Structured Data
What Structured Data Tells Search Engines
Structured data is information added to a web page in a standard, machine-readable format, so that search engines can tell what the content is about. Schema markup is the most common way to write it, using the vocabulary published at schema.org.
Normal page text is written for people. A search engine that reads “Ages 8 and up, about 45 minutes” has to guess whether it describes a minimum age, a play time or a price. Structured data removes that guesswork by stating the meaning directly: this item is a board game, its suggested age is 8 and up, and its duration is 45 minutes.
The markup describes what is already on the page. It does not change how the page looks to visitors. The enhanced listings that this data can unlock are explained in the rich results article.
Common Schema.org Types and What They Describe
Schema.org defines hundreds of types. Some of the most widely used on websites are:
- Organization and LocalBusiness, for a company’s name, logo, contact details and opening hours.
- Article and BlogPosting, for news items and blog posts, with headline, author and publication date.
- Product, for an item for sale, with name, description, price and availability.
- Event, for dates, venues and ticket details.
- BreadcrumbList, for the path from the homepage to the current page.
Each type has its own properties, and search engines document which ones they need. Markup can be written in several formats, and the differences are explained in the comparison of JSON-LD, Microdata and RDFa.
A Local Bakery’s Business Markup
A bakery with one shop wants people to find its address and opening hours directly in search. It adds LocalBusiness markup to its contact page. The markup states the business name, street address, telephone number, opening hours and the address of its logo.
The information matches what the page already shows to visitors. When the shop closes early on Sundays, the page text and the markup are both updated. A search engine that reads the markup can connect the business to location searches with less guesswork than it needs for scattered text.
Keeping Markup Accurate and Within Guidelines
Markup must describe content that visitors can actually see on the page. Marking up reviews that do not appear on the page, or inventing a rating, breaks search engine guidelines and can lead to a manual action, which is a penalty applied after a human review. Markup that is simply invalid is usually ignored instead.
Markup should be checked after each change. Search engines provide testing tools, and schema.org publishes a validator. Errors often come from templates that output empty fields, such as a product with no price, or from two plugins adding conflicting markup to the same page.
Structured data also needs to stay current. A rating or price that changes on the page should change in the markup at the same time.
Frequently asked questions
Does structured data improve rankings directly?
Not in a direct way. Structured data helps search engines understand a page, and it can make the page eligible for enhanced results, which may attract more clicks. It does not guarantee a higher position, and the quality and relevance of the content still matter most.
Is schema markup the same as structured data?
Schema markup is one kind of structured data. Structured data is the general idea of machine-readable information on a page, while schema markup refers to the vocabulary from schema.org. Other vocabularies exist, but schema.org is the one that major search engines recognize most widely.
Can wrong structured data lead to a penalty?
Accidental errors usually mean the markup is ignored, with no penalty. Deliberately misleading markup, such as fake reviews or details that are not on the page, can trigger a manual action. That can remove enhanced results and, in serious cases, affect how the site is shown more broadly.