What is Structured Data?

What Is Structured Data?

Structured data is a standardized format for providing information about a web page and its content. It uses specific vocabulary — primarily Schema.org — to label content so search engines can understand not just what the words say, but what they mean.

Without structured data, Google sees a page with text, images, and links. With structured data, Google understands that a specific string of text is a product price, that a date is an event start time, or that a name is the author of an article.

The most common format is JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data), which Google recommends. It is added as a script tag in the page’s HTML head or body.

Example JSON-LD for an article:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "BlogPosting",
  "headline": "What Is Structured Data?",
  "author": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Jane Smith"
  },
  "datePublished": "2026-06-08"
}

Why Structured Data Matters

Rich Results in Search

Structured data enables rich results — enhanced search listings that include additional visual elements and information:

Rich Result Type	What Appears	Schema Type
Star ratings	Review stars and count	AggregateRating
Product prices	Price and availability	Product
Recipe cards	Image, cook time, calories	Recipe
Event listings	Date, time, location	Event
FAQ dropdowns	Expandable Q&A	FAQPage
How-to steps	Numbered instructions	HowTo
Breadcrumb navigation	Category path	BreadcrumbList
Video thumbnails	Play button and duration	VideoObject
Local business info	Address, hours, phone	LocalBusiness

Key statistic: Pages with rich results see 20-30% higher click-through rates than standard listings (Search Engine Journal).

Knowledge Graph Inclusion

Structured data helps Google identify entities (people, places, organizations, things) and add them to the Knowledge Graph. This can trigger Knowledge Panels — the information boxes that appear on the right side of search results for notable entities.

Voice Search Optimization

Voice assistants like Google Assistant rely heavily on structured data to provide direct answers. A page with clear FAQ schema is more likely to be read aloud as a voice search answer.

Machine-Readable Context

As AI-powered search evolves, structured data becomes even more important. Google’s AI systems use structured data to understand page context, extract facts, and generate AI Overview citations.

Common Schema Types

Content Schemas

Schema	Use For	Key Properties
Article / BlogPosting	Blog posts, news articles	headline, author, datePublished, image
FAQPage	FAQ sections	mainEntity (question + acceptedAnswer)
HowTo	Step-by-step guides	step, tool, supply, totalTime
Recipe	Cooking recipes	recipeIngredient, recipeInstructions, cookTime
VideoObject	Embedded videos	name, description, thumbnailUrl, uploadDate

Business Schemas

Schema	Use For	Key Properties
LocalBusiness	Local businesses	name, address, telephone, openingHours
Organization	Companies and orgs	name, logo, url, sameAs (social profiles)
Person	Individual profiles	name, jobTitle, worksFor, alumniOf

E-commerce Schemas

Schema	Use For	Key Properties
Product	Product pages	name, image, offers (price, availability), brand
AggregateRating	Review summaries	ratingValue, reviewCount
Review	Individual reviews	author, reviewRating, reviewBody
Offer	Pricing details	price, priceCurrency, availability

Navigation Schemas

Schema	Use For	Key Properties
BreadcrumbList	Breadcrumb navigation	itemListElement (position, name, item)
WebSite	Site search	url, potentialAction (search action)
SiteNavigationElement	Navigation menus	name, url

How to Implement Structured Data

Method 1: JSON-LD (Recommended)

Add a script tag to your page’s HTML:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "LocalBusiness",
  "name": "Smith Plumbing",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "123 Main St",
    "addressLocality": "Austin",
    "addressRegion": "TX",
    "postalCode": "78701"
  },
  "telephone": "(555) 123-4567"
}
</script>

Pros: Easy to implement, keeps markup separate from content, Google-recommended

Method 2: Microdata

Embed schema attributes directly in HTML tags:

<div itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/LocalBusiness">
  <span itemprop="name">Smith Plumbing</span>
  <div itemprop="address" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/PostalAddress">
    <span itemprop="streetAddress">123 Main St</span>
  </div>
</div>

Pros: Tightly coupled with visible content Cons: Harder to maintain, clutters HTML

Method 3: RDFa

Similar to microdata but using different attribute syntax. Less commonly used for SEO purposes.

Structured Data Testing Tools

Tool	Purpose	URL
Google’s Rich Results Test	Test specific schema types	search.google.com/test/rich-results
Schema Markup Validator	General schema validation	validator.schema.org
Google Search Console	Monitor structured data issues	search.google.com/search-console
Merkle’s Schema Markup Generator	Generate schema code	technicalseo.com/tools/schema-markup-generator

Common Structured Data Mistakes

Mistake 1: Adding schema for content not on the page.

Google considers this spam. If you add Product schema, the product details must be visible to users on the page.

Mistake 2: Inaccurate or misleading data.

Fake reviews, incorrect prices, or wrong dates in schema can trigger manual penalties.

Mistake 3: Conflicting schema types.

Using multiple schema types that contradict each other confuses search engines.

Mistake 4: Missing required properties.

Each schema type has required properties. Missing these prevents rich results from appearing.

Mistake 5: Implementing schema but not requesting indexing.

After adding structured data, submit the URL for indexing in Google Search Console or wait for Google to recrawl.

Related Terms

• Schema Markup
• Rich Snippets
• JSON-LD
• Google Search Console
• Knowledge Graph