Structured Data (Structured Data) is the markup of a web page’s content using the Schema.org vocabulary so that search engines can understand it in a machine-readable format. It is the same concept as Schema markup.
The main advantages of adding structured data are:
- Rich Snippet: Enhanced display in search results (stars, price, recipe, video preview).
- Knowledge Graph: A chance for brand and organization information to appear in the knowledge panel on the right.
- Voice Search: Becoming a source of information snippets in voice searches.
- AI answers: AI assistants like ChatGPT and Perplexity using structured data as a priority source.
Three main formats:
- JSON-LD: Google’s preferred format; embedded into HTML as a
<script>block. - Microdata: Markup with HTML attributes; an older format.
- RDFa: Designed for XHTML; rarely used.
Common schema types: Article, Product, Recipe, FAQPage, BreadcrumbList, Organization, LocalBusiness, Event, Course, Review.
Tip: Validate your structured data with Google’s “Rich Results Test” tool. Invalid structured data provides no benefit; a common mistake is missing required fields.