/game/Throne%20of%20Lies%3A%20The%20Online%20Game%20of%20Deceit"
],
"trailer": {
"@type": "VideoObject",
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IVp5qs0IxQ",
"inLanguage": "en",
"name": "Throne of Lies® Gameplay Trailer",
"description": "Gameplay trailer v2.0: Join us in Discord @ https://discord.gg/tol",
"thumbnailUrl": "https://img.youtube.com/vi/6IVp5qs0IxQ/maxresdefault.jpg",
"uploadDate": "2018-11-26"
},
"publisher": "Imperium42®",
"Director": "Dylan Hunt",
"numberOfPlayers": {
"minValue": 8,
"maxValue": 16
},
"applicationCategory": "Game",
"operatingSystem": [
"Windows",
"OSX",
"Linux"
],
"gameTip": "https://tol.wikia.com",
"gamePlatform": "https://store.steampowered.com/app/595280/Throne_of_Lies_The_Online_Game_of_Deceit/",
"playMode": "mutli-player",
"exampleOfWork": [{
"@type": "VideoGame",
"applicationCategory": "Game",
"operatingSystem": [
"Windows",
"OSX",
"Linux"
],
"gamePlatform": [
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windows",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh_operating_systems",
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux"
],
"contentRating": "ESRB Rating Pending"
}]
},
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Organization",
"url": "https://www.ThroneOfLies.com",
"email": "support(at)imperium42.com",
"name": "Imperium42®"
},
{
"@context": "https://schema.org/",
"@type": "Product",
"name": "Throne of Lies®",
"image": "https://www.throneoflies.com/images/GoogleSchema/box-512.min.png",
"description": "The 3D online multiplayer game of social deduction and mischief, inspired by medieval politics and the Werewolf/Mafia (1986) genre. Gather 'round the tabletop, uniting allies of the realm with strategy to distinguish friend from foe.",
"brand": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Imperium42®"
},
"offers": {
"@type": "Offer",
"priceCurrency": "USD",
"price": "9.99",
"priceValidUntil": "2024-11-05",
"itemCondition": "https://schema.org/NewCondition",
"availability": "https://schema.org/InStock",
"seller": [{
"@type": "Steam",
"name": "Game Key"
},
{
"@type": "Imperium42®",
"name": "Game Key"
}
]
}
}
]
</script>
<!-- END json-ld -->EDIT: Oh yeah! Google Search Console! Find this @ http://search.google.com/search-console -- once you do this, you can click on the left nav's "Unparsable Structured Data" to see if there are any errors, once the crawler has picked it up at least once:
There are probably other sites that can detect what Google sees -- if you know of these sites, let me know!
