Most websites use Schema markup.
Very few use it properly.
And that gap? That’s where a lot of SEO value quietly disappears.
Structured data isn’t just a technical checkbox. It’s how you speak Google’s language. It helps search engines — and now AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity — understand what your content is actually about. Not just what it says. What it means.
The result? Better visibility. Rich results in SERPs. Higher click-through rates.
But here’s the problem most SEOs run into: they either pick the wrong schema type for their content, or they don’t implement it at all. Both hurt.
So let’s fix that.
Here are the 7 Schema markup types that matter most — what they do, when to use them, and why they’re worth the effort.
What Is Schema Markup (Quick Refresher)?
Schema markup is a type of structured data code — usually written in JSON-LD format — that you add to your web pages. It tells search engines the context behind your content.
Without schema, Google reads your page and guesses.
With schema, you tell Google exactly what it’s looking at.
Think of it as a label. Instead of Google figuring out that your page is about a recipe, you tell it: “This is a recipe. Here’s the cooking time. Here are the ingredients. Here’s the rating.”
That clarity is what unlocks rich results.
#1 — Article Schema
Best for: Blog posts, news articles, editorial content
If you run a blog or a news site, Article Schema should be one of the first things you implement.
Here’s why. When Google crawls your article, it sees text. That’s it. Article Schema gives it more: the headline, the author, the publish date, the image, the article type. All structured and readable.
That additional context is what gets your content eligible for the Top Stories carousel — that rich horizontal block at the top of Google results for breaking or trending content.
For bloggers and publishers, this matters. Top Stories placements don’t just get more clicks. They get faster clicks, often before a user even reads a single result.
What does Article Schema communicate to Google?
- The title of your article
- Who wrote it (author name and profile)
- When it was published and last updated
- The featured image
- The type (Article, BlogPosting, NewsArticle.
A quick thing to note: If you’re on WordPress, plugins like Rank Math or Yoast SEO handle a lot of this automatically. But it’s still worth auditing what they’re actually outputting. Auto-generated schema isn’t always accurate.
#2 — Product Schema
Best for: E-commerce product pages, online stores
If you sell products online and you’re not using Product Schema, you’re leaving money on the table. That’s not an exaggeration.
Product Schema is what enables those rich product listings in Google Shopping results — the ones that show the product name, price, availability, and star rating right in the search results. Before a user even clicks.
Think about what that does to click-through rate.
What Product Schema communicates:
- Product name and description
- Price and currency
- Availability (in stock, out of stock, pre-order)
- Ratings and review count
- Product images
- SKU or MPN (if applicable)
The star ratings especially matter. Multiple studies on CTR have shown that rich results with star ratings significantly outperform plain blue links for product-related searches. When a shopper is comparing three similar products in search results, the one showing a 4.8 rating with 340 reviews almost always wins the click.
One important note: Google is strict about Product Schema accuracy. If your schema says “In Stock” but the product is actually unavailable, you risk a manual penalty. Keep it honest and up to date.
#3 — Event Schema
Best for: Concerts, webinars, conferences, workshops, local events
Running an event? Event Schema is how it gets noticed.
Without it, Google sees your event page as just another page. With it, Google knows there’s an event happening — when, where, and how people can attend or buy tickets.
This opens up the Events rich result — a dedicated card that appears at the top of relevant searches, showing upcoming events with dates, locations, and links. It’s one of the most visually distinct rich results Google offers.
Event Schema covers:
- Event name
- Start and end date/time
- Location (physical address or virtual/online)
- Organiser details
- Ticket link and price
- Event status (scheduled, postponed, cancelled)
The “event status” field became important post-2020 when so many events moved online or got cancelled. Google now supports EventMovedOnline, EventCancelled, and EventPostponed as valid values. Use them when relevant. It prevents user confusion and keeps your schema accurate.
If your business runs regular events — workshops, training sessions, live streams — Event Schema is an easy win that most small businesses completely ignore.
#4 — Local Business Schema
Best for: Any business with a physical location
This one is especially important if you’re doing local SEO.
Local Business Schema gives Google a structured, reliable source of truth about your business. Name, address, phone number, hours, coordinates, category — all in one clean piece of code.
Why does that matter?
Because Google pulls business information from a lot of different places: your website, your Google Business Profile, third-party directories, review sites. When these sources conflict, Google has to make a judgment call. Local Business Schema reduces that uncertainty. You’re telling Google directly: “This is the authoritative information.”
What it communicates:
- Business name
- Physical address
- Phone number
- Operating hours (including special holiday hours)
- Website URL
- Geo-coordinates (latitude and longitude)
- Business category (Restaurant, MedicalClinic, LegalService, etc.)
- Price range
For multi-location businesses, each location should have its own Local Business Schema with location-specific details. Don’t use the same schema across every page.
One more thing: Local Business Schema pairs extremely well with a well-maintained Google Business Profile. Together, they reinforce the same signals and help Google serve your listing more confidently.
#5 — Recipe Schema
Best for: Food blogs, cooking websites, nutrition sites
Recipe Schema is one of the most visually rich schema types Google supports. And if you run a food blog, it can be the difference between a plain link and a result that stops someone mid-scroll.
Here’s what a properly marked-up recipe can show in search:
- Recipe name and photo
- Cooking time and prep time
- Difficulty rating
- Calorie count per serving
- Star rating from user reviews
- A direct link to the recipe
That’s a lot of real estate in a single search result.
Recipe Schema supports:
- Recipe name and description
- Author
- Total time (prep + cook)
- Cuisine type
- Recipe yield (servings)
- Ingredients list
- Step-by-step instructions
- Nutrition information
- Rating and review count
The nutrition information field is increasingly important as health-conscious searches grow. If your recipe has reliable nutrition data, including it gives you a better shot at appearing in health-related queries.
One thing to keep in mind: Google requires that your schema actually reflects what’s on the page. You can’t hide content in the schema that isn’t visible to users. If your recipe instructions are in the schema but buried or missing from the page, that’s a violation of Google’s guidelines.
#6 — Review Schema
Best for: Review sites, product reviews, service reviews, aggregator pages
People trust reviews. That’s not news.
But Review Schema takes that trust signal and makes it visible before someone even clicks on your page. Your star rating and review count appear directly in the search result.
Review Schema is what powers that — the yellow stars, the rating number, the vote count right under your page title in the SERP.
The impact on CTR is real. A page with a 4.6 rating and 200+ reviews, visible right in search results, almost always outperforms an identical page without those signals. Users scan SERPs fast. Ratings are one of the first things they notice.
Review Schema supports:
- Item being reviewed (product, book, movie, service, software, etc.)
- Rating value and best possible rating
- Reviewer name
- Review date
- Review body
An important distinction: this is for individual reviews or aggregated ratings about something. It’s not for self-promotion. Google has become increasingly strict about Review Schema being used on pages that review things the site itself sells or creates — they updated their guidelines to address exactly this. Make sure your implementation is legitimate.
#7 — FAQ Schema
Best for: FAQ pages, blog posts with Q&A sections, help centre articles
FAQ Schema was one of the most popular schema types for a while — and for good reason.
It lets you display expandable question-and-answer pairs directly in Google search results. The page result expands to show 2–3 questions, and users can click to reveal the answers right there, without leaving Google.
At its peak, FAQ Schema gave pages significantly more SERP real estate. A result with 3 FAQ dropdowns can take up as much vertical space as 4–5 regular results combined.
Now, a quick note on where things stand: Google has scaled back how often it shows FAQ rich results since late 2023. They’re now mainly shown for “authoritative government and health websites.” That said, FAQ Schema is still worth implementing on the right pages. It still appears for certain queries and certain sites, and the structured format also helps with AI-driven search features like Google’s AI Overviews.
FAQ Schema supports:
- Question text
- Answer text (with or without links)
- Multiple Q&A pairs per page
One rule to follow: your FAQ content must actually be on the page. Don’t create FAQ schema for questions that don’t appear as visible content to users. Google will catch it.
How to Implement Schema Markup (The Practical Part)
There are three main ways to add Schema markup to your pages:
1. JSON-LD (Recommended) This is Google’s preferred method. You add a <script> tag with your structured data inside the <head> or <body> of your page. It doesn’t affect your visible HTML, which makes it clean and easy to manage.
2. WordPress Plugins If you’re on WordPress, Rank Math and Yoast SEO both generate schema automatically for most content types. They’re a solid starting point. Just verify what they’re outputting using Google’s Rich Results Test — plugins aren’t always perfect.
3. Google Tag Manager You can deploy schema via GTM without touching your site’s code. Good option if you don’t have direct access to the page source.
Always test your implementation: Use Google’s Rich Results Test to check whether your schema is valid and eligible for rich results.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
A few things that trip people up:
Using the wrong schema type. Article schema on a product page, or Product schema on a blog post — these are more common than you’d think. Match the schema to the content.
Marking up content that isn’t visible on the page. Your structured data must reflect what users can actually see. Hiding content in schema is against Google’s guidelines.
Outdated information. Especially for Product Schema (price, availability) and Event Schema (dates, status). Stale schema can hurt credibility.
Implementing schema just for the rich result, not the user. Schema should reflect accurate, helpful content. If your FAQ Schema answers are thin and useless, you’re optimizing for Google and ignoring the person reading.
Final Thought
Schema markup isn’t magic. It won’t fix bad content or save a poorly built site.
But for a well-built site with solid content? It’s one of the highest ROI technical SEO tasks you can do.
Search engines are reading your pages constantly. The question is whether they’re guessing at what they find — or understanding it clearly because you told them.
Pick the right schema type for your content. Implement it accurately. Keep it updated.
That’s it. That’s the whole job.
Found this helpful? Share it with someone who’s still ignoring their structured data.
Read More: How to Increase Your AI Visibility and Get Your Brand Mentioned by ChatGPT and AI Tools