Archive document and brass links representing consistent structured information

GUIDE / DATA

Publish structured data that matches the page

Markup helps systems interpret a page when it describes exactly what readers can verify there.

Five consistency checksFour control stepsWhere divergence appears

01 / GUIDE / DATA

Start with visible content

List facts actually shown: title, author, date, image, organization, references and page relationships. Then select a relevant schema.org type. JSON-LD cannot add invisible promises or guarantee visibility in search or assistants.

Guides

02 / GUIDE / DATA

Five consistency checks

Each property needs a visible source, an exact value and an owner for updates.

01

Relevant type

Choose a type suited to the page and to features actually documented by the search provider.

Record to retain · Type and rationale
02

Visible parity

Align titles, dates, author, image and descriptions with public content; avoid unseen awards or reviews.

Record to retain · Field and visible element
03

Stable identity

Use canonical URLs and stable @id values to connect page, article, person and organization without conflating them.

Record to retain · URL and identifier
04

Dates and versions

Separate original publication from a substantial modification. A minor edit does not justify claiming a major revision.

Record to retain · Verifiable dates
05

Validation and monitoring

Check syntax, required properties, rendered HTML and search reports after changes.

Record to retain · Report and check date

03 / GUIDE / DATA

Four control steps

Markup follows editorial publication and remains testable after updates.

  1. 01

    Inventory

    List visible information and where it appears on the page.

  2. 02

    Model

    Choose useful types and relationships; omit unjustified properties.

  3. 03

    Validate

    Test JSON-LD and compare values with each language version.

  4. 04

    Maintain

    Recheck dates, images, links and identifiers after content changes.

04 / GUIDE / DATA

Where divergence appears

Common errors arise when page, metadata and reality drift apart.

01

An entity profile changes

Update name, URL, relationships and sources together; do not merge namesakes.

Read the dossier
02

A translated article retains stale data

Check title, language, date, image and canonical URL for every variant.

Read the dossier
03

No rich result appears

Check eligibility, quality and guidelines first; valid markup never guarantees display.

Read the dossier

05 / GUIDE / DATA

Method references

01

Google Search Central · Structured data introduction

02

Google Search Central · General guidelines

03

Google Search Central · AI features

06 / FAQ

Markup questions

Does JSON-LD guarantee an AI citation?

No. Google AI features rely on search fundamentals; no special markup guarantees a citation.

Can invisible facts be added?

Markup should represent relevant visible content. Add verified, useful facts to the page first.

Must every page be marked up?

Choose types useful for each page. Exhaustive properties create maintenance without improving content.

07 / Discuss a context

Describe what can be checked

Modest, dated markup tied to public content makes review and maintenance easier.

Discuss a contextGuides