JSON-LD structured data for AI search
JSON-LD is a script-tag block of schema.org data that explicitly tells search engines and AI answer engines what your page is — an article, a product, an FAQ, a how-to, an organization. Instead of forcing a crawler to infer meaning from your HTML, JSON-LD states it directly, which improves rich results in classic search and gives language models reliable, structured facts to cite. It's the lowest-effort, highest-confidence way to make your content machine-readable.
why JSON-LD over microdata
schema.org markup can be added three ways — microdata, RDFa, and JSON-LD. Google recommends JSON-LD, and it's the right choice for AI search too: it lives in a single <script type="application/ld+json"> block, separate from your visible markup, so it's easy to generate, validate, and keep in sync without touching your layout.
Because it's a clean, self-contained block of facts, language models can parse it without wading through your DOM. That's why structured data punches above its weight for GEO.
the schema types that matter
You don't need dozens of types. A handful cover almost every page and map directly to how AI engines summarize content.
- Organization / WebSite — site-wide identity, sitelinks search box. Put it on your homepage.
- Article — author, publish date, headline. Put it on every blog post.
- FAQPage — question/answer pairs. Powers FAQ rich results and feeds Q&A answers.
- HowTo — ordered steps. Powers step-by-step rich results and instructional answers.
- Product / SoftwareApplication — name, price, rating. Put it on product and tool pages.
- BreadcrumbList — page hierarchy, shown in results and helps engines understand structure.
add it, then validate it
Invalid JSON-LD is worse than none — engines ignore it or flag errors. After adding markup, validate with Google's Rich Results Test and the schema.org validator, and make sure the structured data matches what's actually visible on the page (engines penalize markup that describes content users can't see).
seocheck flags whether your page ships any JSON-LD as part of its SEO and GEO scores, so you can spot pages missing structured data at a glance.
Check your own page
seocheck scores your on-page SEO, GEO (AI answer engines), and sitemap health in seconds — free, no account.
FAQ
- does JSON-LD directly improve rankings?
- Not as a ranking factor by itself, but it unlocks rich results and gives engines confident, structured facts — both of which improve visibility and click-through. For AI search, structured data makes your content easier to cite accurately.
- can I put multiple JSON-LD blocks on one page?
- Yes. It's common to have an Organization block, an Article block, and an FAQPage block on the same page. Use separate script tags or a single @graph array — both are valid.
- what happens if my JSON-LD doesn't match the visible content?
- Engines treat mismatched or hidden structured data as spammy and may ignore it or apply a manual action. Always mark up content that's actually present and visible on the page.