Schema markup

Schema markup (also called structured data) is a vocabulary for describing content to search engines. Article, Product, Recipe, FAQ, etc. It doesn't directly rank pages, but it qualifies them for rich results that transform SERP appearance and CTR.

Why schema matters

A FAQ-schema'd page can show expandable Q&A in the SERP. A product-schema'd page can show stars, price, and stock status. A recipe-schema'd page can show cook time and ratings. Rich results double or triple CTR vs, plain listings.

Formats

Three ways to implement:

• JSON-LD (Google's preferred format). JavaScript object in a <script> tag in the head
• Microdata, inline attributes in HTML
• RDFa, another inline format

Use JSON-LD. It's cleaner, easier to generate, and keeps markup out of the visible HTML.

Common schema types worth implementing

• Article / BlogPosting, for blog posts. Drives Top Stories placement + rich snippet.
• Product, for e-commerce. Drives stars, price, availability in search.
• Review, ratings. Often combined with Product or LocalBusiness.
• FAQPage. Q&A sections. Can drive expandable FAQ in the SERP.
• HowTo, step-by-step content. Drives numbered step snippets.
• Recipe, specific to food sites. Lots of rich result types.
• Organization, company info for knowledge panels.
• LocalBusiness, for local businesses. Essential for local SEO.
• BreadcrumbList, shows breadcrumb path in search results.
• VideoObject, for video content.
• Event, for events, drives Google Events results.
• Course, for online courses.
• JobPosting, job listings.

Example: Article schema

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Article",
  "headline": "The Title of the Article",
  "author": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Samuel Ochoa",
    "url": "https://samuelochoa.com/about.html"
  },
  "datePublished": "2026-04-18",
  "dateModified": "2026-04-18",
  "image": "https://samuelochoa.com/images/hero.jpg"
}
</script>

Testing

• Rich Results Test (Google), validates + previews rich snippets
• Schema Markup Validator (schema.org), validates against the spec
• Search Console → Enhancements, shows live schema issues on your site

Common mistakes

• Marking up content not visible on the page. Violates guidelines; penalty-worthy.
• Wrong schema type. Not every page is an Article. Pick the right type.
• Missing required fields. Each schema type has required properties. Skipping them = no rich result.
• Stale data. Product schema saying "in stock" when it's not, disqualifies.
• FAQ schema on every page. Google has tightened FAQ rich results, now limited mostly to government and educational sites.

Priorities

If you only do three: Organization + Article (on content pages) + Product (on product pages). Get those right before layering in more.