Why use it? #
- Helps Google show better titles, images, author info, and publication dates.
- Improves visibility in Google Search, Google News, and Google Assistant.
- No mandatory fields, but recommended to add as many relevant properties as possible.
Basic JSON-LD Example (NewsArticle) #
{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
“@type”: “NewsArticle”,
“headline”: “Title of a News Article”,
“image”: [
“https://example.com/photos/1×1/photo.jpg”,
“https://example.com/photos/4×3/photo.jpg”,
“https://example.com/photos/16×9/photo.jpg”
],
“datePublished”: “2024-01-05T08:00:00+08:00”,
“dateModified”: “2024-02-05T09:20:00+08:00”,
“author”: [
{
“@type”: “Person”,
“name”: “Jane Doe”,
“url”: “https://example.com/profile/janedoe123”
},
{
“@type”: “Person”,
“name”: “John Doe”,
“url”: “https://example.com/profile/johndoe123”
}
],
“publisher”: {
“@type”: “Organization”,
“name”: “The Daily Bug”,
“url”: “https://example.com”
}
}
Recommended Properties #
| Property | Description | Notes & Tips |
| headline | Title of your article | Keep it concise to avoid truncation |
| image | One or more relevant images URLs | Use multiple sizes (16×9, 4×3, 1×1), crawlable & indexable |
| datePublished | When the article was first published | Use ISO 8601 format with timezone |
| dateModified | Date of last modification | Optional but recommended |
| author | Person or Organization who wrote the article | List each author separately, use @type and url |
| publisher | Organization publishing the article | Include at least name and URL |
Author Markup Best Practices #
- List each author individually in an array.
- Use “@type”: “Person” for individuals and “@type”: “Organization” for companies.
- Include name and optionally url or sameAs (like social profile).
- Don’t mix multiple authors in a single string (e.g., “Willow Lane, Regula Felix” — avoid this).
- Only put the author’s name in author.name — no job titles or prefixes here.
Tips for Adding Structured Data #
- Add JSON-LD inside <script type=”application/ld+json”> in your HTML <head>.
- Use Google’s Rich Results Test tool to validate your markup.
- Ensure your images are crawlable, relevant, and properly sized.
- If using CMS (WordPress, Wix, etc.), use SEO plugins or built-in fields to add structured data easily.
- Submit updated URLs in Google Search Console after implementation.
Common Troubleshooting #
- If rich results don’t show, verify no errors in Rich Results Test.
- Wait for Google to re-crawl and re-index (may take days).
- Make sure your page is not blocked by robots.txt, noindex tag, or login/age gates.
- Follow Google’s General Structured Data Guidelines.