Structured data (schema)
Short definition
Structured data is markup that labels information on a page, such as a price or a review, in a format a search engine reads with certainty.
A page can write '4.8 stars, 120 reviews' in plain text, but a search engine may not read that with confidence. Structured data added through the Schema.org standard breaks this into precise fields such as 'rating' and 'review count', letting the engine display it directly in results, star ratings being the clearest example.
Separate templates exist for products, recipes, events, FAQs and organisation details. Marking up information that is wrong or absent from the page can be spotted and penalised, so structured data has to reflect what the page genuinely contains.
Whether the markup is actually being read can be checked with Google's Rich Results Test or the enhancements report in Search Console, skip that step and a small syntax error can sit unprocessed for months without anyone noticing. The most common mistake is forgetting to update structured data once page content changes, a product schema can still say 'in stock' long after the item has sold out.
Why it matters
Structured data can win a page rich results, stars, price or a question-and-answer box, that make it stand out among plain listings. That extra visibility usually lifts the click-through rate.
Illustrative example
A flooring manufacturer marked up price and stock information with structured data, and its product pages began appearing as product cards directly in search results.
