AEO / Glossary / Structured Data
AEO Glossary
Structured data is any data formatted according to a defined schema or vocabulary so that machines can parse and interpret it without ambiguity. On the web, structured data typically refers to Schema.org markup implemented as JSON-LD, Microdata, or RDFa. It tells search engines and AI models the exact type and properties of the content on a page.
Unstructured HTML requires AI models to infer meaning from prose, which introduces errors and omissions. Structured data eliminates guesswork: a Product schema block explicitly states the product name, price, availability, and rating, so an AI asked "what does [brand] sell?" can answer with certainty rather than inference. Google's AI Overviews and Perplexity AI both preferentially cite pages with valid structured data.
Audit your site for all content types: products, services, people, events, articles, FAQs, local businesses. Map each type to a Schema.org type. Implement as JSON-LD blocks in each page's <head>. Prioritize: Organization (all pages), FAQPage (any Q&A content), Product (product pages), Article (blog posts), LocalBusiness (if you have a physical location). Validate at search.google.com/test/rich-results.
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