News
Google documents creator for VideoObject structured data
Google's video structured data docs now list creator, or author, as a recommended property and name the four interaction types it supports.
Structured data and schema markup for search and AI
What Structured data means
Structured data is machine-readable markup, usually schema.org vocabulary in JSON-LD, that states what a page is about in explicit terms rather than leaving it to be inferred from prose. It powers rich results in search and gives answer engines a reliable way to resolve entities, authorship and publication dates.
Reference: schema.org
Research
Structured Data Markup Helper: is Google's tool still available?
What Google's Structured Data Markup Helper does, whether it still works, and what Google recommends for writing and testing structured data.
Tools
AggregateRating schema checker for review snippets
AggregateRating schema checker: test JSON-LD against Google review snippet rules for ratingValue, counts, scale and item type. Free, runs in your browser.
Tools
Organization logo structured data generator
Logo structured data generator: build Organization JSON-LD with logo, url, name and sameAs, and check Google's logo rules. Free, runs in your browser.
Tools
Course schema validator for Google course lists
Course schema validator: paste Course JSON-LD and check name, description, provider and the 60 character display limit. Free, runs in your browser.
Tools
FAQ schema validator for FAQPage JSON-LD
FAQ schema validator: check FAQPage JSON-LD so every Question has a name and acceptedAnswer text. Notes Google's FAQ rich result removal. Free, in-browser.
Tools
LocalBusiness schema checker for required fields
LocalBusiness schema checker: tests JSON-LD for name, address, geo precision, priceRange and hours against Google's docs. Free, runs in your browser.
Tools
Video schema validator: VideoObject required fields
Video schema validator: check VideoObject JSON-LD for Google's required and recommended properties, ISO 8601 dates and durations. Free, in your browser.
Research
Does adding JSON-LD schema raise AI citations? Ahrefs test
Ahrefs tracked 1,885 pages that added JSON-LD against matched controls. Here is the method, the citation changes by platform and the limits.
Studies
Product schema on a B2B store: +111% clicks, per Simplified Search
Simplified Search reports Product markup on one unnamed B2B ecommerce site lifted impressions 119% and clicks 111%, with no control group.
Tools
Event schema validator for required fields and dates
Event schema validator: check Event JSON-LD for Google's required fields, UTC offsets, eventStatus and priceCurrency. Free, runs in your browser.
Tools
Product schema checker for product snippets
Product schema checker: test Product JSON-LD against Google product snippet rules for name, offers, price, currency and stock. Free, runs in your browser.
Tools
Recipe schema checker for required and recommended fields
Recipe schema checker: test Recipe JSON-LD for the required name and image, the calories and yield rule and ISO 8601 times. Free, runs in your browser.
Reports
Shopping Graph grew from 45 to 60 billion listings in 19 months
Google's own disclosures put the Shopping Graph at 45 billion listings in October 2024, 50 billion in January 2026, and past 60 billion by May 2026.
Tools
JobPosting schema checker: required and recommended fields
JobPosting schema checker: test job posting JSON-LD for Google's 5 required and 7 recommended fields, employmentType, expiry. Free, runs in your browser.
Research
A year of SearchPilot split tests on adding FAQ schema
SearchPilot's aggregate split tests found FAQ schema was positive 67% of the time, with organic traffic uplifts of 4-15% while the rich result existed.
Reports
WebSite leads schema.org type adoption at 12.73% of mobile pages
The 2024 Web Almanac breaks JSON-LD down by schema.org type: WebSite tops out at 12.73% of mobile pages, Organization at 7.16%, Product at just 0.77%.
Studies
Marshfield Clinic: 454% CTR gain from schema markup
Schema App's customer story on Marshfield Clinic reports a 454% CTR increase when a Review Snippet was awarded, plus 32% from entity linking.
News
Google documents its EEA-only aggregator and supplier units
Google's September 2026 changelog documents aggregator units, supplier units and carousels: result formats limited to the EEA, South Africa and Turkiye.
Tools
JSON-LD validator for schema.org structured data
JSON-LD validator: find syntax errors by line and column, then check the fields Google requires for 7 schema types. Free, runs in your browser.
Tools
AEO checker: AI answer readiness score for articles
AEO checker that scores an article's opening answer, headings, ids, lists, citations, schema and date for AI answers. Free, runs in your browser.
Tools
Structured data markup helper: JSON-LD schema generator
Schema markup generator: build JSON-LD for Article, NewsArticle, FAQPage, VideoObject, Organization and BreadcrumbList. Free, runs in your browser.
Tools
Breadcrumb schema generator (BreadcrumbList JSON-LD)
Breadcrumb schema generator: build BreadcrumbList JSON-LD row by row, with position, name and URL checks from Google's docs. Free, runs in your browser.
Studies
SearchPilot: removing a breadcrumb link cut organic traffic 5.5%
SearchPilot split-tested removing a self-referential breadcrumb link on PLPs. Traffic fell 5.5%, likely from a schema markup mismatch left behind.
Studies
JSON-LD structured data adoption grew from 34% to 41% of pages
HTTP Archive's Web Almanac found JSON-LD on 41% of pages in 2024, up from 34% in 2022, while RDFa and Open Graph stayed the most common formats.
Studies
SearchPilot: FAQ content lifted traffic, FAQ schema did not
SearchPilot split-tested FAQ content and FAQ schema. Content added 9.7% more organic clicks; removing schema alone changed nothing.
Research
Review and AggregateRating schema: Google's real required fields
Google's own review-snippet documentation names exact required properties and abuse rules. Markup that passes a property check can still break the rules.
Studies
Google's own numbers: structured data lifted CTR 25-82%
Google's own documentation reports Rotten Tomatoes at 25% higher CTR and Nestle at 82% higher CTR from structured data. Here is what each figure measures.
News
Google adds review snippet rule on fake and incentivized reviews
Google's review snippet docs now bar fake reviews and undisclosed incentivized ones from your page and markup. Logged in the updates log on 24 July 2026.
Research
VideoObject schema: the required properties Google actually documents
Google documents three required VideoObject properties, not the four often claimed, plus exact date and duration formats and a rich-result caveat.
News
Google removes FAQ rich results from Search
FAQPage markup no longer earns an expanded snippet in Google Search as of 7 May 2026, though the markup stays valid and Google says leaving it is harmless.
Research
Article schema has no required properties, only recommended ones
Google's own Article structured data documentation names zero required properties, only recommended ones, which changes how schema work gets prioritized.
News
What Google and Bing actually say about schema and AI
Schema.org's own numbers, Google's AI documentation and Bing's public statements, separated from unverified SEO claims.
Reports
Schema.org's vocabulary hit 823 types with version 30.0 in 2026
Schema.org's own release notes put the vocabulary at 823 types and 1,529 properties as of version 30.0, alongside a new Google-backed usage dataset.
News
Merchant Center adds AI Performance Insights for share of voice
A new Merchant Center report benchmarks brand visibility on AI Mode and AI Overviews, plus shopping funnel and attribute-gap data.
News
Google's 2026 Merchant Center product spec, three effective dates
New shipping and video attributes, a higher minimum image resolution and a longer rollout: what changes on 14 April 2026, 30 June 2026 and 31 January 2027.
Studies
SearchPilot: breadcrumb placement has no impact on SEO
SearchPilot split-tested moving breadcrumbs to the top and bottom of listing pages. Both tests were inconclusive, showing placement does not alter rank.