get structured.
talk to search engines and AI in their own language.
get structured.
talk to search engines and AI in their own language.
our take.
what structured data means.
Structured data gives a pattern or organization to website information. It is precisely what search engine providers (Google, Bing, Yahoo, and Yandex) were seeking when they created schema.org and it is the same foundation that AI systems like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s Gemini rely on when deciding which sources to cite and recommend.
Schema.org is a vocabulary, a structure, and a way to classify information on the web. Currently, schema.org has defined over 800 “classes” with their many properties.
A “class” is an overarching label that describes the content on a specific page. There are specific classes (e.g., “dental practice”) as well as general classes (e.g., “Local Business”, “Organization”, “Person”, “Place”, “Product”) to select. Each “class” comes bundled with its own set of properties that allow you to further label the information on your website related to the “class.” The objective is to be as specific as possible about the content on your website page.
Google makes clear which properties in a class they want you to provide. Search engines see the structured data you provide, but human visitors do not. AI systems, however, treat it as a trust signal, properly marked-up content signals authority and precision, making it far more likely to be cited in AI Overviews and generative AI responses.
why you need it.
It’s a jungle out there — and your website needs to dominate the SERP, win AI Overview citations, and be the source generative AI recommends. You need to be discovered in voice search, featured in AI-generated answers, and recognized by digital assistants as a trustworthy, authoritative source. A voice response or AI answer will not return a list. It will return a single result for a top-ranking site. You want your website to be that site.
Here is a short list of the benefits your website and your business may derive from properly designed and implemented structured data:
enhance business outcomes
improve your “discoverability IQ” across search and AI platforms
develop a superior content strategy
dominate rich results
increase blog readership and site traffic
promote your product / course / event
exert influence on the content in your Google Knowledge Panel
improve your brand control
offer actionable options like appointment setting, reservations, product purchases, etc.
develop new hire interest
improve your odds in voice search and AI-generated answers
be present in every display surface, including watches, automobiles, and billboards
optimize for Google / Bing ad budgets & improve influence rank
structure your Knowledge Graph
use that Knowledge Graph for chatbot and AI assistant implementation
learn more from semantic analytics
what others say.
Microsoft published a “Voice Report” that reflects on how search is moving from a place of answers to a state of action, and how the primary user interface is giving way to a new age of voice and digital assistants. They conclude:
“Voice and conversational AI ignite this world view, ready to enhance our lives in ways once only dreamed possible. From home healthcare to banking to farming, AI is fueling change across every industry around the planet…Disruptions don’t evolve; they erupt – and it’s likely that digital assistants are following closely in the footsteps of web and mobile. And in a world driven by voice, digital assistants and position zero, there won’t be many prizes for 2nd place.”
Our structured data technology partner, Schema App, produced this excellent video. Enjoy!
this is how we can help you.
structured data strategy, setup, and deployment
With structured data strategy, we determine the best way to reflect the meaning and value of your business, brand, and website content using structured data — and to position that content as a preferred source for AI Overviews and generative AI engines.
We collaborate with you to understand your strategic objectives, develop a schema markup strategy plan reflective of those objectives, and get you up and running. Depending on the size of your site and the structure of its pages and posts, we may employ a suite of techniques to set up, test, and deploy the structured data schema.
structured data managed services
Nothing is forever, least of all content and technology on the internet. Your website and its content evolve over time. Schema.org is also busy evolving and expanding the classes, properties, and interrelationships of structured data elements. And Google’s AI systems are continuously recalibrating which structured signals they trust most. Our managed services offering keeps your website correctly marked up with the most current and appropriate structured data as you, schema.org, and AI search all grow and change.
coordinated website refresh or replace
Google’s evolving interest in required and suggested structured data properties and relationships, and AI systems’ growing reliance on E-E-A-T signals may inform a refresh or replacement of your website. We will collaborate with you to evaluate which parts of your website need changing or additional content. If we believe you would be better served by a complete website replacement, we will let you know, and we will assist you during the new website’s development.