Machine-readable markup that describes page content to search engines.
Structured data is standardised markup, usually JSON-LD based on the Schema.org vocabulary, that labels the meaning of content on a page. It does not change what users see; it tells search engines that this string is a price, this is a review rating, this is an FAQ, so they can display richer results and understand the page more reliably.
Google recommends JSON-LD placed in the page head or body. Correct schema can earn rich results (stars, FAQs, breadcrumbs, product details) and increasingly helps AI systems parse and cite your content.
Rich results stand out in the SERP and can lift click-through rate. Schema also feeds the knowledge graph and gives AI Overviews and assistants a clean, unambiguous source, which matters more as search shifts toward answer engines.
Marking up content that is not visible on the page, using schema types Google does not support for rich results, or leaving invalid markup that fails validation. Always test with the Rich Results Test and keep markup in sync with on-page content.
Structured data (usually Schema.org markup in JSON-LD) does not directly boost rankings, but it does two valuable things: it makes pages eligible for rich results — review stars, FAQs, product prices, breadcrumbs, sitelinks — that dramatically improve visibility and click-through, and it helps machines understand your content as entities rather than just text. As search shifts toward AI answers and knowledge panels, that machine-readable clarity is increasingly what determines whether you are understood, trusted and cited, not just ranked.
Use JSON-LD (Google's preferred format) rather than inline microdata, and only mark up content that is genuinely present and visible on the page — marking up content users cannot see is a spam violation that can trigger a manual action. Match the right type to the template (Product, Article, FAQPage, LocalBusiness, BreadcrumbList) and validate with Google's Rich Results Test. Rich results are earned, not guaranteed: valid markup makes you eligible, but Google decides when to show them.
A recipe site adds Recipe structured data — ingredients, cook time, ratings, calories — in JSON-LD in the page head, matching exactly what is visible on the page. It validates cleanly in the Rich Results Test. Over the following weeks, its listings begin showing rich results with review stars, cook time and a photo, and click-through rises sharply even without any change in ranking position, because the enhanced snippet is far more compelling than plain blue links around it. The team resists the temptation to mark up aggregate ratings that are not actually shown on the page — doing so would be a spam violation risking a manual action. The example shows the real mechanism of structured data: it does not lift rankings, it earns eligibility for a richer, more clickable result, and only for content genuinely present on the page.
Part of our defined terms knowledge graph — browse every entry in this branch.
A highlighted answer box pulled from a ranking page to the top of the SERP.
An HTML hint that tells search engines which URL is the master version of a page.
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trust — Google’s quality framework.
The credibility a site earns with search engines by covering a subject deeply and consistently.
A machine-readable list of your important URLs, submitted to help discovery.
Common questions
Straight answers on how this fits your marketing and build.
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