Guide · Search & AI visibility

Structured data for business websites: what to mark up

Structured data is code that describes the content of a page in a standard vocabulary — schema.org — so that search engines and other systems understand it without guessing. It tells them that a page is a product with a price in manats, that a business has an address and opening hours, that a text is an article by a specific organisation. Some of it produces richer search results; all of it makes your information easier for machines, including AI search tools, to interpret correctly.

Updated September 25, 2026 · 3 min read · DealPro

[ 01 ]

In short

01
Use JSON-LD, Google's recommended format, placed in the page's HTML.
02
Mark up what is visible on the page and true; structured data that contradicts the page violates guidelines.
03
Core types for businesses: Organization or LocalBusiness, WebSite, BreadcrumbList, Service or Product, Article, FAQPage.
04
Validate with Google's Rich Results Test and the Schema Markup Validator.
05
Rich results are not guaranteed; eligibility rules change, but accurate markup keeps its value for understanding.

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Guide

Types that matter for most businesses

Organization

Name, logo, website, contact points and profiles on other platforms (sameAs) — only profiles that actually exist. Usually on the home page or site-wide.

LocalBusiness

For businesses with physical locations: a specific subtype if one fits (for example Dentist, Restaurant), address, geo coordinates, opening hours, phone. One per location, on the location's page. See local SEO in Baku.

WebSite

The site name, which Google may use in results.

BreadcrumbList

The page's position in the site hierarchy, which Google can show instead of the URL.

Service

A service's name, description, provider and area served. It helps machines understand what you offer, even though it does not produce a specific rich result on Google.

Product and Offer

For e-commerce: name, image, description, brand, SKU, and offers with price, currency (AZN) and availability. Review data only if genuine reviews are displayed on the page. See product page checklist.

Article

For blog posts and guides: headline, dates published and modified, author and publisher. Real authors with expertise strengthen trust signals.

FAQPage

Questions and answers visible on the page. Since 2023 Google shows FAQ rich results only for well-known government and health websites, but the markup still describes the content clearly for other systems.

Event, Course, JobPosting and others

For specific content types, where they apply.

Implementation

Generate JSON-LD from the same data that renders the page, so they never disagree.
Include structured data in the HTML delivered to crawlers, not only after JavaScript runs.
Use absolute URLs and correct language for text fields on multilingual sites.
Connect entities with @id references, so the organisation, website and pages form a consistent graph.

Validation

Rich Results Test (Google) checks eligibility for Google's rich results.
Schema Markup Validator (schema.org) checks general validity.
Search Console reports errors and warnings for detected structured data.

Common mistakes

Marking up content that is not visible to users.
Fake or self-written reviews in markup.
Outdated prices or availability.
sameAs links to social profiles that do not exist.
Organization markup with a different name or address from the Business Profile.
The same LocalBusiness markup copied to every page.

Structured data and AI search

AI search systems combine information from many sources. Clear, consistent structured data about your organisation, services and content reduces the chance of misinterpretation and supports being cited accurately. See AI search visibility.

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Does structured data improve rankings?

It is not a direct ranking factor. It can improve how results look and helps search engines understand content, which can increase clicks.

Do we need a plugin?

Many CMSs have plugins that generate basic markup. Custom sites generate it in templates. Either way, check the output.

Should every page have structured data?

Most pages benefit from at least breadcrumbs and a type describing the main content. Add specific types where they accurately describe the page.