What is JSON-LD?
JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data — the recommended format for implementing structured data on websites, using JSON syntax embedded in a script tag within the page HTML.
Understanding the Details
JSON-LD is how you communicate structured data to search engines and AI systems. It's a JSON format embedded in a script tag in your page's HTML head, describing the content on the page in a machine-readable way. Unlike Microdata or RDFa alternatives that interleave markup with HTML content, JSON-LD sits separately, making it cleaner to implement and maintain. Google recommends JSON-LD as the preferred structured data format. For implementation, you define a @context (schema.org), a @type (Article, Product, FAQ, Organization), and the relevant properties. Multiple JSON-LD blocks can exist on a single page to describe different entities. In Next.js and modern frameworks, JSON-LD can be generated programmatically from your content data.
How It Works in Practice
FAQ implementation
A JSON-LD block on a pricing page defines FAQPage schema with 5 question-answer pairs, enabling FAQ rich snippets in search results.
Organisation schema
The homepage includes JSON-LD defining the Organisation entity with name, logo, social profiles, and contact information.
Programmatic generation
A Next.js template automatically generates JSON-LD for each glossary page using the term's structured data, scaling schema across hundreds of pages.
Why It Matters
JSON-LD is the bridge between your content and how machines understand it. Proper implementation enables rich search results and helps AI systems accurately cite your content.
What People Often Get Wrong
JSON-LD is complicated to implement. Actually, it's straightforward JSON that can be templated and generated programmatically.
You need separate JSON-LD for every page type. Actually, many pages share similar schema patterns that can be templated.
JSON-LD must be manually maintained. Actually, it can be generated from your existing content data in CMS or database.
How We Handle JSON-LD
We implement JSON-LD as part of our Next.js templates, automatically generating appropriate schema markup from content data for every page type.
Related Terms
Common Questions
Need Help With JSON-LD?
If you'd like to discuss how json-ld applies to your business, we're happy to explain further.