Structured Data and Rich Snippets: A Practical Guide

SiteCurl Team

What structured data does

Structured data is code (usually JSON-LD) that tells search engines what your content is about. When Google understands your page, it can display rich snippets: star ratings, recipe cards, FAQ dropdowns, product prices, and event details directly in search results.

Pages with rich snippets tend to get higher click-through rates because they stand out visually.

Common schema types

The types you need depend on your content:

Article: Blog posts, news articles, and guides. Helps Google show publish date and author.
Product: E-commerce product pages. Enables price, availability, and review stars in results.
FAQPage: FAQ sections. Creates expandable question/answer pairs in search results.
LocalBusiness: Physical locations. Shows address, hours, and phone number in search.
BreadcrumbList: Navigation paths. Displays breadcrumbs in search results instead of raw URLs.
Organization: Company info. Populates knowledge panels with logo, social links, and contact info.

How to add it

The recommended format is JSON-LD, placed in a <script type="application/ld+json"> tag in your page’s <head> section.

Here’s a minimal Article example:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Article",
  "headline": "Your Article Title",
  "datePublished": "2026-01-15",
  "author": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Author Name"
  }
}

How to check if it’s working

Google’s Rich Results Test (search.google.com/test/rich-results) validates your markup and shows a preview of how it will appear in search.

SiteCurl’s structured data checks scan your pages for schema markup and flag issues: missing required properties, invalid types, and pages that should have schema but don’t. This is especially useful for sites with many pages where checking manually isn’t practical.

Start with the highest-impact types

If you run a blog, add Article schema. If you sell products, add Product schema. If you have an FAQ section, add FAQPage schema. Each one is a small addition that can measurably improve your search presence.

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