What is Structured Data & Schema?
Structured data is a standardised way to label the information on your page so machines understand it exactly. Schema.org is the shared vocabulary, and JSON-LD is the format Google recommends. Get it right and you unlock rich results and become easier for AI to cite.
The problem it solves
To a human, a page clearly shows a product name, price and rating. To a machine, it is just text. Structured data removes the guesswork by explicitly labelling each piece of information — “this is the price”, “this is the rating” — using a shared vocabulary called Schema.org.
Schema, structured data and JSON-LD
- Schema.org — the vocabulary (the words like
Product,Article,FAQPage). - Structured data — the concept of marking up your content with that vocabulary.
- JSON-LD — the format Google recommends for writing it: a small block of JavaScript-object notation in your page.
Why it matters in 2026
Structured data does two big jobs today. First, it makes you eligible for rich results (star ratings, FAQs, images, prices in the SERP) that lift click-through rate. Second, it helps AI systems (Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity) understand and trust your content, making you easier to cite. It does not directly boost rankings, but everything it enables does.
Search “lasagna recipe”. The results with a star rating, cook time and photo are using Recipe schema. The plain blue links next to them are not. Same ranking position, very different click-through rate.
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "What is Structured Data?",
"author": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Naryon Tech"
},
"datePublished": "2026-01-15",
"image": "https://example.com/cover.jpg"
}
</script>Paste this in your page’s <head>. It tells Google exactly who wrote the article, when, and its headline.
Notice @context (always schema.org) and @type (what the thing is). Every property after that describes it. This is the pattern for every schema type.
Pro tips
- Use JSON-LD, not Microdata — it is Google’s recommended format and far easier to maintain.
- Only mark up content that is actually visible on the page. Marking up hidden content is against the guidelines.
- Match the schema type to the page: Product for product pages, Article for blog posts, LocalBusiness for your contact page.
Common mistakes
- Adding schema for content that is not on the page (can cause a manual penalty).
- Leaving required properties out, so the rich result never shows.
- Assuming schema directly boosts rankings — it enables features, it is not a ranking factor by itself.
Structured data labels your content using the Schema.org vocabulary, written in JSON-LD. It makes you eligible for rich results and helps search and AI understand and cite you. It is not a direct ranking factor, but what it unlocks is powerful.