Structured data (schema.org)
Structured data is code added to a page, usually in JSON-LD, that describes its content to search engines in a standard vocabulary (schema.org): organization, article, FAQ, product, reviews.
Definition
Structured data translates a page's content into a format that machines can read without ambiguity. The reference vocabulary, schema.org, was launched in 2011 by Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo, and was later joined by Yandex.
How it works
The format recommended by Google is JSON-LD: a block of code placed on the page, separate from the visible content. It is used, for example, to declare that a page is an article, to specify its author and date, or to indicate that a company has a specific address and offers certain services.
This information can trigger rich results in Google (breadcrumbs, events, products) and helps AI identify the facts on a page.
Why it matters for your site
Structured data does not boost a page's ranking on its own, but it prevents misunderstandings about who you are and what you offer. Google has also restricted certain displays: since August 2023, rich FAQ results have been reserved for official and health-related websites.
The We-R perspective
An incorrect schema does more harm than no schema at all. The most common errors we encounter during audits are information declared in the code but missing from the page, or a schema type that does not match the content. Our rule: the schema must describe exactly what the page displays, nothing more.
Learn more
See also:AEO, llms.txt, Core Web Vitals. And to put it into practice: our SEO & GEO consulting services.
Sources: schema.org (launched in 2011) · Google Search Central, introduction to structured data · Google, changes to FAQ and HowTo results (August 2023).
Last updated: October 2026.
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