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What Is Structured Data?
Structured data is a standardized format for providing information about a page and
classifying its content. Search engines use it to understand pages better and display
rich results — star ratings, FAQs, breadcrumbs, product prices, and more in search results.
The most common format is JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data),
embedded in a <script type="application/ld+json"> tag.
Common Schema.org Types
| Type | Rich Result | Required Properties |
|---|---|---|
| Article | Top stories carousel | headline, image, datePublished, author |
| FAQPage | FAQ accordion in SERP | mainEntity (Question + Answer) |
| Product | Price, availability, ratings | name, offers |
| BreadcrumbList | Breadcrumb trail in URL | itemListElement (ListItem) |
| HowTo | Step-by-step in SERP | name, step |
| SoftwareApplication | App rating, price | name, applicationCategory, offers |
Valid JSON-LD Example
JSON
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "FAQPage",
"mainEntity": [
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "What is structured data?",
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "Structured data is a standardized format for providing information about a page to search engines."
}
}
]
}Validation Checklist
- Valid JSON syntax (no trailing commas, properly quoted keys)
@contextset tohttps://schema.org- Required properties present for the schema type
- Image URLs are absolute (not relative)
- Dates in ISO 8601 format (
2026-03-22) - No markup in text fields (plain text only)