Structured Data
Machine-readable markup labelling what each part of a page is, using a shared vocabulary.
Analogy Mental model
Handling labels on luggage. Fragile, this way up, liquid. The handler knows what to do without opening the bag.
In practice What you actually do
JSON-LD in the head, matching the page type: Article, Product, FAQPage, HowTo, Recipe. Validate with the Rich Results Test before shipping and revalidate after template changes, because markup breaks silently.
Where people get burned Pitfalls
It does not raise rankings by itself; it changes how the result looks, and a better-looking result earns more clicks. Marking up content that is not on the page, invented ratings being the classic case, counts as deception rather than markup.
This entry was written in English from the Chinese original, not machine-translated. Read the Chinese version →