AI SEO Glossary
What is JSON-LD?
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TL;DR - JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data) is the format used to embed schema.org structured data in a web page as a self-contained script tag, separate from the visible HTML. It is Google's recommended structured-data syntax and the easiest for machines to parse, because the entire markup lives in one predictable block rather than being woven through the page's tags like the older microdata and RDFa formats. Nearly all modern structured-data implementation - Product, FAQPage, Organization, DefinedTerm - ships as JSON-LD.
JSON-LD in practice
Structured data search engines read cleanly
JSON-LD is the format search engines prefer for structured data. It sits in the page code and describes what the page is about, so products, reviews and your business details come through accurately.
- ›Markup that matches what the page shows
- ›One source per type, never duplicated
- ›Checked again after every template change
Definition & scope
The practical advantage is separability: JSON-LD can be generated by the template layer, validated independently, and updated without touching the page design. That is why platform and CMS integrations standardize on it, and why structured-data audits start by extracting a page's JSON-LD blocks.
For AI visibility, JSON-LD is the highest-signal-to-effort markup surface: it declares entities and facts in exactly the shape retrieval systems and knowledge graphs want to ingest, without requiring the engine to infer meaning from prose.
Related terms
- Structured Data - the broader practice JSON-LD implements.
- schema.org - the vocabulary JSON-LD expresses.
- FAQPage Schema - a common JSON-LD type for Q&A content.
Related services
- AEO Services - full JSON-LD implementation is a core deliverable.
- eCommerce SEO Audit - structured-data validation is part of every audit.