contentRating

contentRating · Not mentioned by Google

Appears in

• Movie

What is it?

The official age or content rating assigned to a piece of media by a ratings board. For movies, this is the MPAA rating (G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17). For TV shows, it is the TV Parental Guidelines rating (TV-Y, TV-PG, TV-14, TV-MA). contentRating tells search engines and AI systems whether content is appropriate for different audiences.

Why this matters for AEO

When a parent asks an AI engine "is Inception appropriate for a 10 year old?" or "what's the rating for The Dark Knight?", the AI pulls contentRating for a direct, factual answer. Content ratings also power filtered searches like "PG-13 movies from 2024" where the AI needs structured classification data to build results.

What the specs say

Schema.org: Rating or Text. Official rating of a piece of content, for example "MPAA PG-13". schema.org/contentRating

Google: Not mentioned. Field not listed in Google's structured data documentation for Movie. Google Movie docs

How to find your value

• MPAA — G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17
• BBFC — U, PG, 12A, 15, 18
• FSK — 0, 6, 12, 16, 18
• TV Parental Guidelines — TV-Y, TV-G, TV-PG, TV-14, TV-MA
• ESRB — E, E10+, T, M, AO

Format and code

The simplest format is a plain text string with the rating code.

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Movie",
  "name": "Inception",
  "contentRating": "PG-13",
  "director": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Christopher Nolan"
  }
}

With Rating object (for more detail):

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Movie",
  "name": "The Dark Knight",
  "contentRating": {
    "@type": "Rating",
    "author": {
      "@type": "Organization",
      "name": "MPAA"
    },
    "ratingValue": "PG-13"
  }
}

Webflow implementation

Static pages

Add the content rating in the JSON-LD block in Page Settings > Custom Code:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Movie",
  "name": "Movie Title",
  "contentRating": "PG-13",
  "director": {"@type": "Person", "name": "Director Name"}
}
</script>

CMS template pages

Create a dropdown or plain text field in your movies CMS collection for the content rating. Reference it in the JSON-LD embed. A dropdown with preset values (G, PG, PG-13, R) ensures consistency across entries.

In Schema HQ

Your content rating CMS field to contentRating in the Movie markup automatically. is mapped automatically

Real examples

Rotten Tomatoes (rottentomatoes.com/m/inception):

{
  "@type": "Movie",
  "name": "Inception",
  "contentRating": "PG-13",
  "director": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Christopher Nolan"
  },
  "dateCreated": "2010-07-16"
}

Rotten Tomatoes (rottentomatoes.com/m/the_dark_knight):

{
  "@type": "Movie",
  "name": "The Dark Knight",
  "contentRating": "PG-13",
  "director": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Christopher Nolan"
  }
}

Related fields

• director
• actor
• dateCreated
• name
• audience

FAQ

Should contentRating include the ratings board name?

It can. "MPAA PG-13" is more explicit than just "PG-13", but both are valid. The simpler form is more common in practice. If you need to specify the authority, use a nested Rating object with an author Organization.

Does Google use contentRating for Movie rich results?

Google does not list contentRating in its Movie structured data documentation. However, Rotten Tomatoes and other major movie sites include it in their markup, and it contributes to entity understanding in Google's Knowledge Graph.

Can contentRating be used for non-movie content?

Yes. contentRating applies to any CreativeWork, including TV shows, video games, podcasts, and books. Use the appropriate rating system for the media type (ESRB for games, TV Parental Guidelines for TV shows).