What is structured data and how does it help SEO?

Structured data (schema markup) provides explicit information about content to search engines using standardized formats like JSON-LD. It helps search engines understand content and can enable rich snippets in search results (ratings, prices, FAQs). Structured data doesn't directly improve rankings but helps search engines understand and display content better. Rich snippets can improve click-through rates from search results. Common schema types include Article, Product, FAQPage, and Organization. Implementing structured data requires technical knowledge but provides SEO benefits. Many technical SEO consultants help implement structured data correctly. Google provides tools to test structured data implementation.