Structured data: SEO and GEO so that AI understands your business
Structured data is a block of code, usually in JSON-LD format and using the schema.org vocabulary, that describes your business, your products or your pages unambiguously. It can make a page eligible for a rich result in Google. Google says it isn't needed to appear in its AI features; it remains the clearest way to state your key facts, which your text must also state.
Contents
- Structured data: definition
- What are the formats of structured data?
- Structured data, SEO, AI and GEO: what it really brings
- Which structured data for your type of business?
- Ready-to-copy examples
- Testing your structured data step by step
- Common mistakes
- Where to add the code on your platform
- Frequently asked questions: structured data, SEO, AI and GEO
Structured data: definition
A web page is written for humans. Structured data adds to its code an identity card that machines can read: “this is a joinery business; here are its address, its opening hours, its services”.
The shared vocabulary is called schema.org. Launched in 2011 by Google, Microsoft and Yahoo, later joined by Yandex, it defines hundreds of types: LocalBusiness for a local business, Product for a product, Article for an article, and many more.
Google uses it to understand the content of pages and, for some types, to show rich results: a product's price and availability, breadcrumbs, events.
What are the formats of structured data?
| Format | Where it goes | Our view |
|---|---|---|
| JSON-LD | A script block, separate from the page text | The format Google recommends: the simplest to add and maintain |
| Microdata | Attributes added to the HTML of the text | Harder to maintain; common in older themes |
| RDFa | HTML attributes, like Microdata | Rare on business websites |
Structured data, SEO, AI and GEO: what it really brings
- Possible rich results. A page that contains all the required properties becomes eligible; Google then decides whether to show the rich result.
- Exact facts, in a shared format. Name, address, opening hours, prices: search engines read them without guessing. Google says, however, that structured data isn't needed to appear in its AI Overviews and AI Mode. For ChatGPT, Perplexity or Claude, no public rule says, to our knowledge, that it counts; its value lies in consistency: the same facts in the code, in the text and on your listings.
- No shortcut. The markup describes what the page shows. Google prohibits marking up hidden or misleading content; a breach can lead to a manual action, which removes the page from rich results.
- The end of FAQ rich results. Since 7 May 2026, Google no longer shows FAQs as rich results, for any website. FAQPage markup remains valid and safe; it simply no longer produces any display in Google.
- No stars for yourself. Reviews that a business publishes about itself don't earn stars in Google: ratings are reserved for websites that collect reviews about other businesses or about products.
Which structured data for your type of business?
| Type of business | Types to use | Where to put them |
|---|---|---|
| Tradesperson, local shop | LocalBusiness, or the most specific type possible (HomeAndConstructionBusiness, Store, Restaurant…), as Google advises | Home page or Contact page |
| Online shop | Product with its offer (price, currency, availability), and Organization | Each product page; the home page for Organization |
| Professional firm, consultancy | LocalBusiness, or a dedicated type where one exists: LegalService for a law firm or solicitor, AccountingService for an accountant | Home page, or the page for each office |
| Any website | Organization on the home page, BreadcrumbList on pages, Article for guides and the blog | All the pages concerned |
| Questions page | FAQPage, with no display effect in Google | The page that shows these questions |
Ready-to-copy examples
Examples built around a fictitious business. Replace each value with yours, and keep only what your page shows.
Local business: LocalBusiness
For Google, the name and address are required; the phone number, website, opening hours and service area are recommended.
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "HomeAndConstructionBusiness",
"name": "Atelier Dumont",
"url": "https://atelier-dumont.co.uk/",
"image": "https://atelier-dumont.co.uk/img/workshop.jpg",
"address": {
"@type": "PostalAddress",
"streetAddress": "Unit 12, Artisans Yard",
"postalCode": "M4 6AB",
"addressLocality": "Manchester",
"addressCountry": "GB"
},
"areaServed": "Greater Manchester",
"priceRange": "££",
"openingHoursSpecification": [{
"@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification",
"dayOfWeek": ["Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday"],
"opens": "08:00",
"closes": "18:00"
}]
}
</script>
Business: Organization
Google doesn't require any property; the name, website, logo and a contact are enough to start with. Add the sameAs property with the addresses of your official profiles (LinkedIn, Facebook…).
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Atelier Dumont",
"url": "https://atelier-dumont.co.uk/",
"logo": "https://atelier-dumont.co.uk/img/logo.png",
"contactPoint": {
"@type": "ContactPoint",
"contactType": "customer service",
"email": "contact@atelier-dumont.co.uk"
}
}
</script>
Product: Product
For Google, the name is required, with at least an offer, a review or a rating. For a shop, the offer is enough.
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Product",
"name": "Solid oak worktop",
"image": "https://atelier-dumont.co.uk/img/oak-worktop.jpg",
"description": "Solid oak worktop, 40 mm thick, cut to size.",
"brand": { "@type": "Brand", "name": "Atelier Dumont" },
"offers": {
"@type": "Offer",
"price": "890.00",
"priceCurrency": "GBP",
"availability": "https://schema.org/InStock",
"url": "https://atelier-dumont.co.uk/shop/oak-worktop/"
}
}
</script>
Questions: FAQPage
Valid, with no display effect in Google since 7 May 2026. The questions and answers must appear word for word on the page.
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "FAQPage",
"mainEntity": [{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "How long does a bespoke kitchen take?",
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "Allow 8 to 10 weeks between approving the design and fitting."
}
}]
}
</script>
To write these blocks without errors, iasyo's schema markup generator offers a guided form and flags the required fields. Schema markup generator
Testing your structured data step by step
- Open Google's Rich Results Test, then enter the page's address or paste the code.
- Read the items detected: an error makes the page ineligible for the rich result; a warning flags a missing recommended property.
- For the types that Google doesn't display, including FAQPage since June 2026, use the schema.org validator, validator.schema.org, which checks all types.
- Once the page is live, follow the rich result reports in Search Console, in the Enhancements section: they list valid pages and errors.
- Test again after each change of theme or plugin.
Google's former Structured Data Testing Tool no longer exists: these two tools have replaced it.
Common mistakes
- marking up information that isn't on the page: opening hours, prices, reviews;
- publishing a rating or reviews written by the business about itself;
- letting two plugins each produce their own markup: the data contradicts itself;
- forgetting to update prices, opening hours or the address after a change;
- one comma or brace too many: the block becomes unreadable, with no visible sign on the page;
- adding the code only through JavaScript: Google reads it after rendering the page, but other crawlers may miss it; for products, Google warns that price and stock tracking becomes less reliable. Put it in the HTML.
Where to add the code on your platform
- WordPress: Yoast SEO and Rank Math produce the basic data (Organization, Article, breadcrumbs). For LocalBusiness, Rank Math offers it in its Local SEO module; with Yoast, you need Local SEO, included in its paid plans, or code pasted with the WPCode plugin.
- Online shops: Shopify, WooCommerce and PrestaShop often produce Product in their themes or modules; check the result with Google's test.
- Other tools: iasyo's platform pages explain where to paste code.
Frequently asked questions: structured data, SEO, AI and GEO
What are the formats of structured data?
JSON-LD, Microdata and RDFa. Google recommends JSON-LD, the simplest to add and maintain.
How do I test structured data?
With Google's Rich Results Test for the types it displays, with the schema.org validator for all types, then with the Search Console reports once the page is live.
Which structured data for a local business?
LocalBusiness, or the most specific type possible, with the name and address, required by Google, then the phone number, website, opening hours and service area.
Which structured data for an online shop?
Product on each product page, with an offer that gives the price, currency and availability, and Organization on the home page.
Which structured data for a professional firm?
LocalBusiness, or LegalService for a law firm or solicitor and AccountingService for an accountant, with the name, address, phone number and opening hours of each office.
Is FAQ markup still useful?
Not for display in Google, which has no longer shown FAQ rich results since 7 May 2026. It remains valid and safe, and it describes the page.
What is the difference between rich results and structured data?
Structured data is the code; a rich result, or rich snippet, is a Google result that shows more than a title and a snippet, for example a price, availability or breadcrumbs. Structured data makes it possible, not certain.
Does structured data help you get cited by ChatGPT?
No public rule says so. It states your facts unambiguously; what counts for being cited is still an accessible page that answers clearly, and a business mentioned elsewhere.
About the author
Sources
Google Search Central, “Introduction to structured data markup in Google Search”, updated 10 December 2025
Google Search Central, “General structured data guidelines”, updated 10 July 2026
Google Search Central, LocalBusiness, Organization and Product structured data, accessed 28 September 2026
Google Search Central, “Generate structured data with JavaScript”, accessed 28 September 2026
Google Search Central, documentation updates: end of FAQ rich results, 7 May and 15 June 2026
Google Search Central, “Google's Guide to Optimizing for Generative AI Features on Google Search”, May 2026
schema.org, LocalBusiness, LegalService and AccountingService types, accessed 28 September 2026
