What Is Structured Data and Why Does Your Website Need It?

Structured data is a way of labelling your website’s information so Google can understand it. Think of it as translating your content into a language search engines speak fluently.

What it looks like in practice

Without structured data, Google sees “123 High Street” and has to guess whether that is your address, a product name, or just random text. With structured data, you explicitly label it as your business address. The same applies to your business name, phone number, opening hours, prices, and reviews.

Why it matters for small businesses

Businesses with structured data can appear in Google with enhanced listings showing star ratings, opening hours, prices, and contact details directly in search results. These rich snippets get significantly more clicks than plain text listings.

How to add it

If you use WordPress, the free Rank Math plugin adds structured data automatically. For Shopify, it is built into most themes. For other platforms, your developer can add JSON-LD markup to your pages. At minimum, add Organization and LocalBusiness schema with your name, address, and contact details.

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