Structured data helps improve how your web pages show up in search results. By using JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data), you help search engines understand the content of your page, which could lead to rich results like star ratings, product details, FAQs, and more.
If you’re building your website with Next.js, adding structured data is easy and helps with SEO. This guide will show you how to add JSON-LD to your Next.js pages.
What is Structured Data?
Structured data is extra information that you add to your website’s HTML to describe your page content in a way search engines can understand. The most common format for structured data is JSON-LD, which Google recommends.
It helps search engines understand things like:
- What the content is about (e.g., an article or a product)
- Who created it (e.g., the author or brand)
- When it was published (e.g., a news article's publish date)
- Product details (like prices, reviews, and availability)
- Other information (like FAQs, events, articles)
Why Use JSON-LD in Next.js?
- Doesn’t change the look of your page: It adds behind-the-scenes data without affecting the visual design.
- Easy to add in the <Head> section of your Next.js pages.
- Google prefers JSON-LD over other formats like microdata or RDFa.
- Improves SEO: Using structured data can help your page appear with rich snippets (like ratings, prices) and lead to better user engagement.
Step-by-Step: Adding JSON-LD in Next.js
Step 1: Prepare Your JSON-LD Schema
Step 2: Insert It Using next/head
Import the <Head> component in your page or layout file:
import Head from 'next/head';
Then, safely inject the JSON-LD using a <script> tag:
Step 3: Test It with Google’s Rich Results Tool
- Go to Google Rich Results Test
- Paste the URL or raw HTML
- Validate your structured data
- Fix any errors or warnings
Common Schema Types to Use
Here are some widely-used schema types:
- Article or BlogPosting
- Product
- FAQPage
- BreadcrumbList
- Organization
- Event
- HowTo
You can explore more types at Schema.org.
Optional: Use a Library like next-seo
For larger projects, libraries like next-seo simplify structured data management. Example:
npm install next-seo
Then:
Final Thoughts
Adding JSON-LD structured data in Next.js is a simple, high-impact way to boost your SEO and increase your visibility in search results. Whether you're running a blog, product site, or documentation portal, structured data helps search engines better understand and showcase your content.
Next.js makes it easy to dynamically inject JSON-LD and keep your markup clean and scalable.
