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Glossary

Structured data

Structured data is a set of labels in a page's code that say what each fact on the page is, such as which line is the business name, which is the phone number and which are the opening hours, written in a shared vocabulary so software does not have to guess.

Also called schema markup, structured data markup.

By NightshiftDirect Research. Published . Updated .

Labels that tell software what each fact is

Google describes structured data as a standardized format for providing information about a page and classifying what is on it (Google Search Central). A person reading your contact page knows at a glance which line is your phone number and which is your street. Software reading the same page has to work it out. Structured data settles the question by labeling each fact in the code, where visitors never see it.

The labels come from a shared vocabulary called schema.org. Most of what Google reads is written in it, but Google says that for Google Search its own documentation, not the vocabulary, is the final word on what the labels do (Google Search Central).

What a local business labels first

The labels that matter most to you are the ones that say who you are. The vocabulary has a type for that, LocalBusiness, meant for a physical business or a branch of one (Schema.org). Google treats your name and address as the two facts that type cannot do without, and suggests adding your phone, your website, your map location and your hours (Google Search Central).

Get that one block right before you add any other. It is where a mistake does the most harm, because it is the copy of your details written for machines to read.

Which format should you use?

Google reads three formats: JSON-LD, Microdata and RDFa. It recommends JSON-LD in most cases, as the easiest to put in place and keep up, and treats all three as equally fine when the markup is valid (Google Search Central).

JSON-LD sits in a block of its own instead of being woven through the words on the page. That makes it simple to read, check and change when your hours do. Check what your pages already carry before you pay anyone to add one by hand.

The rule that matters most

Structured data has to describe the page it sits on. Google says not to add structured data about anything a visitor cannot see on the page, even when it is true (Google Search Central). Its advice on AI Overviews and AI Mode makes the same point from the other side: make sure your structured data matches the visible text (Google Search Central).

So if your markup lists Saturday hours, the page should show them. If it names a service, the page should describe that service. More is not better either. Google prefers a few properties that are complete and correct over a long list that is patchy or wrong (Google Search Central).

What it can and cannot do

Structured data helps Google understand a page, and it can make the page eligible for rich results, the listings that show extra detail (Google Search Central). Eligible is the word to hold on to. It lets Google show more. Whether Google does is still its own call.

It is not a way around a thin page. It labels what is there. When a page says little, its labels say little too, and the fix is on the page itself.

How the scan checks it

The free scan reads the structured data on your homepage. A2 flags a homepage with no JSON-LD at all. A3 looks inside it for your business: an Organization or LocalBusiness with your name, your contact details and sameAs links to your profiles on other sites. The scan reads the code your server sends and runs none of its scripts, so markup that a script adds later is not seen (what the scan reads).

What the free scan checks

Questions

Do I need a developer to add structured data?

Often you do not. A block of JSON-LD can be pasted into a page, and your site builder may have a setting that writes one for you. What you do need is a check once it is live. Google's Rich Results Test reads a page and shows the markup it found (Google Search Central).

Can my structured data list services or towns my pages never mention?

No. Google asks for markup that describes what a visitor can see on the page (Google Search Central). Put the service or the town on the page first, then label it. Markup that claims more than the page shows is exactly what Google tells you not to write.

Is schema the same thing as structured data?

Close enough for a conversation with a web designer. Schema.org is the vocabulary, the list of labels. Structured data is those labels written into a page. Someone offering to add schema to your site means structured data written in that vocabulary.

Where this fits in our work

We handle this as part of AI search (GEO): Site work that helps ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI features read your site, understand who you are and cite you.

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