Structured Data: Structured data doesn't improve rankings directly, it makes your ranking more visible

Schema markup is a vocabulary you add to your HTML that tells search engines what your content means rather than just what it says. A restaurant review, a how-to guide, a product listing, an FAQ, all contain information Google can display differently in search results if you've described it correctly in structured data. The impact on rankings is indirect but real. FAQ schema can expand your search result to show 2, 4 dropdown questions beneath your standard listing, taking up significantly more SERP real estate. Product schema with Review markup shows star ratings in organic results. Both improvements drive higher click-through rates at the same ranking position, which is effectively a traffic increase without moving up the rankings. JSON-LD is the right format for almost every use case. Google recommends it, it doesn't require modifying your existing HTML structure, and it's easier to test and debug. The most common implementation mistake is marking up content that isn't visible on the page. Google validates schema against what users actually see, and markup that describes hidden or nonexistent content gets ignored or flagged.