If you’ve ever searched for something online and found specially laid out cards with recipes attached, product pricing, or stars and ratings right on the results page, you’ve seen what schema can do.
Schema markup is a type of structured data placed in your site’s code that helps search engines better understand your website’s content. It provides context about your pages, which increases the chances of earning those rich snippets. These snippets, like review stars, sitelinks, and product details that appear in search can make your brand more visible and improve click-through rates (CTR).
In this guide, we’ll cover what schema markup is, why it matters, and how to implement it on your site to support organic performance now and in the AI search landscape ahead.
- How Schema Markup Works
- Why Schema Markup Is Still Important for SEO
- Schema Types To Know
- How To Choose the Right Schema for Each Page
- How To Add Schema Markup to Your Website
- Testing and Validating Schema Markup
- Schema Markup Best Practices
- Putting Schema Markup Into Action
How Schema Markup Works
You could think of schema markup like a librarian cataloging a massive library. The librarian doesn’t just place every book on a shelf at random; they categorize it by genre, label it with metadata like author, publication date, and subject matter, and organize it into a specific section so readers can find exactly what they’re looking for.
Schema does the same for your website. It classifies your content, whether it’s a recipe, product, review, or blog post. From this, it tells search engines what page’s purpose is, how it should be grouped, and when it’s relevant.
This structure makes it easier for search engines to deliver your content in the right ‘section’ of the search results, only with richer, more helpful details.
Depending on the type you use, schema markup can enable your content to appear for SERP features like star ratings, product pricing, video previews, sitelinks, or FAQs.
Why Schema Markup Is Still Important for SEO
Schema markup is important for SEO because it improves visibility in search by enhancing listings with rich elements such as:
- Reviews
- Images
- Pricing
These enhancements increase a listing’s real estate in the results and help it stand out, which can improve click-through rates (CTR).
With the relatively recent introduction of AI in search, there’s been heavy debate around whether schema for AI should be considered a wasted effort. Many people theorized that it’s irrelevant for AI search and only benefits traditional search engines. People love theories, but the evidence has already disproven it.
Schema continues to be a foundational element for helping machines — both search engines and large language models (LLMs) — understand your SEO content. Structured data supports both traditional and AI-driven search systems by providing clear, contextual cues about what a page contains.
While Google hasn’t officially confirmed whether its Gemini model or AI Overviews rely on schema, Microsoft has. At SMX Munich 2025, Fabrice Canel, Principal Product Manager at Bing, confirmed that Microsoft’s LLMs do use schema markup to understand web content.
This includes Copilot, proving that AI search engines rely on schema to parse, contextualize, and reference your website content.
Even if Google hasn’t openly confirmed this for their AI Overviews or for Gemini, schema markup still plays a critical role across all search engines. Your SEO strategy should be diversified enough to account for these new pathways to your site.
Schema Types To Know
No matter what kind of website you have, there’s schema for yours. Whether you run an e-commerce store, write blog posts, host local events, offer services at a physical location, or share your recipes online (along with a novella of your life that somehow ties back to the recipe), there are schema types tailored to your content.
The following are some of the most common schema types you’ll come across:
Note: In August 2023, Google significantly reduced visibility for both FAQ and HowTo schema. Now FAQ schema will only show for authoritative government domains, and HowTo results are restricted to desktop search only.
Each schema type makes a site eligible for specific rich snippets in search. You can also use multiple schema types on the same page, like combining Product with Review on product pages, or Organization with Website on a homepage.
Organization Schema
Organization schema represents your business in a structured markup that search engines can easily interpret. It’s one schema type that’s universally beneficial for websites.
It can help to populate Google’s Knowledge Panel with accurate brand information about your company’s name, logo, contact details, social profiles, and more. This schema type can help improve your site’s visibility in branded searches and reinforce legitimacy and trust with users.
Pro Tip: Avoid using Organization schema across your entire site, as Google recommends limiting it to core pages that clearly represent the entity (your business) as a whole. This type of schema really should go on your homepage or About page.
Article Schema
Article schema is used to help search engines better understand written content like blog posts, guides, and news articles. It can improve your chances of showing up with rich results, including enhanced snippets that feature your article’s headline, publication date, author, and image thumbnail.
Key properties to include are headline, image, author, publisher, datePublished, and description.
There are three main types of Article schema:
- Article is the most general and works for any article content.
- BlogPosting is a subtype of Article for blog-style content.
- NewsArticle is subtype for journalism and breaking news stories, and it often has additional properties relevant to news publishers.
Using general Article schema as an example, here’s what this article’s markup would look like when published:
Article Schema Example:
<script type=”application/ld+json”>
{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
“@type”: “Article”,
“headline”: “Schema Markup: What It Is, How to Implement It, and Why You Should”,
“image”: “https://www.siegemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/schema-markup-800×800-1.jpg”,
“author”: {
“@type”: “Person”,
“name”: “Melissa Garner”
},
“publisher”: {
“@type”: “Organization”,
“name”: “Siege Media”,
“logo”: {
“@type”: “ImageObject”,
“url”: “https://www.siegemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/siege-logo.jpg”
}
},
“datePublished”: “2025-05-28”,
“description”: “Learn what schema markup is, why it matters for SEO, how to add it to your site, and the structured data types that can enhance your visibility.”
}
Product Schema
Product schema is essential for e-commerce websites that want their products to stand out in search. It allows you to provide detailed information about a product, including its name, description, price (or price range), availability, and even aggregateRating if reviews are present.
This markup can help your product listings appear in rich results like Google Shopping carousels or product snippets, which often include price, stock status, and star ratings. Having this kind of information appear in SERPs makes the product more eye-catching to potential buyers and the user more likely to click through.
Pro Tip: If you have third-party review data from sites like Trustpilot, G2, or Capterra, you can add Review schema alongside your Product schema to improve your product’s visibility in search results.
Here’s an e-commerce example for a trail running shoe:
Product Schema Example:
<script type=”application/ld+json”>
{
“@context”: “https://schema.org/”,
“@type”: “Product”,
“name”: “Women’s Mafate Speed 4”,
“description”: “A pinnacle product for technical trail, the Mafate Speed 4 makes its debut, distilling what we’ve seen in the EVO Mafate and Mafate Speed. A familiar HOKA classic, just updated with new textiles and construction, including a breathable, single layer jacquard mesh and two-part PROFLY midsole with our lightest, most responsive HOKA foam just underfoot.”,
“sku”: “1131056”,
“productID”: “1131056”,
“mpn”: “1131056”,
“identifier”: “1131056”,
“image”: [
“https://dms.deckers.com/hoka/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto,dpr_auto/b_rgb:f7f7f9/w_900/v1674299191/catalog/images/transparent/1131056-DTWGR_1.png”
],
“url”: “https://www.hoka.com/en/us/womens-trail/mafate-speed-4/1131056.html”,
“brand”: {
“@type”: “Brand”,
“name”: “HOKA”
},
“aggregateRating”: {
“@type”: “AggregateRating”,
“ratingValue”: “4.48”,
“reviewCount”: “120”
},
“offers”: {
“@type”: “Offer”,
“price”: “185.00”,
“priceCurrency”: “USD”,
“availability”: “https://schema.org/InStock”,
“url”: “https://www.hoka.com/en/us/womens-trail/mafate-speed-4/1131056.html”
}
}</script>
This schema above ends up looking like this product snippet:
FAQPage Schema
FAQPage schema marks up ‘frequently asked questions’ and their answers on a page, helping search engines understand the structure of question and answer content. When supported, this can result in site content being pulled into PAAS, an expandable FAQ box in search.
It’s important to note that since August 2023, Google has scaled back the display of FAQ rich results. These enhanced snippets are now primarily reserved for authoritative government and health-focused websites. This means most commercial or editorial sites no longer see their FAQs surfaced, even if the markup is valid.
Even so, it can still serve an organizational purpose. Clearly structuring questions and answers in your code makes it easier for AI search engines and crawlers to interpret your content, which could influence inclusion in generated summaries. For best practices, only mark up visible questions and answers that appear on the page.
FAQ Schema Example:
<script type=”application/ld+json”>
{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
“@type”: “FAQPage”,
“mainEntity”: [
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “What is schema markup?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “Schema markup is a type of structured data placed in your site’s code that helps search engines better understand your website’s content. It can improve how your page appears in search results, including eligibility for rich snippets.”
}
},
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “Does schema markup improve SEO?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “While schema markup doesn’t directly influence rankings, it improves your page’s visibility in search results by enabling rich snippets, which can lead to higher click-through rates.”
}
},
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “How do I add schema markup to my website?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “You can add schema markup using JSON-LD, Microdata, or RDFa. JSON-LD is the recommended format by Google. You can use tools like Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper or plugins like Yoast if you use WordPress.”
}
}
]
}
</script>
Review Schema
Review schema highlights customer feedback and ratings for various things, like products, services, recipes, books, movies, events, or locations.
By adding this markup to relevant pages, you provide structured data to search engines that summarizes user sentiment. Using this schema type can help your content qualify for star ratings in search results.
The following is an example of pairing Review schema with a product:
Review & Product Schema Example:
<script type=”application/ld+json”>
{
“@context”: “http://schema.org”,
“@type”: “Product”,
“name”: “HR Software”,
“image”: [“https://www.paycor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Desktop-HR-Software-Full.jpg”],
“description”: “Paycor HR Software simplifies HR management by automating tasks, improving workflows, and empowering leaders to focus on strategy and employee engagement.”,
“brand”: {
“@type”: “Brand”,
“name”: “Paycor”
},
“aggregateRating”: {
“@type”: “AggregateRating”,
“ratingValue”: “4.5”,
“reviewCount”: “2762”
}
}
</script>
Local Business Schema
Local Business schema helps search engines understand key information about local businesses with physical locations. It includes structured properties such as:
- Business name
- Address
- Phone number
- Hours of operation
Implementing this schema improves your chances of appearing in local search features like the local pack, Google Maps, and knowledge panels.
Recipe Schema
For food content published online, Recipe schema is used to help search engines better understand and display the recipe in visually rich formats. It includes specific properties to surface details like directions, ingredients, estimated prep and cook time, and star ratings like this:
- recipeIngredient
- recipeInstructions
- prepTime
- totalTime
- nutritionInformation
This type of schema can trigger rich cards in search, which present a thumbnail image, ratings, time to cook, and even step-by-step instruction previews. These cards can help your recipe stand out and improve CTR from users looking for fast meals or inspiration in the kitchen.
Here’s a recipe example for tabouli (or tabbouleh):
Recipe Schema Example:
<script type=”application/ld+json”>
{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
“@type”: “Recipe”,
“name”: “Tabouli Salad Recipe”,
“description”: “Traditional tabouli salad recipe with parsley, mint, bulgur wheat, finely chopped vegetables and a zesty dressing. Recipe with step-by-step photos.”,
“author”: {
“@type”: “Person”,
“name”: “Suzy Karadsheh”,
“url”: “https://www.themediterraneandish.com/author/suzythemediterraneandish-com/”
},
“url”: “https://www.themediterraneandish.com/tabouli-salad/”,
“recipeIngredient”: [
“1/2 cup fine bulgur wheat”,
“4 firm Roma tomatoes, very finely chopped”,
“1 English cucumber (hothouse cucumber), very finely chopped”,
“2 bunches parsley, part of the stems removed, washed and well-dried, very finely chopped”,
“12-15 fresh mint leaves, stems removed, washed, well-dried, very finely chopped”,
“4 green onions, white and green parts, very finely chopped”,
“Salt”,
“3-4 tbsp lime juice (lemon juice, if you prefer)”,
“3-4 tbsp Early Harvest extra virgin olive oil”,
“Romaine lettuce leaves to serve, optional”
],
“recipeInstructions”: [
{
“@type”: “HowToStep”,
“text”: “Wash the bulgur wheat and soak it in water for 5-7 minutes. Drain very well. Set aside.”,
“url”: “https://www.themediterraneandish.com/tabouli-salad/#instruction-step-1”
},
{
“@type”: “HowToStep”,
“text”: “Very finely chop the vegetables, herbs and green onions. Drain excess tomato juice.”,
“url”: “https://www.themediterraneandish.com/tabouli-salad/#instruction-step-2”
},
{
“@type”: “HowToStep”,
“text”: “Combine vegetables and herbs in a bowl, add bulgur, salt, and mix gently.”,
“url”: “https://www.themediterraneandish.com/tabouli-salad/#instruction-step-3”
},
{
“@type”: “HowToStep”,
“text”: “Add lime juice and olive oil. Mix again.”,
“url”: “https://www.themediterraneandish.com/tabouli-salad/#instruction-step-4”
},
{
“@type”: “HowToStep”,
“text”: “Chill for 30 minutes before serving. Optionally serve with pita or lettuce leaves.”,
“url”: “https://www.themediterraneandish.com/tabouli-salad/#instruction-step-5”
}
],
“prepTime”: “PT20M”,
“totalTime”: “PT20M”,
“recipeYield”: [“6”, “6-8”],
“recipeCategory”: “Salad”,
“recipeCuisine”: “Middle Eastern”,
“aggregateRating”: {
“@type”: “AggregateRating”,
“reviewCount”: “89”,
“ratingValue”: “4.9”
},
“nutrition”: {
“@type”: “NutritionInformation”,
“calories”: “190 calories”,
“sugarContent”: “8.5 g”,
“sodiumContent”: “396.3 mg”,
“fatContent”: “10 g”,
“saturatedFatContent”: “1.5 g”,
“transFatContent”: “0 g”,
“carbohydrateContent”: “25.5 g”,
“fiberContent”: “3.1 g”,
“proteinContent”: “3.2 g”,
“cholesterolContent”: “0 mg”
}
}
</script>
This schema above ends up looking like these recipe cards:
Breadcrumb Schema
Breadcrumb navigation and supporting Breadcrumb schema help search engines understand a page’s position within your website’s hierarchy. They display that path in search results as a clean, clickable trail:
Home > Blog > Post Title
This improves user experience by giving readers a clear sense of site structure and helping them navigate deeper into your site. From an SEO standpoint, it’s a simple way to improve internal linking, improve user navigation, and signal content relationships to search engines.
How To Choose the Right Schema for Each Page
Choosing the right schema markup starts with understanding the purpose of each page on your site. While all website homepages universally benefit from Organization schema, the rest depends on page type.
Here are a couple of example website types and the schema that best fits their purpose:
- E-commerce websites: Product schema, Review schema
- News websites: NewsArticle schema
- Event venue websites: Event schema
- Food website: Recipe schema, Review schema
A good place to start if you’re unsure of what all you should consider adding is analyzing what your competitors are already doing on their sites. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel if they’ve done half the job for you.
Use browser dev tools or free schema testing tools like Google’s Rich Results Test or Schema Markup Validator to see which schema types your competitors use on similar page types. This can help you spot missed opportunities or gain ideas to make your pages more competitive.
For additional support, you can use both Schema.org and Google’s official documentation for detailed descriptions and implementation guidance for each schema type. These resources can help ensure you’re using the most accurate and up-to-date markup to match both search engine expectations and page purpose.
How To Add Schema Markup to Your Website
The easiest way to add schema markup to your website, especially if you’re using WordPress, is by embedding JSON-LD. As Google’s preferred format, JSON-LD is a block of script (usually in the <head> or near the top of the <body>) that doesn’t interrupt visible content on the page.
You can manually generate this code using tools like Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper, then paste it directly into your site’s HTML or use a plugin like Yoast SEO or Rank Math to add it through your CMS.
If you’re working on a site without CMS access or prefer embedding markup inline, Microdata and RDFa are two alternatives. These formats attach structured data directly to HTML elements using attributes. However, they’re harder to maintain at scale and less favored by Google than JSON-LD.
Testing and Validating Schema Markup
Once you’ve added schema markup, testing and validating it is essential to ensure it’s error-free and is eligible for rich results.
Start by running your page’s URL or the code snippet through the Schema Markup Validator to confirm the structured data syntax aligns with schema guidelines.
During the validation process, there may be times you encounter errors and warnings. Errors are critical issues, such as missing required fields, that can prevent your schema from working entirely.
Warnings are less severe and usually indicate optional fields that are missing or recommended. These warnings won’t disqualify your page from rich results, but are worth addressing to improve clarity.
Pro Tip: If you’re not sure what’s going wrong with your markup, consider using an AI prompt with ChatGPT to QA your schema by pasting it in and asking it to check for common errors. Many AI platforms can spot syntax errors like missing commas, curly brackets, or broken nesting before you do.
You can also monitor schema performance over time in Google Search Console under the Enhancements section, which reports on valid schema and any issues with its implementation.
Schema Markup Best Practices
To get the most value out of structured data, it’s important to follow a few best practices. These guidelines help ensure your markup is valid but also improve your chances of earning rich results and staying compliant with search engine guidelines.
- Focus on the pages where schema will make the most impact. Prioritize product pages, blog articles, events, and local business listings where schema can enhance visibility.
- Only use relevant schema. Don’t force schema types where they don’t apply, and don’t mislead users with false markup, like from made-up reviews.
- Schema should reflect what’s actually on the page. Make sure every field in your markup matches visible content.
- Test and validate your markup. Use tools like the Schema Markup Validator and Google’s Rich Results Test before publishing to catch errors early.
- Audit your schema periodically. Review and update your structured data periodically, especially for elements that can change over time, like business hours, product availability, or reviews.
Following these practices will help maintain your eligibility for enhanced SERP features while keeping your markup aligned with schema standards.
Putting Schema Markup Into Action
Schema markup is not a direct ranking factor. It will not reward your page with #1 in the search results alone, but it does lay essential groundwork for visibility. By helping search engines understand your content more contextually, structured markup increases your eligibility for rich results. This helps your listings stand out, even if your position stays the same.
As search engines grow more semantic and AI continues to shape how content is discovered, schema will remain important. It’s not just a technical SEO add-on or ‘nice to have’ — it’s a strategy that ensures your content is machine-readable, context-rich, and better aligned with the evolving algorithms behind modern search. Implement it with intention, and you’ll have built a stronger foundation for visibility in the long term.
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