Schema markup explained: the structured data a business website actually needs

Schema markup is code that tells search engines, in a standard vocabulary, what a page is about: this is a business, this is its logo, these are its opening hours, this article was written by this person and updated on this date. Search engines can work out much of that alone. Schema markup removes the guesswork.

It also attracts more myths than most corners of SEO. Plugins offer dozens of types at the tick of a box, and plenty of advice still promises review stars, FAQ dropdowns and ranking boosts that Google has withdrawn or never offered.

Most business websites need a handful of types, done accurately and kept current. Here’s which ones, what they can and can’t do, and how to add and test them on WordPress.

The short answer

• What it is. Schema markup, or structured data, is code that describes a page’s content to search engines using the shared Schema.org vocabulary, usually written as JSON-LD.
• What it does. It helps search engines understand a page and makes it eligible for rich results such as product prices and breadcrumb trails. Eligible isn’t guaranteed, and it doesn’t lift rankings on its own.
• What most sites need. Organization or a LocalBusiness type, WebSite, BreadcrumbList, Article on articles and Product on product pages.
• The rule that matters most. Mark up only what visitors can see, then test with Google’s Rich Results Test and the Schema Markup Validator.

What schema markup is, in plain terms

Four related terms, often used interchangeably:

Google also reads Microdata and RDFa, which weave attributes into the visible HTML, but JSON-LD is easier to generate and maintain. Here’s Organization markup for a fictional company:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Example Engineering",
  "legalName": "Example Engineering Company Limited",
  "url": "https://www.example.com/",
  "logo": "https://www.example.com/images/logo.png",
  "email": "hello@example.com",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.linkedin.com/company/example-engineering",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@exampleengineering"
  ]
}
</script>

Visitors never see it, but a search engine learns the trading name, legal entity, logo and, through sameAs, which profiles belong to this company rather than a namesake.

What structured data does, and what it doesn’t

What it does

It removes ambiguity. “Apex” could be a builder, a law firm or a mountain. Markup states which entity a page is about and links it to your other profiles.

It makes pages eligible for rich results. Prices and stock status, product review stars, event dates, job listings, breadcrumb trails, your site name and logo. Google’s Search Gallery lists every feature it currently supports and what each one needs.

What it doesn’t do

Lift rankings by itself. Google’s John Mueller has said there’s no generic ranking boost for using structured data. A richer listing may earn more clicks, but it won’t lift a weak page above a stronger one.

Guarantee anything. Valid markup only makes a page eligible; Google decides search by search.

Put stars on your own business. Since 2019, Google hasn’t shown review stars for reviews a business publishes about itself with Organization or LocalBusiness markup, so your testimonials won’t become stars.

Fix the page underneath. If a page isn’t indexed, is thin or misses the search intent, markup changes nothing. The technical SEO checklist comes first.

Rich results that no longer show

• FAQ. Limited to well-known government and health websites in August 2023, then withdrawn completely in May 2026.
• HowTo. Restricted to desktop in August 2023, then removed entirely in September 2023.
• Sitelinks search box. Retired in late 2024, so SearchAction markup no longer does anything visible in Google.

Several niche types, from course info to vehicle listings, were also retired in 2025, so treat the Search Gallery as the only reliable list.

The schema types a business website actually needs

Organization: who you are

• Use your name exactly as on invoices and your Google Business Profile, plus legalName if the registered name differs.
• Point logo at a crawlable image of at least 112 × 112 pixels, Google’s minimum.
• List only profiles you control in sameAs, and only contact details you’re happy to publish.

LocalBusiness: where and when to find you

A more specific kind of Organization, for businesses that customers visit or that serve a defined area. Google requires a name and address.

• Pick the most specific subtype. Dentist, Plumber or RealEstateAgent says more than plain LocalBusiness.
• Add the details people act on. telephone, openingHoursSpecification, geo and, for service-area businesses, areaServed.
• Keep it identical. Name, address and phone should match your footer, contact page and Business Profile.
• One page per location. Give each location its own page and markup, linked to the company through parentOrganization.

Google says local results depend mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, so your Business Profile and reviews do more work than markup; the local SEO checklist covers both.

WebSite: the name you want shown

On the home page, name, alternateName and url tell Google which site name you prefer, useful when your domain differs from your trading name. Google calls this its most important signal, but it also reads your title and headings and can still choose another name. Skip SearchAction.

Site names work for domains and subdomains, not subfolders, so if your language versions live in folders such as /fr/, pick a name that works in all of them; the multilingual SEO guide covers structuring those versions.

BreadcrumbList: where the page sits

Breadcrumb markup lists the path from the home page to the current page, each step with a name, a URL and a position. It clarifies your hierarchy and, in desktop results, can replace the raw URL with a readable trail. It should mirror breadcrumbs visitors can see, which earn their place on any site deeper than two levels, as website navigation design explains.

Article: who wrote it, and when

Article or BlogPosting markup states the headline, image, datePublished, dateModified and author. Google requires none of these but recommends them all.

Mark the author up as a Person whose url leads to a real author page, the kind of visible expertise covered in E-E-A-T explained, and change dateModified only when the content genuinely changes.

Product or Service: what you sell

If you sell online, Product markup with an Offer (price, currency and availability) is probably your most valuable markup. Pages where customers can buy fall under Google’s merchant listing guidance; catalogues without online checkout fall under product snippets.

Service businesses have no equivalent: Schema.org’s Service type does no harm, but Google offers no rich result for it. Beyond these, add Event, JobPosting or VideoObject only when you publish events, vacancies or your own videos.

Rules that keep markup out of trouble

Google’s structured data guidelines come down to honesty and consistency. Before anything goes live:

• Every value is visible on the same page: no hidden prices, reviews or keywords
• Prices, opening hours and availability change when the page does
• Each type is the most specific one that fits the page’s main content
• One source per fact: no duplicate blocks from a theme, a plugin and a pasted snippet

Misleading markup can earn a structured data manual action in Search Console. While it applies, affected pages lose eligibility for rich results; Google says it doesn’t affect how they rank in web search.

How to add JSON-LD in WordPress

Most sites combine three routes.

1. An SEO plugin for the site-wide basics

Yoast SEO and Rank Math output baseline markup (typically WebSite, WebPage, Organization or Person, and Article) once you complete their settings: organisation or person, name, logo and profiles. Good plugins connect the pieces with @id references, so every article’s publisher is the same Organization rather than a slightly different copy.

2. Template-level markup for structured content

Listings, events and products built from custom fields should get markup generated from the same fields shown on the page, so when an editor changes a price or date, the markup follows. It’s a small piece of developer work and the most reliable approach.

3. Hand-written snippets for one-offs

Fine for a single page, such as LocalBusiness markup on a contact page, but a pasted snippet never updates itself.

Watch for duplicates. WooCommerce adds its own Product markup, older themes can add Microdata and page-builder widgets add more. Check that each type appears once, with consistent values. Google can read JSON-LD that JavaScript injects, but markup in the HTML the server sends is also visible to tools and crawlers that don’t run JavaScript.

How to test and monitor structured data

1. Read the source. Search it for ld+json to find every block.
2. Run Google’s Rich Results Test on the live URL. It shows which Google rich results the page is eligible for, with errors and warnings.
3. Run the Schema Markup Validator. Schema.org’s own tool checks any type, including ones Google ignores for rich results, such as Service.
4. Inspect the URL in Search Console to see the structured data Google found on the indexed version.
5. Watch the reports. Search Console’s rich result reports track valid items and errors across the site.

Errors or warnings? Errors make an item ineligible and need fixing. Warnings usually flag missing recommended properties: add them if you have the information, and never invent a value to clear one.

Retest after theme changes, plugin updates and migrations, when markup quietly breaks or doubles up. It belongs in routine website maintenance.

Structured data and AI search

AI search is a reason to state facts clearly, not to add new markup. At the time of writing (July 2026), Google’s guidance on its AI features says no special markup is needed to appear in them, and that structured data should match the visible content. Google AI Overviews and your website covers what those features change.

Standalone assistants such as ChatGPT and Perplexity don’t document in any detail how, or whether, they use Schema.org markup. They can read your page text, so every fact you mark up should also be written plainly on the page. Generative engine optimisation covers what else helps a site get cited.

Frequently asked questions

Does schema markup help SEO?

Indirectly. It helps search engines understand your pages and can earn richer listings, but Google has said it gives no generic ranking boost. It’s one part of an SEO-friendly website, not a ranking tactic.

Is FAQ schema still worth adding?

Not for Google’s listings: Google stopped showing FAQ rich results altogether in May 2026. FAQPage markup is still valid and harmless when the questions genuinely appear on the page, but it won’t change how your result looks.

How long do rich results take to appear?

There’s no fixed timeline. Google has to recrawl and reprocess the page, and may still choose not to show one. Requesting indexing in Search Console’s URL Inspection tool can prompt a recrawl, but it can’t force a rich result.

What to do next

Run your home page, a service page and an article through both testing tools, and check the source for missing markup, plugin defaults with the wrong name or logo, and conflicting copies of the same facts. Fix in order: Organization or LocalBusiness, then WebSite and breadcrumbs, then Article and Product.

If you’re planning a new website, put structured data in the brief alongside page structure, metadata and the XML sitemap, so it’s generated by the templates rather than bolted on later. Our website design and development projects set up SEO foundations at launch, the natural moment to settle structured data too. Not sure whether your current site needs fixing or rebuilding? A free website audit is a sensible first step.