Complete Overview of Structured Data (Framework + Full List of 34 Rich Result Types + JSON-LD/Microdata/RDFa Selection Guide)

This document is gsc-structured-data-overview.md's pure Chinese version, content is generated from the original version.The original version is the single source of truth, please modify the original version for changes; this version is regenerated along with the original.Original text retained: schema.org type names (Article / Product, etc.), JSON-LD field names (headline / image etc.), Google tool names (Search Console / Rich Results Test, etc.), technical abbreviations (JSON-LD / GTM / URL, etc.).

In one sentence: Structured Data (SD for short) = adding schema.org tags to web pages,to explicitly tell Google what the content of this page is(ingredients in a recipe / article author / product price, etc.) → triggers rich results.Google supports a total of 34 types, this wiki is the entry point + key pitfalls for each type. For specific field tables, see search-gallery official documentation.

TL;DR (read in one minute) — 7 core decisions

Decision	Answer
Which format to use?	JSON-LD(recommended), placed in `<script type="application/ld+json">`, placing it in `<head>` or `<body>`both work
Can Microdata / RDFa still be used?	Yes, but prone to errors, JSON-LD is the easiest to maintain
`data-vocabulary.org` Can still be used?	No, deprecated in 2020
Will marking SD definitely show rich results?	Not necessarily, marking only means "eligible to participate", whether to display is ultimately decided by Google's algorithm
Are more fields always better?	No,"fewer but accurate" > "more but wrong". Complete + accurate > fully listed but broken
What to use for testing?	Rich Results Test(Google-specific) / Schema Markup Validator(general schema.org validation)
Can invisible content be marked?	❌ No — it must be consistent with the visible content on the page, otherwise it will be considered spam

Part 1 — Framework: How to use structured data

1.1 Why use it

Data from some case studies:

Rotten Tomatoes: Adding SD to 100,000 pages → click-through rate (CTR) +25%
Food Network: Adding SD to 80% of pages → traffic +35%
Rakuten: User dwell time on pages with SD is 1.5 times, AMP+SD has3.6 times times the engagement
Nestlé: CTR of pages showing rich results is+82%

1.2 How to choose among the 3 formats

Format	Advantages	Disadvantages	When to use
JSON-LD ⭐	`<script>` Independent block, not mixed with visible HTML / supports dynamic JS injection / easy to write even with deep nesting	Decoupled from visible HTML,prone to desynchronization	First choice
Microdata	Tightly coupled with visible HTML	Engineering-heavy / high error rate	For legacy site maintenance
RDFa	HTML5 extension / supports linked data	Complex	For experienced users

1.3 5 quality guidelines ⭐⭐⭐

A. Content

Comply with the spam policy
Keep it up to date(Google will not display outdated information)
Original content(written by yourself or user-generated)
❌ Do not mark invisible content(if there is a performer field in JSON-LD, it must exist in the HTML body)
❌ Do not mark irrelevant / misleading content(fake reviews / content unrelated to the page topic)
❌ Do not impersonate / mislead about identity / affiliation / primary purpose

B. Relevance

SD must truly represent the page:

❌ A live sports site marks a broadcast as a local event
❌ A woodworking site marks a tutorial as a recipe

C. Completeness

You must fill in required fields to be eligible to show rich results
The more recommended fields you fill in → the higher the quality → rich result ranking bonus(job seekers prefer job postings with marked salaries; recipes with real user reviews get a bonus)

D. Location

SD must be placed on the page it describes
Duplicate pages (http and https / www and non-www)must have the same SD marked on both versions

E. Specificity

Use the most specific type / property in schema.org (use NewsArticle instead of CreativeWork)
Check additional guidance in specific feature documentation

F. Images

Images must be relevant to the page(NewsArticle.image must match news content)
Image URLs must be crawlable and indexable

1.4 2 patterns for multiple items on one page

Pattern 1: Nesting — the main item nests sub-items, suitable for closely related scenarios:

{
  "@type": "Recipe",
  "name": "Banana Bread",
  "aggregateRating": { "@type": "AggregateRating", "ratingValue": 4.7, "ratingCount": 123 },
  "video": { "@type": "VideoObject", "name": "How To...", "contentUrl": "..." }
}

Pattern 2: Link independent items with @id to link independent items — suitable for scenarios with multiple independent items:

[
  { "@type": "Recipe", "@id": "https://example.com/banana-bread", "name": "..." },
  { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [...] }
]

⚠️ If you do not use @id to link, Google may not know that the video is about the recipe.

1.5 Unlock multiple rich results with main type + auxiliary types

Example: A recipe page:

Main:Recipe
Auxiliary:Video + Review + BreadcrumbList

→ Can be "eligible" to show recipe rich results / video search / review snippets at the same time.

1.6 5 steps for testing + deployment

1. 加上必填的属性
2. 遵守指南
3. 用 Rich Results Test 验证语法
4. 部署后用 URL Inspection 工具看 Google 渲染后的版本
5. 提交 sitemap;在 Search Console 的 Rich Results status report 里跟进

1.7 Monitoring

Search Console → Rich result status reports(Rich result status reports, one report per type). After fixing issues → submit a review.

1.8 SD spam will result in manual actions

If an issue occurs → you lose eligibility for rich results,but this does not affect your ranking in regular web search. Check in the Manual Actions report(Manual Actions report) in Search Console.

Part 2 — Complete Overview of 34 Types ⭐⭐⭐

Each entry marks required(core fields) + gotcha(common pitfalls) + search appearance(appearance in search results). For the full field table → click the type name to link to Google's official documentation.

2.1 News / Article Types

Article / NewsArticle / BlogPosting

Required:headline(headline) + image(three aspect ratios: 1x1 / 4x3 / 16x9) + datePublished(date published) + dateModified(date modified) + author(Person or Organization, must contain the url field; it cannot have only name)
gotcha:author.name must match the visible byline on the page; an organization is also acceptable as the author
Appearance: title link / large image / byline date / Top stories candidate

Speakable(Speakable for news)

Required:cssSelector or xPath, pointing to speakable passages on the page
Applicable: news only + en-US / en-CA / en-AU / en-IE / en-NZ / en-UK 6 regions
gotcha: short passages totaling ≤30 seconds, only headline and introduction

Subscription / Paywalled Content(Subscription / paywalled content)

Required: add NewsArticle on isAccessibleForFree: false + hasPart: { @type: "WebPageElement", isAccessibleForFree: false, cssSelector: "#paywall" }
gotcha: You must use structured data markup; otherwise Googlebot sees the full content but users do not = cloaking violation

FactCheck(Fact check)

Required:ClaimReview contains claimReviewed + reviewRating
gotcha: The site must clearly be a professional fact-checking site (independent third party)

2.2 E-commerce Types

Product + ProductGroup

2 major categories:
- Product snippet — Review pages (cannot purchase directly)
- Merchant listing — Product pages available for purchase (supports size / shipping / return)
Overlap: The required product information for Merchant listings usually automatically also "qualifies" for Product snippets
Variants → use ProductGroup + child Product

Product Snippet(Review / comparison pages)

Emphasize pros(pros) + cons(cons)
Rich review information

Merchant Listing(Purchasable)

size / shipping / return / availability, etc.

Product Variants(Product variants)

ProductGroup parent + multiple Product children (one independent URL per variant)
Helps Google understand which items are "the same product in different sizes/colors"

Review Snippet(Review snippet)

Applies to:Book / Recipe / Movie / Product / SoftwareApp / LocalBusiness
Required:reviewRating + author + itemReviewed
⚠️ Ratings must come from real users;fake 5-star ratings → manual action

Return Policy(Return policy, attached to Organization)

Nested inside Organization in
Unlocks result enhancements, displays return policy in search results

Shipping Policy(Shipping policy, attached to Organization)

Nested inside Organization in
Displays shipping cost / free shipping / delivery time

Loyalty Program(Loyalty points policy, attached to Organization)

Nested inside Organization in
Displays points / membership program

2.3 Organization Types

Organization

Required:name(organization name) + url + logo(image)
Optional:contactPoint / sameAs / legalName / taxID / iso6523Code / address
Appearance: Knowledge Panel

LocalBusiness(Local business)

Subtypes:Restaurant(Restaurant) / Hotel(Hotel) / Store(Store), etc.
Required:name + image + address(PostalAddress) + priceRange(price range) + usually also openingHoursSpecification(opening hours)
Appearance: Displays opening hours / ratings / directions / reservation/order buttons in the Knowledge Panel

2.4 Job Posting Types

JobPosting(Job posting)

Required:title(job title) + description(full HTML description) + datePosted + hiringOrganization + jobLocation or applicantLocationRequirements
Strongly recommended:baseSalary(Job postings with marked salary get a ranking boost)
gotcha:validThrough(valid through) must be set; after expiration it will be automatically removed from job search; failing to remove expired postings will trigger a manual action; the site must have real, open positions to apply for, no spam allowed

Employer Aggregate Rating(Employer aggregate rating)

Nested under Organization to represent employer rating
Data requires reviews from multiple users

2.5 Entertainment Types

Movie(Movie)

Required:name + image + dateCreated(release date)
Single page / carousel
Nested aggregateRating / director / actor

Event(Event, enriched search!)

Required:name + startDate + location
Offline events:location.@type = Place + address
Online events:location.@type = VirtualLocation + url
Mixed type: use an array
eventStatus(event status):EventScheduled(scheduled) / EventRescheduled(rescheduled) / EventCancelled(cancelled) / EventPostponed(postponed) / EventMovedOnline(moved online)
gotcha: Must be a leaf page (a page for a single event); listing pages are invalid

Carousel(Carousel, used in combination)

It is not an independent type;it must be combined with one of the following: 4 types: Recipe / Course / Restaurant / Movie
Use ItemList + itemListElement
Multiple items from the same site displayed as one carousel

Carousels Beta(New feature carousel)

Multi-site carousel (from sites other than a single site)
Still in beta (testing) phase

Vacation Rental(Vacation rental)

Required:name + image + address + containsPlace + latitude/longitude + numberOfRooms etc.
gotcha: Access has application requirements; you must first apply to join the program

2.6 Food & Beverage Category

Recipe(Recipe, enriched search!)

Required:name + image + recipeIngredient(Ingredients) + recipeInstructions(Step-by-step instructions)
Strongly recommended:nutrition(Nutrition) + aggregateRating + video + prepTime/cookTime/totalTime(In ISO 8601 format, e.g. PT1H30M)
Single page / same-site carousel
Enriched: Users can search by calories/time

2.7 Education & Science Category

Course + Course List

For a single course use Course
For a carousel of multiple courses use ItemList contains Course child
Required:name + description + provider

Education Q&A(Educational Q&A)

Education card format (for student learning)
Required:QAPage or Quiz + complete Q&A content

Math Solvers(Math solver)

Helps students find step-by-step solutions to math problems
Required:MathSolver contains mathExpression + subjectOf(Solution walkthrough)

Dataset(Dataset)

Discovered via Google Dataset Search; found in
Required:name + description + creator + distribution

2.8 Q&A / Forum / General Category

FAQPage ⚠️ Major change

⚠️ Starting 2026-05-07, FAQ rich results will no longer be displayed. Tool will be removed in 2026-06. Search Console API support will be removed in 2026-08. New sites do not need to add it, existing sites may keep it.

History: Only government / authoritative medical sites were eligible for rich results (scope already restricted since 2023)
Alternative: Use QAPage(Single question with multiple user answers)

QAPage(Q&A page)

1 question + multiple user answers (forum / Stack Overflow / Quora style)
Required:Question + at least 1 Answer(can be acceptedAnswer accepted or suggestedAnswer recommended)
gotcha:Must have real user questions + real answers, auto-generated FAQs are not allowed

Discussion Forum(Forum discussion)

Short-form UGC (user-generated content, forum posts) + threaded or non-threaded discussions
Required:DiscussionForumPosting contains headline + text + author + datePublished
gotcha: For comments use Comment nesting

Profile Page(Personal / organization profile page)

Pages about a single person / organization (associated with the site)
Required:ProfilePage + includes mainEntity is Person or Organization
gotcha: Used for filters such as Perspectives

2.9 General / Cross-domain Category

Breadcrumb(Breadcrumb)`BreadcrumbList`)

Required:itemListElement array, each ListItem contains position + name + item(URL, the last item may omit the item)
Display format: Breadcrumbs are shown in search results instead of the URL
Multiple breadcrumb paths: The same page may have multiple BreadcrumbList(when there is more than one display path)

Video(Video,`VideoObject`)

See full analysis in Complete Guide to Rich Features / Discover / Images / Video / Page Experience / Web Stories / SXG / Paywall Part 3
Required:name + description + thumbnailUrl(Thumbnail) + uploadDate
May add contentUrl / embedUrl / duration / Clip child (Key Moments) / SeekToAction / BroadcastEvent(Live broadcast badge)

Book(Book)

For a single book use Book or for a series use BookSeries
Required:name + author + workExample(one per edition/format Book)
Suitable for book review sites / publishers

Software App(Software application)

Required:name + applicationCategory + operatingSystem + offers or aggregateRating

Image License Metadata(Image copyright metadata)

Add image metadata to help Google Images display author / usage license / credit information
Required(added on ImageObject ):creator + creditText + copyrightNotice + license(URL pointing to the license page) + acquireLicensePage(URL pointing to the purchase/obtain license page)

2.10 Detailed Carousel Combination Rules

Only 4 types can be used for single-site carousels (wrapped with ItemList ):

Recipe(Recipe) carousel
Course(Course) carousel
Restaurant(LocalBusiness subclass, restaurant) carousel
Movie(Movie) carousel

Format:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "ItemList",
  "itemListElement": [
    { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "url": "https://example.com/recipe-1" },
    { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "url": "https://example.com/recipe-2" }
  ]
}

Each listItem's URL must point to an independent leaf page(with complete SD on that page).

Part 3 — Generating SD with JavaScript

3.1 Two approaches

A. Google Tag Manager(GTM):

Install GTM
Add a Custom HTML tag → paste in JSON-LD
Publish the container
Use GTM variables to extract data from the page (to prevent SD from being out of sync with page content)
```
function() { return document.title; }
```

B. Custom JS:

Server-side rendered (SSR) SD + JS supplementation
or pure JS-generated SD
When Google renders it can process SD in the DOM(WRS, Web Rendering Service, see Full JavaScript SEO Suite (Basics + Diagnostics + Dynamic Rendering + Lazy Loading))

3.2 ⚠️ Special pitfalls for Product-type SD + JS

Shopping crawl frequency will decrease + reliability will worsen, which is a problem for rapidly changing content (inventory / price).

Fix:

Prioritize server-side rendering(server-side render) Product-type SD
The server must have sufficient capacity to handle increased crawl from Google

3.3 Testing

Use the URL Inspection tool to check post-render HTML to confirm SD is actually present.

Part 4 — Image License Metadata Explained

4.1 Purpose

Lets Google Images display:

image author,
license,and credit
How to use(free / paid)
Attribution(credit)
URL of the page to obtain a license

4.2 5 required / recommended fields (added on `ImageObject` )

Field	Meaning
`creator`	`Person` or `Organization`, with `name`
`creditText`	displayed attribution (may differ from creator)
`copyrightNotice`	`© Brand Name 2024` copyright notice in the form of a
`license`	URL pointing to the license page
`acquireLicensePage`	URL pointing to the purchase / obtain license page

4.3 Implementation examples

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org/",
  "@type": "ImageObject",
  "contentUrl": "https://example.com/image.jpg",
  "license": "https://example.com/license",
  "acquireLicensePage": "https://example.com/how-to-license",
  "creditText": "Labrador by Andy Wong",
  "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andy Wong" },
  "copyrightNotice": "© 2024 Andy Wong"
}

Part 5 — Collection of Anti-patterns (Common Mistakes)

#	Anti-pattern	Consequence
1	Marking invisible content (JSON states there is a performer / HTML does not)	Triggers manual penalty, loses rich result eligibility
2	Marking misleading / irrelevant content (fake reviews)	Same as above
3	Use `data-vocabulary.org`	Completely invalid(deprecated in 2020)
4	Microdata / RDFa / JSON-LD Mixing the same type	Google gets confused and only selects the most complete one
5	Only filling required fields, leaving all recommended fields empty	Low rich result ranking
6	Filling all recommended fields but inaccurate / incomplete	Worse than filling fewer fields
7	Placing SD on irrelevant pages(e.g. BreadcrumbList describing a different page)	Invalid
8	Duplicate pages (http and https / www and non-www)must have the same SD marked on both versions; do not add SD only on the canonical page and not on duplicate pages	Both versions must have the same SD added
9	Using broad `CreativeWork` instead of specific `NewsArticle`	Loss of specificity
10	Multiple reviews / FAQs but only marking a subset	Misleading, triggers manual penalty
11	Still expecting FAQ rich results (discontinued 2026-05-07)	Wasted effort — use QAPage / change to Article instead
12	Expecting Speakable to support all languages	Limited to 6 English regions (en-US/CA/AU/IE/NZ/UK)
13	JobPosting does not set `validThrough`	Expired positions still displayed → manual penalty
14	Product-type SD generated with JS but not SSR	Shopping crawl frequency drops, inventory / prices inaccurate
15	Paywalled content not marked with SD	Treated as cloaking spam
16	Vacation Rental SD added without applying to join the program	Invalid
17	Marked Image License but no real license exists	Triggers manual penalty

Part 6 — Complete Type Index (34 types)

Type	Link	Category
Article / NewsArticle / BlogPosting	docs	News / Sports
Book	docs	Entertainment
Breadcrumb	docs	General
Carousel	docs	Used in combination with Recipe / Course / Movie / Restaurant
Carousels Beta	docs	Beta
Course / Course List	docs	Education
Dataset	docs	Education
Discussion Forum	docs	UGC
Education Q&A	docs	Education
Employer Aggregate Rating	docs	Recruitment
Event	docs	Entertainment
FactCheck	docs	News
FAQPage ⚠️ Discontinued (2026-05-07)	docs	(Discontinued)
Image License Metadata	docs	General
Job Posting	docs	Recruitment
Local Business	docs	Organization
Loyalty Program	docs	E-commerce
Math Solvers	docs	Education
Merchant Listing	docs	E-commerce
Movie	docs	Entertainment
Organization	docs	Organization
Paywalled Content	docs	News
Product	docs	E-commerce
Product Snippet	docs	E-commerce
Product Variants	docs	E-commerce
Profile Page	docs	General
Q&A Page	docs	UGC
Recipe	docs	Food & Beverage
Return Policy	docs	E-commerce
Review Snippet	docs	E-commerce / Reviews
Shipping Policy	docs	E-commerce
Software App	docs	General
Speakable	docs	News (limited to 6 English regions)
Vacation Rental	docs	Application required
Video	docs	General

Part 7 — Tools

Tool	Purpose
Rich Results Test	Google-specific validation + preview
Schema Markup Validator	General schema.org validation (excludes Google-specific warnings)
Search Console Rich result status reports	Monitor errors for a specific type after deployment
Search Console URL Inspection	Check what Google actually received for a single URL

⚠️ Structured Data Testing Tool has migrated to Schema Markup Validator (migrated 2020-12).

Part 8 — Related Wiki

AI Overviews / AI Mode:No special schema required, regular SEO applies Full Landscape of Search Result Visual Elements (Visual Gallery / Title / Snippet / Favicon / Sitelinks / Featured / AI / Translated / Preferred)
For the 6 major e-commerce SD types (BreadcrumbList / LocalBusiness / Organization / Product+ProductGroup / Review / VideoObject), see: Complete Ecommerce SEO Guide (6 Surfaces / 4 Launch Strategies / Merchant Center / 6 SD Types / 3 Pagination Modes / 13 Review Guidelines) Part 4
Article with publication-dates:Complete Guide to Rich Features / Discover / Images / Video / Page Experience / Web Stories / SXG / Paywall Part 11
Image SD with preferred image:Complete Guide to Rich Features / Discover / Images / Video / Page Experience / Web Stories / SXG / Paywall Part 2
Video SD details (Key Moments / Live Badge / Clip / SeekToAction):Complete Guide to Rich Features / Discover / Images / Video / Page Experience / Web Stories / SXG / Paywall Part 3
Paywalled SD with flexible-sampling 6-10 articles/month:Complete Guide to Rich Features / Discover / Images / Video / Page Experience / Web Stories / SXG / Paywall Part 9
Invisible content in SD = cloaking spam:Google SEO Basics + How Search Works + Search Essentials 24 spam policies
Relationship between robots meta and SD (max-snippet does not affect content provided by SD):Complete Guide to Crawling & Indexing Control (robots.txt / noindex / X-Robots-Tag / data-nosnippet / rel) Section 3.5
SD must be crawlable by Googlebot (must not be blocked by robots.txt or marked noindex):Complete Guide to Canonical Tags / Redirects / Site Migrations (Including Full HTTP Status Code Table + 503 Temporary Closure Playbook)
Detailed fields for each type: see the search-gallery links to the official documentation

Last updated

2026-05-17 — Compiled based on 40 articles in Google Search Central's appearance/structured-data series (latest from 2024-10 to 2026-05).Major change: FAQ rich results will be discontinued starting 2026-05-07.