Structured Data
Structured data is machine-readable information added to a page to describe its content in a standardized format.
Search engines can use this information to better understand specific entities, properties, and relationships represented on the page.
What It Describes
Structured data can describe things such as:
- Organizations
- People
- Products
- Articles
- Events
- Breadcrumbs
- Recipes
- Job postings
- Local businesses
The vocabulary commonly used for this is provided through Schema.org, which is why structured data is often informally called schema markup.
How It Works
Structured data can be implemented in several formats.
JSON-LD is commonly used because the structured information can be placed separately from the visible HTML while still describing the page.
The markup should represent content that actually exists on the page.
Structured data supplements normal page content and Semantic HTML; it is not a replacement for either.
Why It Matters
Structured data can make important relationships more explicit to machines.
For supported search features, valid markup can also make a page eligible for enhanced search-result presentations.
Eligibility does not guarantee that an enhanced result will appear.
Common Problems
Common structured-data problems include:
- Markup that does not match visible content
- Missing required properties
- Incorrect property types
- Old markup remaining after page content changes
- Multiple plugins producing conflicting markup
- Using schema types simply because they seem advantageous
- Assuming structured data directly guarantees rankings or rich results
How to Improve
Choose schema types based on what the page actually represents.
Validate the implementation, inspect the rendered markup, and keep it synchronized with the visible content.
When templates change, structured data should be included in QA rather than treated as a one-time setup.