{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "DefinedTerm",
  "schema_version": "1.1",
  "content_item_id": "dictionary-structured-data.en",
  "translation_group_id": "dictionary-structured-data",
  "locale": "en",
  "type": "glossary",
  "section": "dictionary",
  "slug": "structured-data",
  "title": "Structured data",
  "description": "What schema.org markup communicates and which outcomes it does not promise.",
  "direct_answer": "Structured data is machine-readable markup that explicitly describes the entities, properties, and relationships present in a page's visible content; on the web it is often JSON-LD using schema.org vocabulary. Markup aids interpretation but guarantees neither crawling, indexing, rich results, nor AI citation.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Working meaning",
      "paragraphs": [
        "Markup turns implicit page elements into typed data: an article title becomes headline, a date becomes datePublished, and an author becomes a Person or Organization. JSON-LD separates the data block from HTML, but the two representations must agree."
      ],
      "source_ids": [
        "google-structured-data",
        "google-crawl"
      ]
    },
    {
      "heading": "How to distinguish",
      "paragraphs": [
        "Structured data does not replace visible text, internal links, a sitemap, or technical accessibility. Schema.org provides vocabulary; individual search engines decide which types and properties they use for their features. Valid schema does not create entitlement to a special result."
      ],
      "source_ids": [
        "google-structured-data",
        "google-crawl"
      ]
    },
    {
      "heading": "Example",
      "paragraphs": [
        "An article can use Article markup with the same headline, author, datePublished, and dateModified visible to readers. If the page does not publish an actual dataset, adding Dataset merely to obtain richer markup is inappropriate."
      ]
    },
    {
      "heading": "Testing",
      "paragraphs": [
        "First compare JSON-LD with the visible page, then test its syntax with a validator and the target search engine's tools. Inspect final HTML without client JavaScript and confirm that canonical URL, language, author, and dates agree across representations."
      ]
    },
    {
      "heading": "Interpretation limit",
      "paragraphs": [
        "Error-free markup may still be ignored when a type is unsupported, the page is not indexed, or content quality is insufficient. It describes asserted facts but does not reveal whether an external system accepted them into an index or graph."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "published_at": "2026-09-11",
  "modified_at": "2026-09-11",
  "data_through": "2026-09-11",
  "next_review_at": "2026-10-11",
  "author": "GeoAeoAle Editorial",
  "origin": "editorial",
  "publisher": "GeoAeoAle Editorial",
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "canonical_url": "https://geoaeoale.com/en/dictionary/structured-data/",
  "claims": [
    {
      "claim_id": "structured-data-scope",
      "text": "Structured data must match visible content; hidden or invented properties do not become true because they appear in JSON-LD.",
      "status": "inference",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "source_ids": [
        "google-structured-data",
        "google-crawl"
      ],
      "publication_status": "public",
      "confidentiality": "public"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "source_id": "google-structured-data",
      "canonical_url": "https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/intro-structured-data",
      "title": "Understand how structured data works",
      "publisher": "Google Search Central",
      "source_type": "official",
      "locale": "en",
      "published_at": null,
      "checked_at": "2026-09-11",
      "sha256": "9ec61ebea36695b2e0124aa158fb0192f2716cdc0d8bf47acfd84eb197bdf404",
      "license": "Source terms apply",
      "visibility": "public"
    },
    {
      "source_id": "google-crawl",
      "canonical_url": "https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/technical",
      "title": "Google Search technical requirements",
      "publisher": "Google Search Central",
      "source_type": "official",
      "locale": "en",
      "published_at": null,
      "checked_at": "2026-09-11",
      "sha256": "5fff9bd0dd8ef5fe14fdbc1b7debbf79ef3b8b6b507b21b87ac5e62b2ba25b30",
      "license": "Source terms apply",
      "visibility": "public"
    }
  ],
  "related_slugs": [
    "ai-visibility",
    "retrieval",
    "source-attribution"
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Supported types and requirements differ by search engine and change over time. Check current documentation for the named feature and never mark up data absent from user-visible content."
  ],
  "corrections": []
}