What structured data is
A machine reading your site sees text, but does not always understand what each thing is. Structured data puts labels on it: this is a product, this is its price, this is a frequently asked question, this is the author. The standard vocabulary is called schema.org and both search engines and AI models use it.
JSON-LD, the easy way
There are several ways to write schema, but the recommended one is JSON-LD: a script block in JSON format that you drop into the page head or body. It changes nothing the user sees and stays separate from the visible HTML, so it is easy to generate and review. If you use Cursor or Bolt, asking your AI to generate the JSON-LD for a specific page is a one-prompt job.
Why it helps you get cited
When a model has to summarize your page, schema reduces ambiguity. Instead of inferring that a number is a price, it knows. Instead of guessing who wrote the article, it reads it. Less guessing means more trust, and more trust means a higher chance of being used as a source in an answer.
Which types to add
- Organization on your home: name, logo, links to your profiles.
- Product or SoftwareApplication on product pages, with name and description.
- FAQPage where you have real questions and answers.
- Article or BlogPosting on your posts, with author and date.
- BreadcrumbList to give context on where the page fits.
Do not add them all just because. Mark up only what is genuinely on the page.
The most common mistake
Marking up things that do not exist in the visible content, or leaving stale data. Schema must reflect what the user sees. A price in the JSON-LD different from the one on the page, or FAQs that appear nowhere, subtracts credibility instead of adding it. Be honest and consistent.
How to check it is right
You can validate your JSON-LD with free rich-results testing tools, or ask your AI to review it. What matters is that it has no syntax errors and that the types are correct for each page.
Scanaris reviews your schema
The Scanaris AEO pillar detects whether you have structured data, of what type, and whether it makes sense for the page, and gives you a fix prompt with the suggested JSON-LD to paste into your AI. It is a read-only check on your site's public HTML.