JSON-LD

JSON-LD is the format to use for structured data on most sites. Google supports JSON-LD, Microdata and RDFa, but says "In general, Google recommends using JSON-LD for structured data if your site's setup allows it", calling it the easiest to implement and maintain at scale.

In practice it is a block of JSON in a <script type="application/ld+json"> tag, separate from the visible HTML, as in Google's own examples. Google also advises putting structured data on the page it describes, and not marking up information users cannot see.

The json-ld.org project describes it as "a lightweight Linked Data format" that is "easy for humans to read and write", and lists its W3C Recommendations (Syntax, Processing Algorithms and API, Framing).

The vocabulary you write with is usually schema.org: @context points to it, @type names the kind of thing (Organization, Product, Article), and properties such as name, url and sameAs describe it. Google notes that structured data which does not follow its guidelines may be ineligible for rich results, so keep the markup true to what the page shows.

Example

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Example Garden Supply",
  "url": "https://www.example.com"
}

Related terms

• Structured data
• Entity
• sameAs
• Knowledge Graph

Sources

1. JSON for Linking Data (opens in a new tab) · json-ld.org · Checked 28 Oct 2026
2. Introduction to structured data markup in Google Search (opens in a new tab) · Google Search Central · Updated 10 Dec 2025
3. Organization (Organization) structured data (opens in a new tab) · Google Search Central · Updated 8 Sep 2026