Structured data: how to talk to Google
When you visit a website you see text, photos and buttons. Google sees something more: invisible code that explains, unambiguously, what each thing is. It is called structured data, and it is one of the least known SEO tools outside the industry.
What structured data is
It consists of small records, written in a format called JSON-LD, added to the page’s code. They state, for example, that this is a company with this name and logo, that this is an article published on a given date, or that a page describes a specific service.
The vocabulary used is schema.org, created in 2011 jointly by Google, Microsoft (Bing) and Yahoo, later joined by Yandex. In other words, it is a common language the major search engines understand.
What it is for
- Helping Google understand your website: who you are, what you offer, which area you serve and how your pages relate to each other.
- Rich results: product stars, breadcrumbs, event dates or business information shown alongside your results.
- Search engines and AI: assistants that summarise the web rely on clear, structured information to cite trustworthy sources.
What almost nobody tells you: not everything works as it used to
Google often changes which structured data it displays in special ways. For example, since 2023 expandable FAQ results are shown almost only for well-known government and health websites, and “how-to” results are no longer shown. Google also does not display review stars that a business publishes about itself.
That does not make structured data useless: it still helps Google and AI understand your content. But it pays to focus on the types that genuinely add value.
The types worth using today
- Organization or LocalBusiness: your company’s name, logo, contact details and service area.
- Product: price, availability and genuine ratings in online stores.
- Article or BlogPosting: author and dates of your articles.
- BreadcrumbList: each page’s path, which Google shows in its results.
- Event: dates and venue of your events.
How to check yours
Google offers the free Rich Results Test, and schema.org has its own validator. Just paste your website’s address to see which structured data it has and whether it contains errors. Search Console will also warn you if something breaks.
Structured data does not replace good content: it labels it so search engines understand it the first time.
It comes as standard on our websites
Every website we build includes structured data from day one, tailored to each page: company, services, articles, breadcrumbs and FAQs. It is part of our SEO service. If you would like us to review yours, get in touch.