What is Structured Data Check Calculation Method?
How does OtterlyAI weight structured data check
Structure (30% weight)
Why this weight: Structure forms the foundation of content understanding for both users and AI engines. Proper HTML structure directly impacts how well AI can parse, understand, and cite content.
Heading Hierarchy (30 points)
How it's calculated:
- Single H1: 15 points (ideal for clear page topic)
- Multiple H1s: 5 points (penalized as it dilutes main topic)
- Has H2s: 10 points (shows content organization)
- Has H3s: 5 points (indicates detailed subsections)
Why it matters: A clear heading hierarchy helps AI engines understand content structure and importance. A single H1 defines the main topic, while H2s and H3s create a logical content outline that AI can follow.
Semantic HTML Elements (25 points)
How it's calculated: Proportional score based on presence of semantic tags: <main>, <article>, <section>, <header>, <footer>, <nav>, <aside>. Score = (found elements / 7) × 25
Why it matters: Semantic elements explicitly declare content purpose, making it easier for AI to understand page structure and extract relevant information for different query types.
Lists & Structured Content (20 points)
How it's calculated:
- Has lists (ul/ol): 10 points
- Has tables: 5 points
- Has blockquotes: 5 points
Why it matters: Lists, tables, and quotes are high-signal structured formats that AI engines can easily parse and cite. They often contain key facts, steps, or authoritative statements.
Paragraph Structure (15 points)
How it's calculated:
- Average paragraph length 50-200 characters: 15 points (optimal)
- Average length > 20 characters: 10 points (acceptable)
- Otherwise: 5 points (too short/fragmented)
Why it matters: Well-sized paragraphs indicate quality content. Too short suggests thin content; too long reduces readability and makes specific information harder to extract.
Navigation Structure (10 points)
How it's calculated:
- Has <nav> element: 5 points
- Has internal anchor links: 5 points
Why it matters: Clear navigation helps AI understand site architecture and content relationships, improving contextual understanding.
Content (35% weight)
Why this weight: Content is the highest-weighted category because it directly determines what information AI engines can extract and present to users.
Rich Content Elements (60 points)
How it's calculated: 12 points each for presence of:
- Images (<img>)
- Links (<a>)
- Emphasis elements (<strong>, <b>, <em>, <i>)
- Code blocks (<code>, <pre>)
- Media (<video>, <audio>)
Why it matters: Diverse content types signal comprehensive, well-developed content. Each element type provides different information formats that AI can reference or describe.
Content Variety (40 points)
How it's calculated: Score = (variety types present / 4) × 40
- Has lists (ul/ol)
- Has quotes (blockquote/q)
- Has tables
- Has media (img/video/audio)
Why it matters: Content variety indicates thorough coverage of a topic using multiple presentation formats, increasing the likelihood of having information suitable for different query types.
Metadata (25% weight)
Why this weight: Metadata provides explicit signals about content topic, purpose, and relationships that AI engines rely on for relevance and categorization.
Title Tag (30 points)
How it's calculated:
- Has non-empty title: 30 points
- Missing title: 0 points
Why it matters: The title tag is the single most important metadata element, defining the page's primary topic for search engines and AI systems.
Meta Description (30 points)
How it's calculated:
- Length 120-160 characters: 30 points (optimal)
- Length > 50 characters: 25 points (acceptable)
- Shorter: 15 points (suboptimal)
- Missing: 0 points
Why it matters: Meta descriptions provide concise content summaries that AI engines often use for understanding page content and generating snippets.
Schema.org Structured Data (25 points)
How it's calculated:
- JSON-LD present: 25 points (preferred format)
- Microdata or RDFa present: 20 points (alternative formats)
- None: 0 points
Why it matters: Structured data explicitly declares content type and properties in a machine-readable format, dramatically improving AI's ability to understand and categorize content accurately.
Open Graph Tags (15 points)
How it's calculated: Proportional score based on presence of 5 core OG tags: og:title, og:description, og:type, og:url, og:image. Score = (found tags / 5) × 15
Why it matters: Open Graph tags provide social media metadata that AI engines can use for additional context and content understanding.
Technical (10% weight)
Why this weight: Technical factors are foundational but less directly related to content quality. They ensure accessibility and crawlability.
Valid HTML Structure (40 points)
How it's calculated: Proportional score based on 4 elements: DOCTYPE declaration, <html>, <head>, <body>. Score = (present elements / 4) × 40
Why it matters: Valid HTML structure ensures consistent parsing across different AI engines and prevents interpretation errors.
Mobile-Friendly Indicators (30 points)
How it's calculated:
- Has viewport meta tag: 30 points
- Missing: 0 points
Why it matters: Mobile-friendly markup indicates modern, well-maintained content. Many AI engines consider mobile optimization as a quality signal.
Robots and Crawling (20 points)
How it's calculated:
- Not blocked by noindex: 15 points
- Not blocked by nofollow: 5 points
Why it matters: Pages that allow indexing and following links signal public, crawlable content that AI engines should include in their knowledge base.
Language Declaration (10 points)
How it's calculated:
- Has lang attribute on html or any element: 10 points
- Missing: 0 points
Why it matters: Language declaration helps AI engines apply appropriate NLP models and understand content in the correct linguistic context.
Overall Score Calculation
The overall score is a weighted sum: (Structure × 0.30) + (Content × 0.35) + (Metadata × 0.25) + (Technical × 0.10)
This weighting prioritizes content quality and structure while ensuring metadata and technical foundations are solid, reflecting what matters most for GEO and AI engine visibility.