Microdata – Embed Structured Data Directly into HTML

Microdata is a method for semantically marking up content directly within HTML. Structured information is embedded using HTML5 attributes such as itemscope, itemtype, and itemprop.

Compared to JSON-LD or RDFa, Microdata’s advantage lies in the close proximity between metadata and visible content – making semantic connections easy for machines to interpret.

Key Features of Microdata:

Based on HTML5 attributes
Embedded directly into page content (“inline”)
Supports Rich Snippets & enhanced display in SERPs
Compatible with schema.org and supported by Google

Use Cases for Microdata:

Product information (e.g. price, rating, availability)
People (name, job title, affiliation)
Articles (title, author, publish date)
Events, recipes, organizations, and more

Example of Microdata (Product):

<div itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Product">
  <span itemprop="name">Organic Rye Bread</span>
  <img src="rye-bread.jpg" alt="Organic Rye Bread" itemprop="image"/>
  <span itemprop="description">Our traditional sourdough rye bread, 100% organic.</span>
  <div itemprop="offers" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Offer">
    <span itemprop="price">4.50</span>
    <meta itemprop="priceCurrency" content="EUR"/>
    <link itemprop="availability" href="https://schema.org/InStock"/>In stock
  </div>
</div>

Best Practices:

Validate using the Google Rich Results Test or the schema.org validator
Ensure clean HTML structure: no incomplete or nested attributes
Microdata is inline – suitable for CMS-driven sites without <head> access

Learn more about our services in structured data & technical SEO here.

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