How should a quoted forum post or comment be marked up?

Definition: Put the referenced item in the containing post's or comment's sharedContent property. Use DiscussionForumPosting for a referenced forum post and Comment for a referenced comment, then identify the referenced item with the information that is visible on the page.

Key facts

• Google's discussion forum documentation says to use DiscussionForumPosting or Comment in sharedContent when a post or comment is quoted or reposted.
• Google describes sharedContent as the primary shared content in a post and lists WebPage, ImageObject, VideoObject, and the two forum types as accepted types for this guidance.
• Google's example of a referenced Comment contains url, datePublished, author, and text inside the sharedContent object.
• Google says the URL for a Comment should identify that specific comment. The original post URL alone does not describe the comment URL field.
• The Schema.org sharedContent property has CreativeWork as its expected value type and describes content shared as part of a posting.

Where does the reference go?

sharedContent is a property of the item that contains the quotation. For a forum post that quotes another forum post, place an object with "@type": "DiscussionForumPosting" under sharedContent. For a forum post or comment that quotes a reply, use "@type": "Comment" there. Google's guidance describes the referenced item as a post or comment that is “quoted or reposted” and asks you to include a reference to it.

Schema.org defines sharedContent as a CreativeWork shared as part of a posting. Its property page lists Comment and SocialMediaPosting as the types on which the property is used. Schema.org describes DiscussionForumPosting as a subtype of SocialMediaPosting, so the property fits a DiscussionForumPosting through that type hierarchy.

What should the object contain?

Use the URL that identifies the referenced work. For a comment, Google specifies the URL to the specific comment on the page. Include the referenced comment's datePublished, author, and text when those values are part of the visible referenced content. Google's example is:

"sharedContent": {
  "@type": "Comment",
  "url": "https://example.com/post123#comment456",
  "datePublished": "2025-03-24",
  "author": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Jane Doe"
  },
  "text": "This is a referenced comment displayed inside the post"
}

For a quoted original forum post, keep the same nested-object pattern and change @type to DiscussionForumPosting. The referenced type should describe what was quoted. The containing post remains the item being described by the outer JSON-LD object.

How complete should the reference be?

Google's content guidance says each DiscussionForumPosting should include the entire text of the post and each Comment should include the entire text of the response when it is found on that page. That rule applies to the referenced object as well as to the outer forum markup when the referenced content is represented there. Do not shorten the visible quotation into a summary in the text value.

The distinction between a post URL and a comment URL matters. Google's Comment guidance says to use the URL to the specific comment and to omit that property when the value would only be the URL of the original post. A fragment such as #comment456 in Google's example identifies the comment within the post URL.

How can the markup be checked?

Google recommends validating structured data with the Rich Results Test and using the URL Inspection tool to test how Google sees the page. The same documentation says the page should be accessible to Google and should not be blocked by robots.txt, noindex, or login requirements. Check that the quoted item is present on the page, that its @type matches the quoted object, and that the URL points to the referenced post or comment.

Related terms

• Structured data
• JSON-LD
• QAPage structured data
• How should nested forum replies be ordered in structured data?

FAQ

Which type should you use for a quoted forum thread post?

Use DiscussionForumPosting inside sharedContent when the quoted item is an original forum post. Google's discussion forum documentation names that type for a referenced post.

Which type should you use for a quoted reply?

Use Comment inside sharedContent when the quoted item is a forum comment or reply. Include the URL that identifies that specific comment when the URL is available.

Should you copy only the first sentence of a quoted comment?

No. Google's guidance says a Comment includes the entire text of the response when it is found on the page.

Can the reference use the URL of the thread alone?

For a referenced comment, Google says the URL should point to the specific comment and should be omitted when it would only be the original post URL.

Sources

1. Google Search Central, "Discussion forum (DiscussionForumPosting, SocialMediaPosting) structured data", 8 September 2026
2. Schema.org, "sharedContent", undated
3. Schema.org, "DiscussionForumPosting", undated
4. Schema.org, "Comment", undated

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