What Is Schema Markup and Which Types Matter?

Schema markup is a standard vocabulary, usually added to a page as JSON-LD, that labels what the page and its content are, so search engines don’t have to guess. Google uses it to understand pages and to decide whether they qualify for rich results, but it doesn’t describe it as a ranking switch.

It’s also one of the most over-sold topics in SEO. Several types people still implement no longer do anything in Google Search, and claims about schema and AI answers run well ahead of the evidence.

This guide goes type by type through what the documentation says today, with the dates, and shows what the code looks like.

How Is Schema Markup Different From Structured Data and JSON-LD?

Structured data is a standardised format for describing a page and classifying its content, and schema markup is the usual name for structured data written with the schema.org vocabulary. People use the terms interchangeably, but they sit at different levels.

Term	What it is	Who defines it
Structured data	A standardised format for giving information about a page and classifying its content	Google’s definition
Schema.org	A shared vocabulary of types and properties, such as Organization or Product	Community project founded by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Yandex
JSON-LD, Microdata, RDFa	The three ways of writing that vocabulary into a page	Supported by Google and schema.org

Why do most sites use JSON-LD?

Google’s introduction to structured data recommends using whichever format is easiest for you to implement and maintain, which in most cases is JSON-LD. It also says all three formats are equally fine, as long as the markup is valid and properly implemented.

JSON-LD sits in its own <script> block rather than being woven through your HTML. That makes it easier to template in a CMS, harder to break when someone edits the page, and, per Google, readable even when injected by JavaScript.

What does schema markup look like?

This is a stripped-down Organization block for a home page, using properties Google lists as recommended:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Example Accountants Ltd",
  "url": "https://example.com/",
  "logo": "https://example.com/logo.png",
  "telephone": "+44 1242 000000",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "1 High Street",
    "addressLocality": "Cheltenham",
    "postalCode": "GL50 1AA",
    "addressCountry": "GB"
  },
  "sameAs": ["https://www.linkedin.com/company/example-accountants"]
}
</script>

Every block needs an @context that points at schema.org and an @type naming the thing you are describing. The rest are properties of that type.

How widely is it used?

Schema.org says that as of 2024 over 45 million web domains markup their pages with over 450 billion schema.org objects, and that applications from Google, Microsoft, Pinterest, Yandex and others use the vocabulary. So it’s widespread, which is why the useful question is not “should I have it” but “which types earn anything”.

What Does Google Use Schema Markup For?

Google uses structured data to understand page content and to make pages eligible for rich results, such as breadcrumbs, product details and review snippets. Eligible isn’t guaranteed: valid markup earns you the right to be considered, not a rich result.

Google’s general guidelines are explicit that it does not guarantee your structured data will show up, even if the page passes the Rich Results Test. It may decide a different feature, or a plain text result, suits the searcher better.

Which features rely on markup?

Google’s search gallery lists the supported features, including Article, Breadcrumb, Event, Image metadata, Job posting, Local business, Organization, Product, Recipe, Review snippet, Software app and Video. Each has its own documentation with requirements.

Does it improve click-through?

Google’s introduction cites case studies from brands that added markup. Nestlé measured an 82% higher click-through rate for pages showing as rich results than for pages that didn’t, and Rotten Tomatoes measured 25% higher click-through on pages with structured data.

Treat those as vendor-reported case studies, not controlled tests. They show what happens when a rich result appears, which is the part Google can’t promise.

Rich results versus ranking

The distinction matters. Google says that a structured data manual action means a page loses eligibility for rich result appearance, and that it doesn’t affect how the page ranks in web search.

That’s consistent with how the documentation describes the purpose: understanding and appearance, not position. If someone promises a ranking jump from schema alone, ask them to show the test.

Which Schema Types Matter Most?

For most business sites the types worth implementing are Organization, BreadcrumbList and Article, plus LocalBusiness or Product if they fit what you do. Each has current Google documentation, and for several of them no property is strictly required.

This is the technical layer of SEO, and the list is short on purpose.

Type	What Google says it’s for	Notes
Organization	Helps Google understand administrative details and disambiguate the organisation	No required properties; add as many relevant ones as you can
LocalBusiness	Business details such as hours and departments for people searching on Search or Maps	Address and name are required
Article	Helps Google show better title text, images and date information	No required properties; author, headline, image and dates recommended
BreadcrumbList	Shows the page’s position in the site hierarchy	Needs itemListElement; each item needs position, name and item (URL)
Product	Richer product information such as price, availability and ratings	Separate guidance for product snippets and merchant listings
FAQPage	Previously expandable Q&A in results	No longer shown from 7 May 2026
HowTo	Previously step-by-step results	Withdrawn in 2023

Organization

Google’s Organization documentation, last updated 8 September 2026, says adding the markup to your home page can help Google understand your organisation’s details and disambiguate it in results. There are no required properties, and Google recommends focusing on name, address or telephone, and url or logo.

LocalBusiness

Local business markup tells Google about opening hours, departments and reviews for people searching on Search or Maps. Google lists address and name as required, and says to use the most specific LocalBusiness sub-type possible, such as Restaurant or HealthClub.

If you work on local visibility, our piece on how Google ranks local businesses covers what matters beyond markup.

Article

Article markup has no required properties, but Google recommends author, headline, image, datePublished and dateModified. Here is a minimal example for a blog post:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Article",
  "headline": "Self assessment deadlines explained",
  "image": ["https://example.com/images/deadlines.jpg"],
  "datePublished": "2026-10-03T09:00:00+01:00",
  "dateModified": "2026-10-03T09:00:00+01:00",
  "author": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Jane Smith",
    "url": "https://example.com/team/jane-smith/"
  }
}
</script>

Google recommends giving timezone information with dates, and says the author URL should uniquely identify the author, such as a bio page. That author detail is also where schema meets E-E-A-T.

BreadcrumbList and Product

Breadcrumb markup needs an itemListElement array, and each item needs a position, a name and the URL of the page (the last item can omit the URL, and Google then uses the containing page). Google’s breadcrumb documentation says the feature is available on desktop.

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
  "itemListElement": [
    { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Guides", "item": "https://example.com/guides/" },
    { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Self assessment" }
  ]
}

Product markup covers two uses: product snippets for pages where people can’t directly buy, and merchant listings for pages where they can. If you sell online, follow the merchant listing guidance.

Which Schema Types Has Google Retired or Restricted?

Google has withdrawn FAQ and HowTo rich results and removed documentation for several other types. Don’t build a strategy around any of them.

Markup	What happened	Date
FAQPage	Rich result limited to well-known government and health sites	August 2023
FAQPage	Deprecation notice: feature no longer appears in Search from 7 May 2026	Changelog entry dated 8 May 2026
FAQPage	Documentation removed	15 June 2026
HowTo	Removed on mobile, then desktop (13 September); documentation removed	August to 14 September 2023
Course info, estimated salary, learning video, special announcement, vehicle listing	Documentation removed, no longer shown	9 September 2025
Practice problem	Deprecation notice, then documentation removed	5 November 2025; 6 January 2026
Dataset	Clarified as used only by Dataset Search, not Google Search	5 November 2025

FAQ

In August 2023, Google announced that FAQ rich results would only show for well-known, authoritative government and health websites. Its documentation changelog then carries an entry dated 8 May 2026 saying the feature would no longer appear in Search from 7 May 2026.

On 15 June 2026 the changelog records that the FAQ documentation was removed because the result is no longer shown. Google’s old FAQPage documentation address now redirects to that changelog entry.

HowTo

The same 2023 announcement limited HowTo rich results to desktop, and Google extended the change to desktop on 13 September 2023. The changelog shows the HowTo documentation was removed on 14 September 2023.

If you’re not sure which of your markup still earns anything, book an SEO audit, a custom report of around 30 pages with a 90-minute consultation.

Other types that have gone

The changelog also records removal of documentation for course info, estimated salary, learning video, special announcement and vehicle listing on 9 September 2025, and for practice problems on 6 January 2026. In November 2025 Google clarified that Dataset markup is only used by Dataset Search, not Google Search.

Each time, the reason given is the same: the result is no longer shown in Search.

What Are Google’s Structured Data Guidelines?

The core rules are simple: use a supported format, keep the markup crawlable, and describe only content that visitors can actually see. Break them and you can lose eligibility for rich results.

The rules in plain English

Google’s guidelines say structured data must not be blocked from Googlebot by robots.txt, noindex or any other access control. They also say: “Don’t mark up content that is not visible to readers of the page.”

• Include all required properties for the feature, plus the recommended ones you can support accurately.
• Put markup on the page it describes, and don’t create blank pages just to hold structured data.
• Keep prices, ratings and dates in step with what’s on the page, because Google won’t show a rich result for time-sensitive content that is no longer relevant.
• Don’t mark up irrelevant or misleading content, such as fake reviews.

What mistakes are most common?

Mistake	Why it causes trouble
Marking up content that isn’t on the page	Breaks the visibility rule and risks a manual action
Blocking the page in robots.txt or behind a login	Google can’t read the markup
Leaving comments in JSON-LD	The Rich Results Test ignores them, but the JSON-LD standard doesn’t support them, so they can cause errors in real use
Copying one template’s markup across unlike pages	The data no longer represents the main content
Filling every property with weak data	Google prefers fewer, complete and accurate properties
Forgetting to monitor after release	Templating or serving issues can break markup after deployment

A site-wide SEO audit is the quickest way to spot the first two of these at scale.

Google also added a guideline to its review snippet documentation on 24 July 2026 about fake and undisclosed incentivised reviews. If you mark up reviews, they need to be real and visible.

How Do You Add Schema Markup to a Site?

Choose the types that fit each page template, write them as JSON-LD, add them through your CMS or templates, and test the rendered page. Then monitor them in Search Console.

Step by step

1. List your page templates: home page, service pages, articles, local pages, products.
2. Pick the matching type for each, using the table above.
3. Add the required properties, then every recommended one you can fill accurately.
4. Place the JSON-LD script in the head or body of the page it describes.
5. Test the URL, release a few pages, and check how Google sees them with the URL Inspection tool.

How do you test it?

The Rich Results Test shows which rich result types it found and any errors or warnings, and defaults to a smartphone user agent. The Schema Markup Validator at validator.schema.org checks general schema.org syntax, which is useful for types Google doesn’t support.

After release, Search Console’s rich result reports show whether valid items are rising and invalid ones are not. Google recommends checking after first deployment, after releasing new templates and periodically as you analyse traffic.

What about CMS plugins?

Google notes that on Wix, WordPress or Shopify you may not be able to edit your HTML directly, so look for a settings page or plugin. Whatever you use, view the output on a live page and compare it with the visible content.

Does Schema Markup Help With AI Answers?

Google says it doesn’t need any: its AI optimization guide states that structured data isn’t required for generative AI search and there’s no special schema.org markup you need to add. It adds that it’s still a good idea to use it as part of your overall SEO strategy, since it helps with rich result eligibility.

That guide, last updated 10 July 2026, lists “overfocusing on structured data” among the things you can ignore. We cover the wider picture in how Google AI Overviews choose sources.

What Microsoft says

Microsoft is the one major vendor with a published position. In an October 2025 post on optimising content for AI search answers, Microsoft Advertising says schema is code that helps search engines and AI systems understand your content, usually added as JSON-LD.

Its checklist tells marketers to structure content using schema, clear headings and modular layouts. That is guidance from Microsoft’s advertising arm, not a Bing ranking statement, and it doesn’t say schema makes Copilot cite you.

What’s still unknown for ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity

OpenAI, Anthropic and Perplexity document their crawlers and robots.txt controls, and none of those pages mentions schema. We found no vendor statement that structured data affects what they cite.

So mark up your pages because it’s good housekeeping, and don’t expect it to buy citations on its own.

The same goes for llms.txt, another much-hyped file with no confirmed effect. Wherever you land on schema, it is one input to AI search visibility, not the whole of it.

Related: What Is llms.txt and Does Your Site Need One?

Not sure what your site is currently marked up with? Book an SEO audit and we’ll check it alongside your technical setup.