JSON-LD or microdata: which one to write in 2026
There is no ranking advantage to choose between. Google states that all three formats are equally fine as long as the markup is valid, and separately recommends JSON-LD as the easiest to implement and maintain at scale. The decision is about who has to keep it correct in two years.
The two statements that settle it
Google says both of these things, and they are not in conflict. First, all 3 formats are equally fine for Google as long as the markup is valid and properly implemented per the feature's documentation. Second, Google recommends JSON-LD if your site's setup allows it, because it is the easiest solution to implement and maintain at scale.
Read together they say: the search engine does not care, and you should, for reasons that have nothing to do with ranking.
Where the maintenance cost actually lands
Count the places a change touches. With JSON-LD your structured data is 1 block, and it can sit in the head or the body. Google can even read it when it is injected dynamically by JavaScript. Changing your opening hours means editing 1 place.
With microdata the same information is spread across the attributes of the visible elements. For a local business with 2 required and 4 recommended properties, plus opening hours as 7 days with two times each, that is 14 values distributed through the layout. A redesign that replaces the markup takes the data with it, and nothing warns you.
This is why the format question is a staffing question. A site rebuilt every 3 to 5 years by whoever is available should keep its facts in one block that survives the rebuild.
| Question | JSON-LD | Microdata and RDFa |
|---|---|---|
| Accepted by Google | Yes | Yes, equally |
| Where it lives | One block, head or body | Attributes across the layout |
| Survives a redesign | Usually | Often not |
| Readable when injected by script | Yes | Depends on the rendering |
| Places to edit for one change | 1 | As many as carry the value |
When microdata is still the right answer
If your platform generates microdata natively and correctly, leave it alone. Valid microdata beats hand written JSON-LD that drifts out of step with the page, and Google treats them the same.
What you should not do is run both for the same object. Two descriptions of the same business that disagree are worse than one, because you have created the contradiction yourself.
One last practical test before you decide: open the page source of your own site and count how long it takes to find your opening hours. If they sit in one block near the top, the next person to touch the site will find them too. If they are scattered through the layout, they will survive exactly as long as the layout does.
Questions and answers
Does JSON-LD rank better?
Can JSON-LD go in the body?
Should I convert existing microdata?
Can I use both?
Sources
- Google Search Central, Intro to structured data The equivalence of the formats and the JSON-LD recommendation
- Google Search Central, Local business structured data Required and recommended properties for the count used above
