Structured data
Machine-readable annotations on a page, usually Schema.org vocabulary in JSON-LD, that describe entities and make pages eligible for rich…
TechnicalJavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data
JSON-LD
A W3C-standard JSON syntax for linked data, embedded in a `<script type="application/ld+json">` block; Google's recommended structured data format.
In full
JSON-LD is preferred because it decouples markup from the DOM: the graph can be generated server-side or injected by tag management without touching templates. Entities are linked with @id references so an Article can reference its Organization publisher and a Product its Brand without duplication. Google reads JSON-LD injected by JavaScript, but only after rendering, so server-side output is more reliable.
Example
A single `@graph` block declares Organization, WebSite and BreadcrumbList once in the site footer template, referenced by @id from page-level types.
Related terms
Schema.org
A collaborative vocabulary of types and properties for structured data on the web, founded by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Yandex in 2011.
Microdata
An HTML attribute-based syntax (itemscope, itemtype, itemprop) for embedding structured data directly in visible markup.
RDFa
A W3C attribute syntax (vocab, typeof, property) for embedding RDF-based structured data in HTML; supported by Google but rarely used for…
Rich results
Search results enhanced with extra visual or interactive elements generated from structured data, such as star ratings, prices…
Where to read more
- Intro to How Structured Data Markup Works · Documentation · developers.google.com
- JSON-LD 1.1 W3C Recommendation · Standard · w3.org
- JSON-LD Project Site · Documentation · json-ld.org
- Schema.org Getting Started Guide · Documentation · schema.org