Schema markup guide for business websites
Dravik teamUpdated 6 min read
Schema markup is structured data, usually added as JSON-LD code, that tells search engines exactly what a page describes: your organization, a service, an article, a product, a review. It can make pages eligible for rich results in Google and helps machines read your site accurately. It does not directly raise rankings on its own.
What schema markup does and does not do
Schema.org is a shared vocabulary that Google, Bing and other search engines support. When you add it to a page, you describe the page's content in a format machines can parse without guessing.
What it does, according to Google Search Central documentation:
- Helps Google understand the content of a page
- Makes pages eligible for rich results, such as review stars, product details, breadcrumbs or event listings, when the page meets Google's guidelines
What it does not do:
- Guarantee rich results. Google decides whether to show them.
- Act as a direct ranking boost. Google has said structured data is not a general ranking factor.
- Fix thin or unhelpful content.
Schema is best thought of as clear labeling. It makes your existing content easier to interpret.
Which schema types matter for business websites
| Schema type | Use it on | Possible benefit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Organization | Homepage or about page | Helps Google understand your company, logo and official profiles | Include name, url, logo, sameAs links to official profiles |
| LocalBusiness (or a subtype) | Location pages, homepage for single-location businesses | Supports local understanding | Must match your Google Business Profile details |
| WebSite | Homepage | Site name understanding | Google uses it for site names in results |
| BreadcrumbList | Most inner pages | Breadcrumb trail in results | Easy to add sitewide in a template |
| Article or BlogPosting | Blog posts and guides | Better understanding of author, date, headline | Use real author names and dates |
| Service | Service pages | Describes what you offer | Not tied to a specific Google rich result |
| Product and Offer | Product or pricing pages | Price and availability in results | Price must match what the page shows |
| Review and AggregateRating | Product pages with genuine reviews | Review stars | Google has rules against self-serving reviews of your own business on your own site |
| Event | Webinars and events | Event listings | Dates, location or online status required |
| FAQPage | FAQ sections | Limited rich result eligibility | See below |
| VideoObject | Pages with embedded video | Video features in results | Thumbnail, upload date and description needed |
A note on FAQ and HowTo rich results
In 2023 Google announced it would limit FAQ rich results to well-known, authoritative government and health websites, and stop showing HowTo rich results. For most business sites, FAQPage markup will no longer produce the expandable FAQ display in Google. It is still valid structured data and still describes your content to machines, so some teams keep it. Just do not add it expecting the old visual result.
JSON-LD is the format to use
There are three formats: JSON-LD, Microdata and RDFa. Google recommends JSON-LD because it sits in a single script block, separate from your visible HTML, which makes it easier to add and maintain.
A JSON-LD block for an Organization usually contains these properties:
| Property | Example value | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| @context | https://schema.org | Declares the vocabulary |
| @type | Organization | Declares what is being described |
| name | Example Co | Your official company name |
| url | https://www.example.com | Your homepage |
| logo | https://www.example.com/logo.png | Your logo file |
| sameAs | LinkedIn, Crunchbase and other official profile URLs | Connects your site to your official profiles elsewhere |
| contactPoint | A contact type and email or phone | How to reach you |
Your developer places this inside a script tag with the type application/ld+json, usually in the page head. Most content management systems and SEO plugins can generate it, and frameworks can render it from page data.
Step-by-step implementation
- List your page templates: homepage, service page, blog post, location page, product or pricing page.
- Choose schema types for each template using the table above. Keep it to types that accurately describe the content.
- Generate the markup from real page data. Pull the headline, author, date and price from the same source the page displays, so they can never disagree.
- Add Organization and WebSite markup on the homepage, and BreadcrumbList sitewide.
- Test before publishing (see below).
- Deploy to one template, check it in Search Console, then roll out to the rest.
- Monitor the Enhancements section of Search Console for errors after launch.
Rules that keep you out of trouble
Google's structured data guidelines include several rules businesses often break:
- Markup must describe content visible on the page. Do not mark up reviews, prices or FAQs that visitors cannot see.
- Do not mark up misleading or fake content, such as invented reviews or ratings.
- Keep values accurate and current. An old price in schema and a new price on the page is a mismatch.
- Use the most specific type that fits. A dental clinic can use Dentist rather than the generic LocalBusiness.
Violations can lead to a manual action that removes rich result eligibility for your site.
How to test schema properly
| Tool | What it checks | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Google Rich Results Test | Whether the page is eligible for Google rich results, and any errors | Before and after publishing |
| Schema Markup Validator (validator.schema.org) | Whether the markup is valid Schema.org, including types Google does not use for rich results | When using types like Service |
| Search Console Enhancements reports | Errors and warnings across your whole site over time | Ongoing monitoring |
| URL Inspection tool | How Google sees the live page, including detected structured data | After deploying |
Test with the live URL, not only pasted code. If your markup is added by JavaScript, the live test confirms whether Google can render it.
Schema and AI search
There is a lot of claim and counterclaim about schema and AI answers. Here is what is reasonably clear. Google's documentation on AI features says there are no special technical requirements for appearing in AI Overviews beyond normal Search eligibility, and recommends that structured data matches visible content. Structured data clearly helps search engines understand entities such as your organization, services and authors. Whether specific AI assistants such as ChatGPT or Perplexity read JSON-LD directly when building answers is not something those platforms have documented in detail.
Our view: add accurate schema because it helps search engines and costs little, but do not expect it to replace clear, well-written content. Our posts on what AEO is and Google AI Overviews optimization cover what tends to matter more.
A minimum schema setup for most B2B sites
- Organization on the homepage, with logo and sameAs links to official profiles
- WebSite on the homepage
- BreadcrumbList on all inner pages
- Article or BlogPosting on every post, with real author and date
- LocalBusiness on location pages, if you have physical locations
- Product or Offer only where there is a visible price
This covers most of the value without adding markup you will struggle to maintain. Schema also appears in our technical SEO checklist alongside the other basics.
If you are not sure what your site currently outputs, or whether it has errors, book a business audit. We check structured data as part of the review and tell you which fixes are worth the time.
Frequently asked questions
- Does schema markup improve rankings?
Not directly. Google has said structured data is not a general ranking factor. It can make pages eligible for rich results, which can improve how a listing looks and how often it gets clicked, and it helps search engines understand your content.
- Is FAQ schema still worth adding?
For most business sites, FAQ rich results no longer appear in Google since the 2023 change. The markup is still valid and describes your content. Add it if it is easy to maintain, but do not expect a visual change in results.
- Can I add schema without a developer?
Often yes. Many website builders and SEO plugins add common schema types automatically or through settings. Custom types or schema generated from page data usually need a developer.
- What happens if my schema has errors?
Pages with errors may not be eligible for rich results. Search Console lists errors in the Enhancements reports. Errors do not usually cause ranking penalties, but misleading markup can lead to a manual action.
- Should every page have schema markup?
Most pages benefit from at least BreadcrumbList and the type that matches their content. Do not force schema onto pages where no type fits. Accuracy matters more than coverage.
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