Structured data, often called Schema.org markup, lets you add information to a web page that search engines can read directly, alongside the text meant for visitors. Used well, it can turn a plain blue link in Google results into an enriched listing with star ratings, a price, or breadcrumbs. Chosen poorly, it produces no visual effect at all in 2026, despite what many outdated guides still claim.

What structured data actually does

The principle remains simple: a block of code in JSON-LD format, invisible to the visitor, describes the page's content in a standardized way, indicating for example that it is a local business, a product with a price, or an article with a publication date. Google can then use this information to display an enriched result, called a rich result, provided the content type in question is one Google still chooses to visually highlight.

The types that remain relevant for a local business

For a business based in Nice, Cannes or Monaco, the LocalBusiness type remains one of the most useful: it lets you specify address, opening hours, service area, and contact details in a way Google can reuse in its local results and on Maps. The Product type, paired with Review and AggregateRating, still generates a star display for an online shop, provided the reviews shown are genuine and verifiable. The Article type remains useful for a blog, notably to specify the author and the publication and update dates, and BreadcrumbList lets a search result show the site's breadcrumb trail instead of a plain URL.

Two types no longer worth using for a visual effect

The HowTo type lost all enhanced display on mobile then desktop as early as 2023, and has therefore produced no visual result for several years despite its former popularity. More recently, Google announced the end of enhanced display for the FAQPage type starting May 7, 2026, which directly affects many small business sites that had added this markup to show expandable questions under their result. This markup remains valid in the strict Schema.org vocabulary sense and causes no problem if left in place, but it produces no visible benefit in Google results anymore, so there is no point adding it to new pages.

Valid markup never guarantees an enriched display

A point often misunderstood, even by web professionals: correctly implementing structured data makes a page eligible for a rich result, it never guarantees its display. Google factors in query relevance, perceived content quality, page authority, the level of competition on the same result, and compliance with content rules specific to each type. Two pages with technically identical markup can therefore show very different results in search pages.

The trap of mismatch between markup and visible content

A common mistake is declaring information in the markup that no longer matches what is actually shown on the page, for instance a price changed in the online shop without the markup being updated accordingly. This mismatch directly violates Google's structured data policies and can lead to exclusion from the rich result, or even a manual action in the most blatant cases. On a WordPress site with WooCommerce, this risk grows over time if the markup is not generated dynamically from the same data shown on screen.

How to check your own markup

Google's free rich results testing tool checks that a page uses a recognized, syntactically valid format, without however comparing the declared values against the content actually visible on the page. On WordPress, SEO plugins such as Yoast or Rank Math automatically generate part of this markup, notably for articles and business information, which in most cases avoids having to write it manually.

Points to verify before publishing: confirm at publication time that the removal of FAQPage rich results remains in effect since May 7, 2026, and that the list of still active rich result types (LocalBusiness, Product, Review, Article, BreadcrumbList) still matches the official Google Search Central documentation.