To a person, it is obvious that “+55 34 98434-5693” is a phone number and that “from US$ 185” is a price. To a bot, not always. Structured data solves this: it “labels” the information on the website so search engines and artificial intelligence understand exactly what each item means.
What structured data is
It is snippets of code, usually in JSON-LD format, placed on the website following the Schema.org vocabulary, a standard created jointly by the major search engines. Visitors don’t see this code; bots read it.
What it is for
- Understanding: Google knows the page is about a company, a service or an article.
- Rich results: in some cases, search shows extra information, such as breadcrumbs, reviews or product data.
- Artificial intelligence: AI tools can extract reliable information, such as services, prices and location.
- Consistency: it reinforces company details such as name, phone and address.
The most useful types for small businesses
- Organization / LocalBusiness: name, logo, phone, address, service area and social media.
- Service: describes each service, with area served and starting price.
- Product and Offer: for online stores, with price and availability.
- FAQPage: marks up the questions and answers visible on the page.
- BreadcrumbList: shows the page’s path within the website.
- BlogPosting / Article: identifies articles, with author and date.
A simple example
In plain language, a company’s structured data says something like: “This is Evollue, a professional services company located in Araxá, Minas Gerais, Brazil, with this phone, this email and these services”. Google reads it without having to guess from the text.
Important rules
- Mark up only what is visible. The information in the structured data must appear on the page for visitors.
- Be truthful. False prices, reviews and data can lead to penalties.
- Keep it up to date. Changed your phone or price? Update the structured data too.
- Test it. Use Google’s Rich Results Test to check for errors.
Does structured data guarantee prominence?
No. It helps Google understand the page and makes it eligible for some special formats, but whether to show them is up to the search engine. The surest gain is a correct understanding of your content, today and in the future.
How to add it to your website
On custom-built websites, structured data is included in each page’s code. On ready-made platforms, some plugins and settings do part of the work. What matters is that each type of page has the right data: company on all of them, service on service pages, article on the blog and FAQ wherever there is one.
Relationship with SEO for AI
AI tools need clear, reliable information. Well-built structured data, combined with copy that answers directly, increases the chance of your business being described correctly when someone asks about your service.
How to test structured data
- Open Google’s Rich Results Test.
- Paste the page address or the code.
- See which data types were found and whether there are errors or warnings.
- Fix the problems and test again.
You can also use the Schema.org validator to check that the code follows the standard. In Search Console, specific reports show problems found across the whole website over time.
Common mistakes
- Marking up reviews that don’t appear on the page.
- Stating prices different from the visible ones.
- Copying the same data block to every page without adapting it.
- Leaving required fields empty.
- Forgetting to update after changing phone, address or hours.
Which pages should have which data
- All pages: organization and website data.
- Service pages: service, breadcrumbs and FAQ.
- Products: product, price and availability.
- Blog articles: article, author, date and FAQ, if any.
- Contact page: contact and location data.
Conclusion
Structured data is a way to talk directly to search engines and artificial intelligence. It doesn’t replace good content, but it makes that content understood precisely. For businesses that want to appear on Google and in AI answers, it is a small technical investment with a lasting benefit.
Frequently asked questions
Can visitors see structured data?
No. It sits in the page code and is read by search engines and AI tools.
Do I need a developer to add it?
It depends on the platform. On custom websites, the developer includes it in the code. On some platforms, plugins help.
Do Evollue websites have structured data?
Yes. Every page comes with company structured data and, depending on the type, service, article, breadcrumb and FAQ data.
