Structured data

Structured data is schema markup that tells search engines what a page is: an article, a product, a FAQ. It does not replace your content. It labels it so results can show richer details.

By , founder of Porteur · Updated 13 September 2026 · Markdown

Which schema to use on a small site

  • Product on product pages with name, description, image, brand, price, availability, SKU.
  • Article or BlogPosting on blog posts with headline, datePublished, author, image.
  • FAQPage on a true FAQ block where questions and answers match visible text.
  • BreadcrumbList to mirror your on page breadcrumb trail.
  • SoftwareApplication for downloadable or SaaS apps with operatingSystem and applicationCategory.
  • LocalBusiness if you have a physical presence with address and opening hours.

How to add it with JSON LD

Use JSON LD. It sits in a single <script type="application/ld+json"> block in the <head> or <body>. It does not affect your HTML layout and is easy to update.

  1. Pick the Schema.org type

    Start from the content. If the page sells a thing, choose Product. If it answers Q and A, choose FAQPage.

  2. Map fields to on page content

    List the fields you can fill from the page: name, description, image URLs, price, author. Keep values identical to the rendered page.

  3. Generate JSON LD

    Use your CMS, a plugin or hand write a small JSON object. Place it once per page. Avoid mixing formats like Microdata and RDFa on the same page.

  4. Keep it fresh

    Update markup when content changes. If price on /pricing updates, update the price in Product too.

A fixed page looks like this in results: your product shows rating stars and price below the blue link, or your guide shows two FAQ questions as dropdowns.

How to validate and measure impact

  • Validate the code with a structured data checker. Fix errors and warnings before you publish.
  • Crawl key templates after launch. Spot pages where markup failed to render.
  • Track eligibility and appearance in your search tools. Look for pages that gained rich results.
  • Measure clicks and click through rate on pages with markup versus similar pages without. Compare like for like queries and date ranges of 28 days.

Common traps and how to avoid them

  • Marking up content that users cannot see. This breaks policies.
  • Using the wrong type. For example, FAQPage on a page without a real FAQ block.
  • Out of date values. Price, stock, dates and ratings must stay in sync with the page.
  • Duplicate or conflicting markup. Do not add both Microdata and JSON LD for the same thing.
  • Site wide templates on the wrong pages. Do not put Product on your blog index.
  • Over nesting. Keep to what the page is primarily about, with a few linked entities like brand.

Questions

Sources

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