itemReviewed

itemReviewed · Required

Appears in

• Review

What is it?

The thing being reviewed. itemReviewed connects a review to its subject, whether that is a restaurant, product, book, movie, software application, or any other entity. Without this property, search engines cannot determine what the review is about.

Why this matters for AEO

When a user asks an AI engine "what are the best Italian restaurants in Boston?", the AI needs to match reviews to specific businesses. itemReviewed is the link that tells the AI "this 4 star review is about Legal Seafood, a seafood restaurant in Boston." Without it, the review is an orphan that cannot be attributed to any entity in an AI generated answer.

What the specs say

Schema.org: Thing. The item that is being reviewed/rated. schema.org/itemReviewed

Google: Required. "The item that is being reviewed. However, if the review is nested into another schema.org type using the review property, omit the itemReviewed property." Google Review Snippet docs

How to find your value

• Product page — The product name, brand, and identifying details
• Restaurant page — Business name, cuisine, address
• Movie/book page — Title, director/author, release date
• Software listing — Application name, platform, developer

Format and code

itemReviewed takes a nested object with its own @type. The type should match what is being reviewed.

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Review",
  "itemReviewed": {
    "@type": "Restaurant",
    "name": "Legal Seafood",
    "servesCuisine": "Seafood",
    "address": {
      "@type": "PostalAddress",
      "streetAddress": "26 Park Plaza",
      "addressLocality": "Boston",
      "addressRegion": "MA"
    }
  },
  "reviewRating": {
    "@type": "Rating",
    "ratingValue": 4
  },
  "author": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Bob Smith"
  }
}

Common invalid pattern: Using a plain text string instead of a typed object.

"itemReviewed": "Legal Seafood"

This is technically valid schema.org (Thing accepts text), but Google requires a typed object for review snippets.

Webflow implementation

Static pages

Add the review with itemReviewed in Page Settings > Custom Code:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Review",
  "itemReviewed": {
    "@type": "Product",
    "name": "Product Name"
  },
  "reviewRating": {
    "@type": "Rating",
    "ratingValue": 5
  },
  "author": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Reviewer Name"
  }
}
</script>

CMS template pages

When reviews live in a CMS collection, the itemReviewed object is typically hardcoded or pulled from a reference field linking to the product/business collection. Use a Webflow embed block with dynamic fields for the reviewed item's name and details.

In Schema HQ

Construction of itemReviewed object automatically based on the page's primary entity. When a Review schema is added to a product or business page, Schema HQ nests the correct typed object without manual JSON editing. is handled automatically

Real examples

Google Search Central (Legal Seafood):

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org/",
  "@type": "Review",
  "itemReviewed": {
    "@type": "Restaurant",
    "image": "https://www.example.com/seafood-restaurant.jpg",
    "name": "Legal Seafood",
    "servesCuisine": "Seafood",
    "priceRange": "$$$",
    "telephone": "1234567",
    "address": {
      "@type": "PostalAddress",
      "streetAddress": "123 William St",
      "addressLocality": "New York"
    }
  },
  "reviewRating": {
    "@type": "Rating",
    "ratingValue": 4
  },
  "author": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Bob Smith"
  }
}

Related fields

• reviewRating
• reviewBody
• bestRating
• author
• name

FAQ

When should itemReviewed be omitted?

When the review is nested inside the reviewed item using the review property. For example, if a Product schema contains a review array, each Review in that array does not need itemReviewed because the parent context already establishes what is being reviewed. Google's docs state this explicitly.

What @type should itemReviewed use?

Use the most specific type that matches the reviewed entity. For a restaurant, use Restaurant. For a book, use Book. For a SaaS tool, use SoftwareApplication. Google supports review snippets for: Book, Course, Event, HowTo, LocalBusiness, Movie, Product, Recipe, and SoftwareApplication.

Can itemReviewed reference an entity on another page?

Yes. Use @id to reference an entity defined elsewhere on the site. This is useful when multiple reviews reference the same product or business.