Your website might look great to humans. But can Google actually understand what your business does? Can ChatGPT? Structured data is how you make sure the answer is yes.
Structured data in plain English
Structured data is a standardized format (called Schema.org) that you add to your website's code. It tells search engines and AI systems exactly what your business is, what services you offer, where you're located, your hours, your reviews, and more.
Think of it as a machine-readable business card embedded in your website. Humans never see it, but Google, ChatGPT, and every other AI system reads it instantly.
Why it matters for Google (SEO)
Structured data powers rich results in Google — those enhanced listings with star ratings, prices, FAQ dropdowns, and business hours. Pages with structured data get up to 30% higher click-through rates than plain blue links.
Google has explicitly said structured data helps them understand page content. For local SEO, LocalBusiness schema is especially powerful — it feeds the map pack and knowledge panels directly.
Why it matters for AI (AEO)
AI assistants rely heavily on structured data to make recommendations. When ChatGPT recommends a plumber, it's pulling from structured information — not reading your homepage like a human would.
Without structured data, AI systems have to guess what your business does. With it, they know exactly. This is the foundation of AEO and why AI search is changing everything.
Every Dagny website includes LocalBusiness schema, service markup, FAQ schema, and review structured data — added automatically.
The most important schema types for small businesses
1. LocalBusiness — your name, address, phone, hours, service area. 2. Service — each service you offer with description and pricing. 3. FAQPage — common questions and answers (AI loves these). 4. Review/AggregateRating — your customer reviews and star ratings. 5. BreadcrumbList — helps search engines understand your site structure.
Most small business websites have zero structured data. Adding even LocalBusiness schema puts you ahead of 80% of your competitors.
How to add structured data (the easy way)
The traditional way: hire a developer to write JSON-LD scripts and inject them into your site headers. Cost: $500-2,000. Maintenance: manual updates every time something changes.
The autopilot way: use a service like Dagny that handles SEO and AEO automatically. Every website we build includes comprehensive structured data — generated from your actual business information, updated when you make changes, and validated against Google's requirements. No code, no developers, no ongoing costs.