Schema markup

Schema markup, also called structured data, is a vocabulary for describing your content to search engines. It's not a ranking factor on its own. But it qualifies pages for rich search results (stars, prices, FAQ expanders, event dates) that can double or triple your CTR. Implementing it takes a few minutes per page type. This page walks through what schema is, how to add it, the types worth implementing, and the common mistakes that get a page disqualified.

The mindset

Normal HTML tells Google what a page looks like. Schema tells Google what the page is about. The difference matters because Google wants to match users to specific kinds of results. Someone searching "best lasagna recipe" is looking for a recipe, not a blog post about Italian culture. Schema is how you say "this is a recipe, here's the cook time, the ingredients, the ratings."

Once Google knows what kind of thing your page is, it can show a richer listing in the SERP. A plain blue link becomes a result with stars, a price, availability status, a photo, an event date. Those rich results stand out visually and earn more clicks.

The three formats

• JSON-LD. Google's preferred format. A JavaScript object inside a <script> tag in your page head. Clean, doesn't touch visible HTML.
• Microdata. Inline HTML attributes like itemprop. Older approach.
• RDFa. Another inline format. Even older.

Use JSON-LD. It's cleaner, easier to generate and maintain, and Google recommends it. The other two still work but there's no reason to pick them today.

The schema types worth implementing

Example: Article schema

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Article",
  "headline": "What is SEO",
  "author": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Samuel Ochoa",
    "url": "https://samuelochoa.com/about.html"
  },
  "datePublished": "2026-04-19",
  "dateModified": "2026-04-19",
  "image": "https://samuelochoa.com/images/hero.jpg"
}
</script>

Testing your schema

• Google Rich Results Test. Validates your schema and shows a preview of what rich result you qualify for. Always use this before deploying.
• Schema.org Markup Validator. Validates against the full schema.org spec.
• Search Console Enhancements tab. Shows live schema issues and valid items across your actual indexed pages.

Common mistakes that disqualify your rich results

• Marking up content that's not visible on the page. Schema data must match what the user actually sees. Violating this is penalty-worthy.
• Using the wrong schema type. Not every page is an Article. A category page is not a Product. Pick the right type.
• Missing required fields. Each schema type has required properties. Skip them and you get no rich result. Check the Rich Results Test.
• Stale data. Product schema saying "in stock" when it's not, or a ratings count that doesn't match the page, disqualifies.
• FAQ schema on every page. Google has tightened FAQ rich results. They're now limited to mostly government and healthcare sites. Don't bother implementing FAQ unless you're in those sectors.
• Over-layered schema. Adding 10 schema types to one page. Google sees it as stuffing.

Priorities if you're starting fresh

If you only implement three schema types, make them:

1. Organization (sitewide, in the homepage, for knowledge panels)
2. Article or BlogPosting (on every content page)
3. Product (on every product page, if you have any)

Nail those three and you've captured 80% of the schema value. Layer in BreadcrumbList, Review, and HowTo next as relevant.

What to do with this

Pick your top 10 pages. Run each through the Rich Results Test. Note what's missing and fix it. The pages with no schema today won't notice a ranking change, but they'll start showing up with richer listings that eat the attention on the SERP.

Next: content length and depth, the most misunderstood topic in on-page SEO.