Structured data is a standard way to label the information on a page so that machines can read it without guessing: this is the business name, this is the address, this is the price. Most sites add it as a small block of JSON-LD code using the schema.org vocabulary. It can enable richer search results but guarantees nothing.
What does structured data do?
It removes guesswork. A person sees that "Utrecht" on your contact page is your location. A machine has to work that out. Google defines structured data as a standardised format for providing information about a page and classifying its content. It sits in your page's code and visitors don't see it. It's one of the things a readiness check for AI search looks at.
How do schema.org and JSON-LD fit together?
Schema.org is the vocabulary, the agreed words. JSON-LD is one way of writing them down. Think of it as language and handwriting.
| Term | What it is | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Schema.org | Shared vocabularies for marking up pages | Types such as Organization, with properties such as name |
| JSON-LD | A script block in the page | The format Google recommends |
| Microdata and RDFa | Attributes woven into the HTML | Also supported by Google |
| Rich result | An enhanced search listing | One possible outcome, not the purpose of every type |
A simple Organization block says, in code, roughly this:
| Property | Example value | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| @type | Organization | What this describes |
| name | Example Roofing Ltd | The business name |
| url | https://www.example.com | The official site |
| logo | https://www.example.com/logo.png | The logo file |
| sameAs | A link to your LinkedIn page | Other official profiles |
It's usually a few lines. A developer or a CMS adds it to the page template, so it stays correct when you edit the site.
Which types does a typical business need?
- [Organization](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/organization). Helps Google tell your business apart and can influence which logo it shows. Google says no property is required, and advises adding those that apply.
- [LocalBusiness](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/local-business). For a location customers visit. Google requires name and address, and it can feed details such as opening hours.
- Article, Product or Event. Only if you actually have such pages, and after checking Google's current documentation.
Be careful with old lists. Search features get retired. The FAQ rich result, for instance, stopped appearing in Google Search in 2026, so advice recommending it for that reason is out of date.
What are the rules?
The main one: describe only what's on the page. Google's guidelines say not to mark up content that's invisible to readers. Violations can make a page ineligible for rich results, either through quality issues or a manual action, though Google says such an action doesn't change regular ranking. Valid code isn't enough either. Google doesn't guarantee your markup will show up in results, even if it's correct.
So we use a simple check. If you read the markup out loud to a customer, would everything be true and visible on that page? If not, remove it.
How do you test it?
- Run a page through Google's Rich Results Test
- Use URL Inspection in Search Console to confirm Google found the markup
- Monitor the rich result status reports after launch
- Check it again after a redesign, since templates often get lost
- Compare prices, hours and addresses with the visible page
Does it help with AI search?
That's less clear than some advice suggests. Google says it isn't required for generative AI search but remains a good idea for overall SEO. For the full picture, see does schema markup help with AI search?. At 5DAYS, relevant structured data is included in our Complete and Signature websites, from €5,950 and €7,950, excluding VAT.
