JSON-LD and Structured Data: Why BearAudit Warns When It's Missing
Structured data helps search engines understand your page. Learn why BearAudit flags missing JSON-LD, what rich results need, and what to add first.
BearAudit reports a warning when a page has no JSON-LD structured data. It's optional for indexing, but it can unlock rich results and clearer understanding by search engines.
What is JSON-LD?
JSON-LD is a way to describe your page in a format machines can read: article type, author, date, product info, FAQ, and more. Google uses it for rich snippets, knowledge panels, and better interpretation of your content.
Why we check for it
- Rich results — Articles, products, FAQs, and events can show extra info in search (e.g. star ratings, dates, breadcrumbs).
- Clarity — Even when rich results don't appear, structured data helps search engines know what the page is about.
- Low effort, high upside — Adding basic Article or WebPage schema is often a quick template change.
What to do
- Identify page type — Blog post → Article. Product → Product. FAQ page → FAQPage. Use schema.org types that match your content.
- Add JSON-LD in
<head>— A<script type="application/ld+json">block with valid JSON. Test with Google's Rich Results Test. - Re-crawl in BearAudit — The warning will clear once we detect structured data on the page.
BearAudit doesn't validate the content of your JSON-LD (e.g. required fields for Product). It only checks that some JSON-LD is present. Use Google's tools to validate and debug the markup itself.
For a short definition, see What is JSON-LD and structured data? in our glossary.