What is Structured data (Schema.org)?
Structured data is machine-readable markup — usually JSON-LD using Schema.org vocabulary — that tells crawlers explicitly what a page contains: an organization, a product, an FAQ, an article.
Which schema types matter most for AI visibility?
Organization (who you are, with a reachable contact), WebSite/WebApplication (what the site is), FAQPage (packages Q&A in exactly the liftable shape answers use), Article with real authorship, and where honest, Product and LocalBusiness. Linked together with stable @id references they form one graph a machine can walk instead of islands it must guess about.
What's the one rule of structured data?
Never mark up what the visible page doesn't say. Schema describing invisible content — or worse, invented ratings — is the pattern search engines penalize and the exact dishonesty AI systems are learning to discount. The test is symmetry: a human reading the page and a machine reading the markup should come away with the same facts.
How much structured data is enough?
Less than the plugins suggest. The core set — Organization, WebSite, the page's own type, FAQPage where genuine Q&A exists — covers what engines actually consume; stacking every applicable type adds maintenance surface without visibility. Volume is not the axis that matters: one honest, valid, interlinked graph outperforms twelve types of markup that drift from the visible page.
Frequently asked questions
What does Structured data (Schema.org) mean?
Structured data is machine-readable markup — usually JSON-LD using Schema.org vocabulary — that tells crawlers explicitly what a page contains: an organization, a product, an FAQ, an article.
Does structured data directly improve AI visibility?
Indirectly but meaningfully: it removes ambiguity about what you are, which feeds entity confidence, and FAQPage markup hands engines pre-packaged liftable answers. It complements visible content — it never substitutes for it.
JSON-LD, microdata, or RDFa?
JSON-LD — it's Google's stated preference, lives in one script tag instead of woven through your HTML, and is the format AI toolchains parse most reliably. There's no modern reason to choose the others.
How do I check my structured data is valid?
Google's Rich Results Test and Schema.org's validator catch syntax; the harder check is honesty — whether the markup matches the visible page. SeeGeo's audit tests both, including whether your schema description has a visible-prose counterpart.