Incomplete structured data: when your JSON-LD skips who, when and for whom

In brief

Your structured data exists but skips the author, date or publisher: AI engines rely on exactly these fields to judge reliability and attribute a citation. Fill in author, datePublished and publisher in your JSON-LD.

InfoGEO recommendations

What is it?

Structured data exists but is incomplete (missing author, date or publisher).

Why it hurts SEO and AI

AI systems rely on these fields to judge reliability and attribute a citation (who wrote it, when, for whom). A skeletal schema yields little.

When it is NOT a problem

The page is not editorial content (contact page, cart, category): the notion of author and date has no meaning.
The missing fields are intentionally omitted as irrelevant for this schema type (for example a Product has no author).
This is an improvement recommendation (info): a partial schema stays valid and triggers no error or penalty.

Before

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Article",
  "headline": "Trail running guide"
}

After

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Article",
  "headline": "Trail running guide",
  "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marie Dupont" },
  "datePublished": "2026-07-09",
  "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Example Inc" }
}

JSON-LD values must match what is visible on the page: an author present in the schema but absent from the text is a contradictory signal.

How to fix it

Open the page's JSON-LD and find the author, datePublished and publisher fields.
Fill in the missing ones with values consistent with the page's visible content.
Check this JSON-LD is present in the raw HTML, not only injected after JavaScript hydration.
Validate the schema with Google's Rich Results Test to confirm it produces no error.

This scan checks the signals AI reads: structured data, llms.txt, author

Is this issue on your site?

Does your content say who wrote it and when? Enter a URL: Seogard reads your JSON-LD in the raw HTML and flags missing author, date and publisher fields. Free, no credit card.

By clicking Scan, I certify that I own this site or have permission to crawl it.

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Result in ~30 s

What you get back

Dated, attributed content — the profile generative engines prefer to cite.

Seogard catches this regression automatically — through its GEO monitoring.

Frequently asked questions

Why do author and date matter to AI engines?

A generative engine tries to attribute a citation: who wrote it, when, for which organization. Dated, attributed content is easier to cite than anonymous content.

Is an incomplete schema an error?

No, a partial schema stays technically valid. This is an improvement recommendation: completing it strengthens your citation signals, but its absence triggers no penalty.

Updated July 10, 2026