Google Updates Image Structured Data

Google has added three new structured data properties to be used with the ImageObject type in order to add support for credit, copyright and image creator information via structured data.

This is an improvement over the previous method that relied on IPTC photo metadata.

IPTC is an abbreviation for International Press Telecommunications Council, which is the standards body for the news media.

IPTC metadata is a way to add credit and licensing information to photos.

Google is making it easier to tell Google about this kind of information by adding support for it via the image structured data.

Google’s developer support changelog states:

“Added support for image credits to the Image Metadata structured data documentation.

Previously, you could only provide image credit information with IPTC photo metadata.”

The official developer pages for image licence metadata has been updated to reflect the updated support via structured data.

The documentation has been updated to reflect the changes.

It now begins with this brand new opening statement:

“When you specify image metadata, Google Images can show more details about the image, such as who the creator is, how people can use an image, and credit information.”

These are the new structured data properties:

• creditText
• creator
• copyrightNotice

This is what the new structured data types are for, according to Schema.org:

• “creditText
  Text that can be used to credit person(s) and/or organization(s) associated with a published Creative Work.
• creator
  The creator/author of this CreativeWork. This is the same as the Author property for CreativeWork.
• copyrightNotice
  Text of a notice appropriate for describing the copyright aspects of this Creative Work, ideally indicating the owner of the copyright for the Work.”

Examples of Changes to Structured Data Requirements

Google updated the structured data examples to show how the new properties can be used.

Before

This is what the previous example looked like:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org/",
"@type": "ImageObject",
"contentUrl": "https://example.com/photos/1x1/black-labrador-puppy.jpg",
"license": "https://example.com/license",
"acquireLicensePage": "https://example.com/how-to-use-my-images"
}
</script>

After

This is the updated structured data example:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org/",
"@type": "ImageObject",
"contentUrl": "https://example.com/photos/1x1/black-labrador-puppy.jpg",
"license": "https://example.com/license",
"acquireLicensePage": "https://example.com/how-to-use-my-images",
"creditText": "Labrador PhotoLab",
"creator": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Brixton Brownstone"
},
"copyrightNotice": "Clara Kent"
}
</script>

Easier to Add Creator and Copyright Data

These changes make it easier for publishers to add creator data. What’s especially convenient about using structured data for this kind of information is that plugins can make it easier to add this on a scaled basis.

Citation

Read the Official Documentation

Image metadata in Google Images

Read the Archived Version of the Old Documentation

Image License in Google Images

Featured image by Shutterstock/Daniel Krason