Skip to content
GetProfit
Log in

← All terms

Structured data

Structured data is markup that describes a page's content in a standard vocabulary, such as a product's price and availability, so search engines can read it.

How it works

The markup uses the schema.org vocabulary. Of the three formats Google reads, it recommends JSON-LD, a script kept apart from the visible text. A product page carries Product with an Offer (price, currency, availability) and often ratings; a store-wide return policy goes under Organization.

Google splits product markup in two. Merchant listing markup is for pages where the product can be bought. Product snippet markup is for pages where it can’t, such as reviews. The first needs at least a name, an image and an offer with a price above zero. Valid markup makes a page eligible for richer results in Search, Images and Lens, but does not guarantee them.

Google recommends both markup and a Merchant Center feed: some results combine the two, and markup helps Google check the feed against the site. The Shopping tab requires Merchant Center. Which fields to fix first: product structured data.

Where you see it

  • Search Console: the Merchant listings and Product snippets reports, with errors and warnings.
  • Rich Results Test: checks one page before release.

Example

Example store, not client data.

The tableware shop’s page for a dinner set carries Product markup: the name, photos and an Offer with price 600, the currency code and InStock. When the last set sells, the markup switches to OutOfStock at once, while the daily feed says “in stock” until its next upload.

Not to be confused with

  • Feed — product data the shop sends to Merchant Center on its own schedule. Markup lives on the page and is read when Google crawls it.
  • Autofeed — a Merchant Center source that Google builds by crawling the site. It reads the markup but is not the markup.

Right and wrong readings

  • Wrong: “Add Product schema and the products will appear in AI answers.” Right: Google says structured data isn’t required for generative AI search and there is no special markup for it. For products in AI answers, it points to Merchant Center feeds.

Sources