Structured Data / JSON-LD
Structured Data / JSON-LD — Machine-readable metadata added to web pages using the Schema.org vocabulary, typically in JSON-LD format. Structured data helps AI engines semantically understand page content and extract specific facts. Common schemas for AEO include FAQPage, HowTo, Article, Product, and Organization.
JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data) is the recommended format for adding structured data to web pages. Unlike microdata or RDFa, JSON-LD is added as a separate script tag and does not require modifying your HTML content. Google, Bing, and AI engines all read JSON-LD to understand page semantics.
For AEO, the most impactful schemas are: FAQPage (question-answer pairs that AI engines can directly cite), HowTo (step-by-step instructions), Article (publication metadata), Product (pricing and features), and Organization (brand identity). CiteRank's schema generator automatically creates these JSON-LD blocks based on your page content, and the Page Optimization feature identifies which schemas are missing from each page.