JSON-LD
Also called JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data.
What JSON-LD means
JSON-LD is a JSON-based format for serializing linked data, so an ordinary JSON object can carry types and identifiers that mean the same thing outside the document that contains them. JSON-LD 1.1 is a W3C Recommendation dated 16 July 2020.
More precisely
Its media type is `application/ld+json`. A `@context` maps short terms onto IRIs, `@type` names what a node is, and `@id` gives a node a stable identifier that other documents can reference. On a web page the block sits inside a script tag rather than being woven through the visible HTML, which is one reason Google recommends it over the inline encodings. Note that `@id` is a JSON-LD keyword, not a schema.org property.
Why it matters
It lets one block of markup describe a page and the things on it, kept separate from presentation, so the description survives template and layout changes.
Example
Referencing an organization once by its `@id` IRI and pointing at that IRI elsewhere avoids repeating the whole entity inline in every block.
Where this came from
Definitions here follow the specification or documentation that defines the term, not a paraphrase of another glossary.
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JSON-LD 1.1: A JSON-based Serialization for Linked Data — W3C
JSON-LD is a lightweight syntax to serialize Linked Data in JSON, it is a W3C Recommendation dated 16 July 2020, its media type is application/ld+json, and @id supplies node identifiers.
Primary source · read 2026-09-03
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Intro to how structured data markup works — Google
Google recommends JSON-LD, delivered in a script tag and readable when injected with JavaScript.
Primary source · read 2026-09-03
developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/intro-structured-data