What is Product schema?

Product schema, explained

Google splits product markup into two experiences. Product snippets are for product pages where people can't buy directly, like editorial reviews, and have more options for review information, including pros and cons on review pages. Merchant listings are for pages where customers can purchase from you, and support details like shipping, returns and variants. Both use the Product type with properties like name, image, offers (price and currency), aggregateRating and review.

For a SaaS or app, Product is often not the best fit. Google's product documentation is written around shopping, while it has a dedicated software app feature using the SoftwareApplication type, with offers.price and ratings. If you sell software, start there. Product makes more sense for physical goods, templates or digital downloads sold like products.

The usual rules apply with extra force because prices and ratings are visible in results. The price in the markup must match the price on the page. Ratings must come from reviews shown on the page, not copied from other sites. Availability should update when stock changes. Google's structured data policies treat misleading markup as grounds for a manual action.

Generate the markup from the same data that renders the page so prices never drift, and test it with the Rich Results Test before shipping.

Why it matters for founders

If you sell products online, product rich results can show price and ratings in search. If you sell software, knowing to use SoftwareApplication instead saves you from markup Google may not use.

Example

Your template shop's product pages output Product JSON-LD with name, image, offers in USD and an aggregateRating computed from reviews displayed below the fold.

Common mistakes

• Prices in markup that don't match the page.
• Ratings copied from other review sites.
• Using Product for a SaaS app when SoftwareApplication fits better.
• Hardcoding availability that never changes.