Structured Data

Structured data is code added to a page that describes its content in a machine-readable, standardized way, typically using the Schema.org vocabulary. Instead of leaving engines to infer meaning from text alone, it explicitly states that a page is, for example, an article with a specific author and date, or a product with a price and rating.

Google recommends the JSON-LD format, a block of code in the page that describes the content without altering the visible layout. This clarity helps both search engines and AI systems interpret the page correctly.

Structured data makes pages eligible for rich results like review stars, FAQs, and product details, which improve visibility and click-through rate. It also strengthens entity understanding, helping engines connect your content to the right concepts in their knowledge graph.

For AI search, structured data is increasingly valuable. It helps generative engines parse and attribute your content, and pages with schema such as FAQPage tend to be cited more often, making structured data a lever for both traditional and AI visibility.

Identify the schema types that match your content, such as Article, FAQPage, HowTo, Product, or Organization, and add them as JSON-LD in the page. Ensure the markup accurately reflects the visible content, since mismatched or deceptive data violates guidelines.

Validate with Google's Rich Results Test and the Schema.org validator, and monitor the Enhancements reports in Search Console. Generators can produce valid markup quickly, and publishing systems can apply appropriate schema automatically as you scale.