Structured Data Update for Products: suggestedAge Property

Product Structured Data Update

On January 9, 2024, Google announced a structured data update that now supports the suggestedAge property. This property serves as an alternative to suggestedMaxAge and suggestedMinAge, which were previously used to indicate age ranges on product pages. 

By using suggestedAge property, the information inclusion becomes more concise and allows for the definition of age ranges in a simpler format.

 

Reasons Behind the Update

Through its update page, Google explained that the update of the suggestedAge property was based on two main factors:

• Ease of Use: The suggestedAge property is easier to use and understand compared to suggestedMaxAge and suggestedMinAge.
• Clarity: The terminology suggestedAge is clearer and consistent with Merchant Center documentation regarding product age ranges.

 

Benefits of Using the suggestedAge Property

The use of suggestedAge is expected to bring several benefits to product owners, including:

• Improved Information Accuracy: suggestedAge can help Google display more accurate product age range information on various platforms, such as search results and Google Shopping.
• User Convenience: Users can easily find products suitable for their age.
• Enhanced Search Relevance: suggestedAge can assist Google in displaying more relevant search results for users.
• Improved User Experience: Users can enjoy a better shopping experience on the Google platform.

 

Example Usage of the suggestedAge Property

Here is an example of using the suggestedAge property for a toy product:

{

  "@type": "Product",

  "name": "Wooden Animal Puzzle Toy",

  "suggestedAge": {

    "@type": "QuantitativeRange",

    "minValue": 3,

    "maxValue": 8

  }

}

 

In this example, the suggested age range for the Wooden Animal Puzzle Toy is recommended for children aged 3 to 8 years. However, for using markup schema on product pages, it is recommended to follow Google's guidelines on product structured data.

 

Conclusion

The launch of the suggestedAge property is a positive step from Google to enhance the quality of product information on its platform. This property also provides flexibility and better product information for developers and website owners in listing their product age ranges. 

Not to mention, the use of suggestedAge is expected to improve search result relevance and overall user experience.