Structured data
Structured data is code on a web page that labels its facts, such as a product’s name, price and stock, in a standard form machines can read.
- Schema markup
What it means
A product page tells a person what it sells in words and pictures. Structured data tells a machine in labelled fields: this is the name, this is the price, this is the currency, this is the stock status. Google calls it “a standardized format for providing information about a page and classifying the page content”.1
Google reads two kinds of product markup. Product snippets are for pages “where people can’t directly purchase the product”, such as a review. Merchant listings are for pages “where customers can purchase products from you”.2 A merchant listing needs a name, an image and an Offer, the block that holds a price above zero and its currency.3
The rule that matters most is truth. Google requires structured data to be “a true representation of the page content”.4 Merchant Center says it “must match the values that are shown to the customer”.5
Think of it like this
It is like the nutrition panel on food packaging: the same facts, in the same boxes, in the same order on every product, so anyone can compare two packets at a glance.
For example
A bath page shows “£479.00, in stock”. Its structured data says the same in fields. The Product is named “Lowmere 1700 × 700 mm single ended bath, white, no tap holes”, and its Offer has price 479.00, priceCurrency GBP and availability InStock.
Why it matters
Markup can make a product eligible for richer search results that show its price and stock. The values are checked against everything else, though. Availability has to agree across the landing page, the structured data, the checkout and the feed: “A mismatch in one of these will trigger a product disapproval.”6
Not to be confused with
Structured data is not a product feed. A feed is a file you send to Google Merchant Center; structured data sits on your own pages. Google accepts either, and says providing both “maximizes your eligibility to experiences”.2
Sources
- Google Search Central. Introduction to structured data markup in Google Search.
- Google Search Central. Introduction to Product structured data.
- Google Search Central. Merchant listing (Product, Offer) structured data.
- Google Search Central. General structured data guidelines.
- Google Merchant Center Help. Supported structured data attributes and values.
- Google Merchant Center Help. Availability [availability].