Google Clarifies Why JSON-LD is Recommended for Structured Data
In an effort to provide website owners with more clarity on the use of structured data for Google Search, the search giant has released a statement clarifying why JSON-LD is recommended for implementation.
According to the statement, JSON-LD is generally the easiest format for website owners to implement and maintain, which is why it’s the recommended format for structured data. However, Google clarified that all three supported formats (JSON-LD, Microdata, and RDFa) are equally fine for use as long as they are valid and properly implemented per the feature’s documentation.
Structured data helps search engines better understand the content of web pages, which can lead to improved search rankings and a better user experience. By clarifying the recommended format for implementation, Google is providing website owners with more guidance on how to improve their search presence.
| Supported formats | |
|---|---|
| JSON-LD* (Recommended) | A JavaScript notation embedded in a <script> tag in the <head> and <body> elements of an HTML page. The markup is not interleaved with the user-visible text, which makes nested data items easier to express, such as the Country of a PostalAddress of a MusicVenue of an Event. Also, Google can read JSON-LD data when it is dynamically injected into the page’s contents, such as by JavaScript code or embedded widgets in your content management system. |
| Microdata | An open-community HTML specification used to nest structured data within HTML content. Like RDFa, it uses HTML tag attributes to name the properties you want to expose as structured data. It is typically used in the <body> element, but can be used in the <head> element. |
| RDFa | An HTML5 extension that supports linked data by introducing HTML tag attributes that correspond to the user-visible content that you want to describe for search engines. RDFa is commonly used in both the <head> and <body> sections of the HTML page. |
