Structured Data Types

SEO

Also: Schema Types · Schema.org Types

What they areNamed categories of page content

Common typesArticle, Product, FAQPage, LocalBusiness

Why botherUnlocks rich results in search

Watch forWrong type earns no rich result

Quick definition

Structured data types are the named categories in the schema.org vocabulary, such as Article, Product, FAQPage, LocalBusiness and Review, that tell search engines what kind of content a page contains. Each type follows a specific format, and picking the correct one determines whether a page qualifies for a rich result in search.

How it varies across Australia

Adoption of structured data across Australian small and mid-sized business sites lags larger retail and publisher sites, which use it heavily to win rich results. LocalBusiness and Review types matter more here than in bigger markets because local search competition is tighter.

See digital maturity benchmarks across Australian industries →

Structured data types you'll actually use

Article

Marks blog posts and news content, enabling headline and image display in search.

Product

Marks ecommerce listings with price, availability and rating for shopping-style results.

FAQPage

Marks genuine question and answer content for expandable dropdowns in search results.

LocalBusiness

Marks address, hours and service area for local search and map pack visibility.

Review

Marks genuine ratings and testimonials, must reflect real, verifiable customer feedback.

BreadcrumbList

Marks the page's position in site hierarchy, showing a clean path in search results.

What it actually means

Structured data types are labels. Think of them as the difference between handing a stranger a stack of papers and handing them a filing cabinet with folders marked Recipe, Event, Product and FAQ. Google can read either, but the filing cabinet lets it pull out exactly what it needs and display it as a rich result: star ratings, price, opening hours, an FAQ dropdown right there in the search listing.

Each type has required and recommended fields. A Product type wants a price and availability. A Review type wants a rating and an author. Get the fields wrong or incomplete and the page might validate but still miss out on the rich result, because Google's eligibility bar sits above basic schema validation.

This sits inside the broader discipline of technical SEO, alongside things like Core Web Vitals and crawlability. Structured data doesn't move rankings directly. It changes how a result looks once it's already ranking, which changes click-through rate, which is where the real gain usually shows up.

Structured data doesn't make Google rank you higher. It makes Google understand you well enough to make you look better once you're there.

How it shows up

Structured data types show up as the code block sitting invisibly in a page's head or body, usually written in JSON-LD format. You won't see it on the rendered page. You'll see its effect in search results as star ratings under a product listing, an expandable FAQ block under a blog post, or a business's opening hours and map pin appearing directly in the search result. Google's Rich Results Test tool is where most teams first discover whether their chosen type actually qualifies.

The Australian context

LocalBusiness schema carries more weight for Australian businesses competing in local search than the global average suggests, because local pack competition in Australian capital cities is dense relative to the population searching. Review schema also intersects with Australian Consumer Law. Star ratings displayed via structured data must reflect genuine, verifiable reviews. Fabricated or manipulated review markup risks both a manual action from Google and scrutiny from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) around misleading representations.

Where people get this wrong

Marking up content as a type it isn't.Labelling a blog post as a Product or forcing FAQPage onto content that isn't genuinely a Q&A format gets flagged by Google's spam systems and can suppress rich results across the whole site.

Stopping at validation, not eligibility.A schema validator confirming your code is technically correct doesn't mean the page qualifies for a rich result. Google applies its own quality and content thresholds on top of valid markup.

Letting the CMS plugin decide which types to use.Default plugin schema is usually generic Organization or Article markup. The types that actually earn rich results, like FAQPage, Review and Product, need deliberate implementation matched to real page content.

Common questions

How many structured data types should a website use?

As many as genuinely match the content on each page, and no more. A product page might use Product and BreadcrumbList. A service business homepage might use LocalBusiness and Review. Forcing extra types onto content that doesn't fit them risks penalties rather than rich results.

Does structured data improve rankings?

Not directly. Google has said structured data is not a ranking factor on its own. What it does is unlock rich results like star ratings and FAQ dropdowns, which improve click-through rate. Better click-through rate can indirectly support performance over time.

What format should structured data be written in?

JSON-LD is Google's recommended format and the easiest to implement without touching visible page content. It sits as a separate script block rather than being woven into the HTML, which makes it simpler to maintain and less likely to break the page layout.

How do I check if my structured data is working?

Use Google's Rich Results Test to check a specific page for both validity and eligibility. Then check Search Console's Enhancements reports over the following weeks to see whether the rich result is actually appearing in live search results.

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About New Rebellion

New Rebellion is a marketing intelligence consultancy. We build tools, score Australian businesses on how their marketing actually performs, and publish Debrief every day. This dictionary is part of how we work in the open.

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