---
title: Introduction to structured data markup in Google Search
description: "## **✅ What is Structured Data?** Structured data is **code you add to your website** to help Google (and other search engines) **better understand the content on your page**. Think of it as giving Google a **cheat sheet** about your…"
url: "https://fsidm.in/knowledge/seo/structured-data-markup/"
updated: "2025-10-04"
category: SEO
---

# Introduction to structured data markup in Google Search

## **✅ What is Structured Data?**

Structured data is **code you add to your website** to help Google (and other search engines) **better understand the content on your page**.

Think of it as giving Google a **cheat sheet** about your page—what it’s about, who wrote it, what product it sells, what the course includes, etc.

## **🚀 Why You Should Use Structured Data**

Adding structured data helps your pages qualify for **rich results** (the enhanced search listings that show images, ratings, FAQs, carousels, etc.).

### **📈 Case Study Highlights:**

- **Rotten Tomatoes:** +25% CTR
- **Nestlé:** +82% more clicks
- **Rakuten:** +3.6x more interaction
- **Food Network:** +35% visits after adding structured data

## **🛠️ How to Add Structured Data (3 Formats)**

Google supports these formats:

- ✅ **JSON-LD** (recommended)
- Microdata
- RDFa

### **🧠 JSON-LD Example (for FSIDM’s homepage):**

<script type="application/ld+json">

{

  "@context": "https://schema.org",

  "@type": "Organization",

  "name": "FSIDM - Practical Digital Marketing Course in India",

  "url": "https://fsidm.in",

  "logo": "https://fsidm.in/logo.png",

  "sameAs": \[

    "https://www.instagram.com/fsidm.in",

    "https://www.linkedin.com/company/fsidm",

    "https://www.youtube.com/@fsidm"

  \]

}

</script>

## **🔍 Where to Add It?**

Add it inside the <head> or at the end of the <body> of your HTML. If you're using:

- **WordPress** → Use plugins like **Rank Math**, **Yoast SEO**, or **Schema Pro**
- **Wix/Shopify** → Look for SEO/Structured Data settings or apps

## **🔧 What You Can Mark Up (Examples for FSIDM)**

| **Content Type** | **Schema Type** |
| --- | --- |
| Courses | Course |
| Trainers | Person |
| Testimonials | Review |
| Events / Webinars | Event |
| Blog Articles | Article, BlogPosting |
| Location Info | LocalBusiness, Place |

## **🧪 Test Before You Launch**

Use the **Rich Results Test** or **Schema Markup Validator** to validate your code.

Also, track performance using:

- Google Search Console → *Enhancements Report*
- URL Inspection Tool → to check indexing and schema status

## **🎯 Final Tips**

- Use **accurate, user-visible info** only
- Don’t spam schema with fake or hidden content
- Focus on **quality over quantity**—better to mark fewer things correctly

## General Structured Data Guidelines

### 🛡️ 1. Basic Rule

Structured data must:

- **Match the actual page content** (no fake or hidden info)
- **Follow Google Search spam policies**
- **Meet all required fields** for that schema type
  ✅ Rich results are a bonus, not guaranteed—even perfect markup may not always show.

### ⚙️ 2. Technical Guidelines

- Use one of Google-supported formats:

  - **JSON-LD** (recommended)
  - Microdata
  - RDFa
- Don’t block Googlebot from reading the page (no robots.txt or noindex on the page with schema).
- Use the **Rich Results Test** and **URL Inspection Tool** to check markup.

### 📏 3. Quality Guidelines

**Your schema must:**

- Be **accurate & relevant** (don’t label a blog as a recipe)
- Show **content that users can see** on the page
- Stay **up to date** (no expired events or outdated info)
- Avoid fake reviews, fake ratings, or misleading claims
  👉 Violating this can trigger a **manual action** (you lose rich results eligibility).

### 📌 4. Relevance & Specificity

- Use the **most specific schema type** (e.g., DigitalMarketingCourse → Course instead of generic Thing)
- Structured data should reflect **the page’s main focus**
- If a page has multiple items (recipe + video + reviews), **link them using****@id** or nest them

### 🖼️ 5. Image Guidelines

- Images in schema must:

  - Be **relevant to the page**
  - Be **crawlable and indexable** (check in URL Inspection Tool)
- Example: A Course schema image should be the **course banner**, not a random stock image

### 📍 6. Location & Duplicate Pages

- Place schema **on the page it describes**
- If you have **duplicate pages** (www vs non-www, HTTP vs HTTPS), use the **same schema** on all

### ⚡ 7. Practical Example

Example for FSIDM (nested items: Course + Review + Video):

<script type="application/ld+json">

{

  "@context": "https://schema.org",

  "@type": "Course",

  "name": "Practical Digital Marketing Course",

  "description": "Learn SEO, Google Ads, Social Media, and AI tools with FSIDM's hands-on training in Ahmedabad.",

  "provider": {

    "@type": "Organization",

    "name": "FSIDM",

    "sameAs": "https://fsidm.in"

  },

  "aggregateRating": {

    "@type": "AggregateRating",

    "ratingValue": "4.9",

    "ratingCount": "154"

  },

  "hasCourseInstance": {

    "@type": "CourseInstance",

    "courseMode": "Online",

    "startDate": "2025-08-10"

  },

  "video": {

    "@type": "VideoObject",

    "name": "Why Choose FSIDM?",

    "description": "Explore FSIDM’s practical digital marketing training program.",

    "thumbnailUrl": "https://fsidm.in/video-thumb.jpg",

    "uploadDate": "2025-07-25",

    "contentUrl": "https://fsidm.in/intro-video.mp4"

  }

}

</script>