SEO Term Definition

Structured Data

Structured data is code added to web pages (typically JSON-LD) that helps search engines understand the content and can enable rich results like star ratings, FAQs, and prices in the SERP.

Reviewed by Alexander Yarovenko · Updated: 2026-09-18

What is Structured Data?

Structured data is a standardised format for providing explicit information about a page and classifying its content. It uses vocabularies like Schema.org to label elements — telling search engines not just what the text says, but what it means. Google uses structured data to power rich results in search.

Implementation Formats

Format	Recommended?	Notes
JSON-LD	✅ Yes (Google preferred)	Added in a <script> tag; easy to manage
Microdata	⚠️ Legacy	Embedded in HTML attributes
RDFa	⚠️ Legacy	More complex; used in some CMS platforms

Common Schema Types

Article — blog posts and news articles
Product — e-commerce items with price, availability, and reviews
FAQPage — FAQ sections that can appear as expandable results
LocalBusiness — name, address, phone, hours for local SEO
BreadcrumbList — breadcrumb trail shown in the SERP URL
HowTo — step-by-step instructions
Event — dates, location, and ticket info

JSON-LD Example

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [{
    "@type": "Question",
    "name": "What is structured data?",
    "acceptedAnswer": {
      "@type": "Answer",
      "text": "Structured data is code that helps search engines understand page content."
    }
  }]
}
</script>

Testing Structured Data

Use the Google Rich Results Test (search.google.com/test/rich-results) to validate your markup and preview how rich results might appear. Note: valid markup qualifies you for rich results but does not guarantee them.

How to use this concept in SEO

Structured data clarifies visible entities and relationships, but it cannot rescue weak or hidden content. Use the most specific supported type, keep markup synchronized with the page, and validate after deployment.

Audit checklist

Confirm that the implementation matches the page purpose and the user task.
Check the HTTP response, rendered HTML, canonical, robots rules, and internal links together.
Use Search Console and analytics to verify the result instead of relying on one crawler signal.
Test a representative URL on mobile and desktop after deployment.
Document the expected outcome so regressions can be detected in the next audit.

Practical example

A product page marks up the same name, price, availability, and reviews users can see; invented ratings are never added only for search engines.

How to validate the result

Record the current crawl, indexation, performance, and traffic state before changing anything. Recheck the affected template and a representative URL after deployment, then monitor Search Console over the following crawl cycle. A technical change is complete only when the live response and Google’s observed state agree.

Primary source

Google Search Central / web.dev

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