Structured data
Example: A neighborhood bistro adds a JSON block to its page head listing its hours, address, and price range, so when someone searches its name Google shows today’s hours right in the result instead of making the diner click through and hunt.
the machine-readable copy of your site that Google reads
A small JSON block embedded in your website's <head> that mirrors the human-facing content (hours, address, menu items, reviews, prices) in a format search engines can index without parsing your design. The convention is Schema.org's vocabulary, expressed as JSON-LD; what you might recognize as the “rich result” preview Google shows is downstream of this data.
Why it matters
The machine-readable copy decides what Google shows in your listing, your knowledge panel, and the first-screen result for "[restaurant name] hours". Pretty design doesn't matter if the structured data is missing or wrong — Google can't see CSS. Open Hours generates the hours portion of your structured data automatically; sending the block to a website builder usually takes them five minutes to install.
Frequently asked
What is structured data?
Structured data is a small JSON block embedded in your website's <head> that mirrors the human-facing content (hours, address, menu items, reviews, prices) in a format search engines can index without parsing your design. The convention is Schema.org's vocabulary, expressed as JSON-LD; what you might recognize as the “rich result” preview Google shows is downstream of this data.
Why does structured data matter for a restaurant?
The machine-readable copy decides what Google shows in your listing, your knowledge panel, and the first-screen result for "[restaurant name] hours". Pretty design doesn't matter if the structured data is missing or wrong — Google can't see CSS. Open Hours generates the hours portion of your structured data automatically; sending the block to a website builder usually takes them five minutes to install.
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