What is structured data?
Structured data is additional markup for web pages that gives search engines an explicit understanding of their content: what is being sold, who wrote an article, when an event will take place, or what a product's rating is.
Unlike regular HTML, which describes appearance, structured data describes the meaning of content. It is part of the semantic web concept.
The main standard is Schema.org — a shared vocabulary of types and properties created by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Yandex. It is implemented in JSON-LD, Microdata, or RDFa formats.
Why use structured data?
Rich results: Types supported by a search engine can provide additional information, such as a price, rating, recipe, or event. Display and CTR growth are not guaranteed. Google FAQ rich results were discontinued on 7 May 2026, although FAQPage remains a Schema.org type.
Search visibility: Rich snippets take up more space in search results and attract users' attention.
Voice search: Google Assistant and Alice use structured data to answer voice queries.
Knowledge Panel: Organization data is included in Google's Knowledge Graph.
Yandex SERP: Yandex uses structured data to create search islands.
Structured data formats
JSON-LD (recommended by Google)
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Что такое структурированные данные",
"author": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Команда reChecker"
},
"datePublished": "2026-03-18"
}
</script>Microdata (in HTML attributes)
<article itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Article">
<h1 itemprop="headline">Заголовок статьи</h1>
<span itemprop="author">Автор</span>
</article>Google-supported rich results
| Type | Schema | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Product | Product | Price, availability, rating |
| Recipe | Recipe | Time, calories, rating |
| Event | Event | Date, location, price |
| Article | Article | Date, author |
| Local business | LocalBusiness | Address, hours, rating |
| Review | Review | Stars in the snippet |
| Job posting | JobPosting | Salary, location |
FAQPage and HowTo can be used as Schema.org types, but Google rich results for them have been discontinued. Check the current formats in Google's official gallery.
How to add structured data
- Identify the type of content on the page (product, article, FAQ, etc.)
- Choose the appropriate schema on schema.org
- Create a JSON-LD block with the required properties
- Add it to the page's head or body
- Check it with Google Rich Results Test
Check structured data on reChecker
Use Schema Validator to check your markup. The tool will show:
- All detected Schema.org markup types
- Errors in object structure
- Warnings about properties that are not recommended
- Compliance with Google Rich Results requirements
FAQ
Do I need to add structured data to every page? Only where it applies. Homepage: Organization + WebSite. Articles: Article. Products: Product. FAQ page: FAQPage. Do not add schemas that do not match the content — this violates Google's guidelines.
How long does Google take to process structured data? After structured data is added or changed, Google updates snippets the next time it crawls the page. Usually 1-2 weeks. To speed this up: Google Search Console → URL Inspection → Request indexing.
Is there a direct link between structured data and SEO rankings? Structured data does not directly affect rankings. But it can have an indirect effect through improved snippets and CTR growth. Google may also consider it a trust signal for certain types of content.