Structured data is a small block of code that describes your page in a standard vocabulary, called schema.org. Instead of making search engines guess that a page is about a plumber in Naperville or a product that costs forty dollars, you state it plainly.
The most common format is JSON-LD. It is a tidy block of labeled facts placed in the page’s code. Visitors never see it. Search engines read it.
Why it matters
Clear structured data helps search engines connect the dots: your business name, your logo, your location, your products, your articles. It can make some pages eligible for richer search listings, such as product prices or breadcrumb trails instead of a plain URL. And it gives AI-powered search tools a cleaner picture of who you are.
Structured data doesn’t make a weak page strong. It makes a good page easier to understand.
The types most sites need
- Organization: your business name, logo, website and social profiles. Usually on the homepage.
- LocalBusiness: for businesses that serve a place. Adds address, phone, hours and service area. There are more specific subtypes, like Plumber or Dentist.
- Product: name, image, price and availability for things you sell. This can make product pages eligible for richer results.
- Article or BlogPosting: headline, author, date published and date updated for blog posts and guides.
- BreadcrumbList: the path to a page, like Home, then Services, then Roof Repair. Google may show this in place of the raw URL.
What it can’t do
It is worth being clear here, because a lot of advice online is out of date.
- FAQ rich results: Google now limits these to well-known government and health sites. You can still use FAQPage markup, but don’t expect dropdowns under your listing.
- HowTo rich results: Google ended these. The markup won’t produce special listings.
- Review stars for yourself: if your business marks up reviews of itself on its own site, those aren’t eligible for star snippets.
- No guarantees: even valid markup only makes a page eligible. Google decides what to show.
What people miss
- Markup that doesn’t match the visible page, like a price in the schema that differs from the price on screen. This can get it ignored.
- Business name, address and phone written differently across the site, the schema and your Google Business Profile.
- Copy-pasted schema from another site with the wrong business details still in it.
- Every page of a single-page app carrying the same homepage markup.
- Old or broken image URLs in the logo or product fields.
- Product markup left showing “in stock” for items that sold out.
- Never testing it after the site changes.
How AftUp handles it
Structured data is part of how we make your site readable to search engines. On Growth, we use your monthly fix hours to add or correct Organization, LocalBusiness, Product, Article and BreadcrumbList markup where it fits, and we keep your business details consistent with your Google Business Profile check-up.
On Scale, structured data is included as we refresh content and build new pages, so markup keeps pace with the site. On every plan, if something looks off in your monthly report, we tell you in plain English what it means. We do this inside the tool you already use, with no rebuild. See what we handle for the full list.
Do it yourself
- Decide which types fit each page. Most small sites need Organization or LocalBusiness on the homepage, plus Article on blog posts.
- Write the JSON-LD with real, current details that match what visitors see on the page.
- Add it to the page. Many builders let you add custom code to the page head. For single-page apps, make sure each route gets its own markup.
- Test the page with Google’s Rich Results Test to see if it qualifies for any rich results and whether there are errors.
- Check it with the Schema Markup Validator at validator.schema.org for general correctness.
- After publishing, watch the enhancement reports in Search Console for new warnings.
- Retest whenever you change prices, hours or your address.
Want to know whether your structured data is helping or quietly broken? Start with a free site check.