{"id":2844,"date":"2026-08-11T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grp-digital.com\/nl\/?p=2844"},"modified":"2026-08-21T11:30:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T11:30:19","slug":"wat-is-structured-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grp-digital.com\/en\/kennisbank\/seo-basics\/wat-is-structured-data\/","title":{"rendered":"What is structured data (schema) and what does it do for SEO?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Schema-code
Structured data delivers richer search results, like star ratings.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

Structured data is a piece of code that tells search engines exactly what's on your page. It describes your content in a fixed format, so Google doesn't have to guess whether something is a recipe, a product, or a business. Think of it as a label on a box: it tells you what's inside without you having to shake it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Structured data explained in plain language<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Search engines read your page, but they don't understand it the way a human does. They see text, headings, and links, but they have to infer the meaning. Structured data removes that guesswork. You label your content in a fixed language that search engines recognise, so they know for certain that “40” is a price and not a shoe size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The difference between structured data, schema markup, and schema.org<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

These three terms are often used interchangeably, but they don't mean the same thing. Structured data is the general concept: structured information that machines can read. Schema.org is the shared vocabulary, set up by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Yandex, that defines which labels exist and what they mean. Schema markup is applying that vocabulary in your page's code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Put simply: schema.org is the dictionary, schema markup is the sentence you write with it, and structured data is the idea behind it. Keep these three apart and the rest of this article makes more sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A simple example of how search engines read your page<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Say you have a page with an article. To you, it's immediately clear who the author is, when it was published, and what it's about. For a search engine, that's less obvious. It sees separate blocks of text and tries to reconstruct how they connect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With structured data, you provide that information explicitly. You literally say: this is an article, this is the title, this is the author, this is the date. The search engine no longer has to guess. That increases the chance your content gets understood correctly and shown the right way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does structured data do for SEO?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Structured data helps search engines understand your content better and sometimes display it more richly. It's not a button that pushes you higher, but a way to give clear signals. And clear signals are exactly what a search engine needs to judge your page on its merits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Better interpretation of your content<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first benefit is understanding. When a search engine knows for certain what your page is about, it can match it better with the right search queries. You reduce the chance of misunderstanding. That's especially valuable for content with a lot of detail, like products, recipes, events, or frequently asked questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chances of rich results and visibility in the SERP<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The second benefit is visibility. Structured data makes so-called rich results possible: search results with extra elements like star ratings, prices, frequently asked questions, or images. That expanded display is also called a rich snippet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note the difference. Rich results are the enhanced results as they appear in the search engine. Structured data is the code that makes it possible. One doesn't guarantee the other. You provide the ingredients, but the search engine decides for itself whether and when it shows the rich display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What structured data doesn't do<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Structured data is not a ranking trick. It's not a direct ranking factor and won't lift you to position one on its own. Anyone who thinks a piece of code can take the place of good content and a healthy technical foundation is in for a disappointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What it does do: it makes your page more readable for machines and increases your chance of a more eye-catching result. That better visibility can generate more clicks. And more clicks can help indirectly. But the starting point is always the content itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What types of structured data are there?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are hundreds of schema types, but in practice you only need a handful. Which ones you choose depends on what your page does. A product page calls for something different than a blog or a contact page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commonly used schema types<\/h3>\n\n\n\n