What Is Structured Data (In Plain English)

Structured data is code that sits on your website, invisible to visitors but super helpful to search engines. It tells Google things like:

• What your page is about
• What type of content is on it (e.g. blog post, product, recipe, event)
• Who wrote it
• Where your business is located

Think of it as giving Google a cheat sheet for your website, making it easier for Google to quickly understand the context of your page. The easier you make things for Google, the more likely you’ll have a chance to rank in more locations.

The most common format is the schema.org markup, and it usually sits in the header of your page. Don’t worry, you don’t have to write it yourself.

If you’re new to websites, you may want to first read our Websites 101 guide for small business.

Why Structured Data Matters 

Structured data helps your site stand out in search results. That can mean:

• Showing star ratings under your product
• Displaying your business hours in local search
• Getting featured in rich snippets or “People Also Ask” boxes

These small wins increase your click-through rate (CTR) when you appear on Google and improve Google’s visibility of your site. You’re essentially helping it to read between the lines.

For small business owners, this simply means more traffic.

Want to understand where this fits into the bigger picture? Read our Digital Marketing 101 guide.

How Structured Data Helps Google Understand Your Website

Google is smart, but not that smart. It relies on structure to make sense of your content.

Let’s say you’ve written a page about your cafe in Melbourne. If you use structured data, Google can clearly see:

• It’s a business
• It’s a cafe
• It’s located in Melbourne
• It’s open from 7am to 3pm
• It serves vegan options

All of that information is much clearer with structured data, and makes it easier for Google to index your page correctly and show it to the right searchers.

The SEO Benefits of Structured Data (Hint: They’re Big)

Structured data doesn’t directly boost your rankings; it helps your search appearance, which does impact your SEO. Some SEO benefits include:

• Higher CTR from better-looking search results
• Eligibility for rich results (like star ratings, product info, FAQs)
• Stronger local SEO through clear business information
• Improved indexing of your content

Basically, you’re helping Google help you.

Common Types of Structured Data (That You Might Already Need)

There are hundreds of schema types, but here are the most useful ones for small businesses:

• Local Business – adds business name, address, hours, and phone number
• Product – adds price, availability, and reviews.
• FAQPage – adds collapsible FAQs to your search listing
• Article/BlogPosting – tells Google it’s a blog, who wrote it, and when
• Review – adds customer star ratings to your product or service
• Event – adds date, time, and location for events you run
  
  If you’re running a service-based or product-based business, at least one of these applies to you.

Discover how to integrate this with an effective content strategy in our 'Content Marketing for Small Business' guide.

Free Structured Data Templates

Don’t want to start from scratch? We’ve created plug-and-play JSON templates you can copy, paste and edit to suit your business:

• FAQ Schema JSON Template – Add collapsible FAQs to your search listing
  
• Product Schema JSON Template – Show prices, reviews, and availability
  
• Article Schema JSON Template – Help Google recognise your blogs and author info

Use these with Google’s Rich Results Test to validate before publishing.

How to Add Structured Data Without Being a Developer

There are three easy ways to get started:

1. Use a plugin (for WordPress or Shopify)

• WordPress: Try Yoast SEO, RankMath, or Schema Pro
  
• Shopify: Many themes include built-in schema, or use apps like JSON‑LD for SEO
  
  

2. Use Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper

Just highlight the elements on your website, and it generates the code for you. Copy and paste it into your site’s HTML.

👉 https://www.google.com/webmasters/markup-helper/ 

3. Use a developer (once-off help)

If your site is custom-built or not on a common CMS, it might be worth paying someone to set it up. It’s usually a small job.

Try Our HedgehogGPT Structured Data Writer

Need help writing structured data specific to your business?

Check out our custom tool: Hedgehog Structured Data Writer GPT

It generates SEO-friendly JSON-LD code in seconds for things like:

• Local business markup
  
• Blog or article pages
  
• Product listings
  
• FAQs
  ‍

Just enter your details and it’ll generate the right code for you, no developer needed.

Tools to Help You Check Your Structured Data

Once you've added structured data, use these tools to check everything is working:

• Google’s Rich Results Test - https://search.google.com/test/rich-results
  
• Schema Markup Validator - https://validator.schema.org/ 

Both will highlight errors and help you fix any issues before Google notices.

Structured Data for Local SEO (Aussie Edition)

If you're a business based in Australia and want to show up in local search results, structured data is your best mate.

Be sure to include:

• Your ABN (optional but helpful)
• Opening hours (corrected for your time zone)
• NAP info (Name, Address, Phone) that exactly matches your Google Business Profile
• “geo” property (latitude and longitude) in your LocalBusiness schema

This helps Google match your site with your Google Business listing, and that’s huge for showing up in Maps and local packs.

Not sure what channels are right for your audience? Check out Choosing Your Digital Marketing Channels

Frequently Asked Questions

What is structured data in simple terms?
It’s extra code you add to your website to help Google understand what your content is about.

Do I need to use structured data for SEO?
Yes, it’s not required, but it helps Google display your site more effectively and can enhance your SEO performance.

Is structured data hard to implement?
Not at all. There are plugins, apps, and tools to help, even if you don’t know how to code.

Does structured data help with local search?
Absolutely. It helps Google understand where your business is located and what services you offer locally.

Is schema the same as structured data?
Schema is the format (schema.org) most commonly used for structured data.

Conclusion

Structured data might sound technical, but it’s one of the easiest SEO wins for small businesses. By adding a little extra information behind the scenes, you’re helping Google understand, index, and promote your website more effectively, especially in local Australian search results.

So don’t skip it. Start with the basics, grab our templates or use the HedgehogGPT, and you’ll be well ahead of the pack.

This guide is written by Hedgehog, a ‘Done With You’ digital marketing consultancy specialising in small and medium businesses in Australia. We offer digital marketing strategy, planning, training and implementation.