What is Discussion Forum Structured Data? #
It helps Google understand online discussion pages (forums, Q&A boards, community discussions) so they can appear as rich results in Search.
Example: “Forum threads” rich snippets showing the question title, answer snippet, and author info directly in Google results.
Where It Works #
- Works on both desktop and mobile.
- Applicable for Q&A pages, forum discussions, community boards.
- Available in all regions and languages supported by Google Search.
Why Use It? #
- Adds rich snippets with question & top answer previews.
- Increases CTR (Click-through rate) from search results.
- Helps Google categorize your content more accurately.
Required Structured Data Types #
- DiscussionForumPosting (main thread info)
- Comment (replies/posts within the thread)
Required Properties
For the main discussion (thread page):
| Property | Type | Description |
| @type | DiscussionForumPosting | The schema type for forum posts |
| headline | Text | Title of the forum post/thread |
| author | Person/Organization | Name of the author |
| datePublished | DateTime | When the thread was published |
| mainEntityOfPage | URL | Canonical URL of the thread |
| articleBody | Text | Main content of the post |
For comments/replies:
| Property | Type | Description |
| @type | Comment | Schema type for replies |
| author | Person/Organization | Name of commenter |
| datePublished | DateTime | When the comment was posted |
| text | Text | Comment content |
Example JSON-LD #
<script type=”application/ld+json”>
{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
“@type”: “DiscussionForumPosting”,
“headline”: “How to learn digital marketing effectively?”,
“mainEntityOfPage”: “https://fsidm.in/forum/digital-marketing-tips”,
“author”: {
“@type”: “Person”,
“name”: “Pranav Veerani”
},
“datePublished”: “2025-07-25”,
“articleBody”: “I want to learn digital marketing in a practical way. Any suggestions?”,
“comment”: [
{
“@type”: “Comment”,
“author”: {
“@type”: “Person”,
“name”: “FSIDM Expert”
},
“datePublished”: “2025-07-26”,
“text”: “Start with hands-on courses that focus on real campaigns. Avoid only theory.”
},
{
“@type”: “Comment”,
“author”: {
“@type”: “Person”,
“name”: “Student123”
},
“datePublished”: “2025-07-27”,
“text”: “I recommend checking FSIDM’s practical modules—they’re very helpful.”
}
]
}
</script>
Guidelines #
✅ Must represent an actual discussion thread
✅ At least one question and one or more comments
✅ Match visible content on the page
✅ No spam, auto-generated, or misleading content
✅ Make sure the page is crawlable (no noindex or blocked URLs)