Structured data is a standardized format for providing information about a page and classifying its content using vocabulary from schema.org. When implemented using JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data), it allows search engines to better understand your content and can enable rich results like star ratings, FAQ dropdowns, recipe cards, and event listings in search results.

Types of Structured Data

  • JSON-LD: Google's recommended format. A JavaScript block in the page head or body
  • Microdata: HTML attribute-based markup embedded directly in page content
  • RDFa: Similar to microdata but uses different attributes. Less common for SEO
Key point: Google strongly recommends JSON-LD over microdata or RDFa. JSON-LD is easier to implement, maintain, and debug because it lives in a separate script block rather than being intertwined with your HTML.
Structured Data Types Organization Business identity Name & Logo Contact Info Social Profiles Address Founded Date Content Page-level markup Article FAQ How-To Breadcrumb Product Rich Results Enhanced SERP display Review Stars Recipe Cards Event Listings Job Postings Video Objects

Common Schema Types for SEO

  • Article / NewsArticle: For blog posts and news content
  • Product: For ecommerce product pages with price, availability, reviews
  • FAQPage: Enables FAQ rich results with expandable questions
  • LocalBusiness: For local businesses with address, hours, reviews
  • BreadcrumbList: Shows breadcrumb navigation in search results
  • HowTo: For step-by-step instruction content
  • Organization: For company information, logo, social profiles
  • WebSite: For sitelinks search box in branded results

Why It Matters for SEO

Structured data is the bridge between your content and rich results. While Google does not use structured data as a direct ranking factor, the rich results it enables significantly improve click-through rates. Pages with rich snippets consistently outperform plain results. Additionally, structured data helps Google understand your content more accurately, which indirectly supports better rankings and is essential for appearing in AI-generated search features.