Structured Data (Schema)

Why It Matters

• It can earn you rich results. Pages with proper structured data are eligible for enhanced search listings — star ratings, product prices, FAQ dropdowns, event details, recipe cards, and more. These rich results take up more space on the results page and attract more clicks.
• It helps search engines understand your content. Without structured data, search engines have to guess what your page is about by analyzing text. Structured data removes the guesswork by explicitly labeling your content: this is a product, this is its price, and these are its reviews.
• It improves click-through rates. Rich results are visually more appealing and informative than standard blue links. Users can see ratings, prices, availability, and other details before clicking, which means the people who do click are more likely to find what they need.
• It future-proofs your content. As search engines evolve to include AI-powered answers, voice search, and other advanced features, structured data gives your content the best chance of being understood and surfaced in these new formats.

How to Implement It

1. Choose the right schema type. Visit schema.org to find the type that matches your content. Common types include Article, Product, FAQPage, LocalBusiness, Recipe, Event, and BreadcrumbList. Use the type that most accurately describes what your page contains.
2. Use JSON-LD format. JSON-LD is the recommended format because it sits in a script tag in the page head and does not intermingle with your HTML. This makes it easier to add, maintain, and debug compared to older formats like Microdata or RDFa.
3. Include all required properties. Each schema type has required and recommended properties. A Product needs a name and at least one of offers, review, or aggregateRating. An Article needs headline, image, and datePublished. Missing required properties means the structured data will not generate rich results.
4. Validate your markup. Use search engine validation tools to check your structured data for errors before publishing. These tools show you exactly what rich results your page is eligible for and flag any issues that would prevent them.
5. Keep it accurate and up to date. The information in your structured data must match what is visible on the page. If your page shows a price of $29 but your structured data says $19, that is a violation that can get your rich results removed.

Common Mistakes

• Marking up content that is not on the page. Structured data must describe content that users can actually see. Adding Review markup to a page with no visible reviews, or Product markup to a category page, misleads search engines and can result in penalties.
• Using the wrong schema type. Labeling a blog post as a Product, or an FAQ page as an Article, confuses search engines. Use the schema type that genuinely matches your page content, not the one you think will get the fanciest rich result.
• Ignoring validation errors. Structured data with syntax errors or missing required fields simply will not work. Always validate after making changes, and fix any warnings or errors the validator reports.
• Adding structured data and never updating it. Prices change, events end, and products go out of stock. If your structured data shows outdated information, search engines will eventually stop trusting it and may remove your rich results entirely.