--- title: Schema Markup — definition and use for local sites | Siite description: "Schema markup explained: which structured data types matter for a local business, how it is written, and what it can and cannot do for rankings." url: "https://siite.co/dictionary/schema-markup" type: static generatedAt: "2026-10-22T08:21:10.843Z" --- Web & Technical # Schema Markup Code added to a page that describes its content in a vocabulary search engines and AI systems read directly — your services, reviews, location, hours and FAQs, stated as data. Also goes by Structured data, JSON-LD [![Siite](/images/layout/logo.svg)Written by Siite](/about/)Updated September 8, 2026 ## Entry contents [All Terms A to Z←Browse the full dictionary](/dictionary/) Schema markup is structured data added to a page, almost always as [JSON-LD](/dictionary/json-ld/), using the shared vocabulary published at schema.org. It restates in machine-readable form what a human reads on the page: that this is a business of a particular kind, in this place, offering these services, with these hours and these questions answered. > **Briefly explained** > > - Code that describes your page in terms machines read directly. > - It removes guesswork rather than adding ranking power. > - A handful of types cover everything a local business needs. > - It must describe what is actually on the page. ## Which types actually matter? A local business needs five of them. The rest is noise. - **LocalBusiness**, or a more specific subtype where one exists - **Service**, describing what you sell and where - **BreadcrumbList**, showing the page’s place in the site - **FAQPage**, for questions genuinely answered on the page - **Article** and **Person**, for content with a named author ## What does it actually buy you? Three things, none of which is a ranking boost. - **Clarity.** Search engines infer most of this anyway, and infer it inconsistently. Markup removes the guessing. - **Eligibility.** Certain rich results — breadcrumbs, review stars where allowed, FAQ displays — require it. - **Citation.** AI assistants and answer engines increasingly pull facts about a business from structured data rather than from the prose. ## What are the rules? The important one is simple and frequently broken: describe only what is on the page. - Reviews must be displayed on the page you mark them up on - FAQ markup needs the questions visible to a visitor - Prices in markup should match prices on the page - Entities should connect: the service belongs to the business, the article to its author Marking up things a visitor cannot see is a policy violation, and the penalty is losing the rich result the markup was meant to earn. ## How do you check it? - Google’s Rich Results Test, for what Google can parse and what it qualifies for - The Schema Markup Validator, for the vocabulary itself - Search Console, for errors across the whole site rather than one page - A re-check after every template change, because it breaks without warning ## What do the terms mean? - **Structured data:** The general term. Schema markup is the common form of it. - **schema.org:** The shared vocabulary. - **JSON-LD:** The format Google recommends for writing it. - **Rich result:** An enhanced listing that structured data can qualify you for. - **Entity:** A thing described in the markup: a business, a service, a person. Owner questions ## What owners ask us about Schema Markup ### Does schema markup improve rankings? +Not directly. It clarifies what a page is about, qualifies it for certain rich results, and is increasingly how AI assistants pull facts about a business. It does not rescue thin content. ### Which types matter for a local business? +LocalBusiness or a specific subtype, Service, BreadcrumbList, and FAQPage for questions genuinely answered on the page. Article and Person for content with a named author. ### Can I mark up reviews on my own site? +Only reviews displayed on that page and collected properly. Marking up counts pulled from elsewhere, or questions no visitor can see, is a policy violation that can cost the rich result entirely. ### How do I know it is working? +Google's Rich Results Test shows what it can parse and what the page qualifies for. Search Console reports the same types across the whole site, including the errors. ### Does it need updating? +After every template change, and whenever the facts change. Markup breaks silently, and nobody notices until a rich result quietly disappears.Put this to work ## Guides that use this Step-by-step playbooks from the team, written for owners doing the work themselves. No sign-up and no email required. [### Schema markup for service businesses: the 4 types that matter in 2026 Most service sites either skip schema or pile on every type. Here are the four that actually move rankings and AI Overview citations in 2026. Read the guide→](/articles/schema-markup-service-businesses-2026/)4.9191 reviewsWhere this turns into work ## Facts a machine cannot misread The right types, describing what is genuinely on the page, validated after every template change — so search engines and AI answers quote you correctly. [See the service→](/services/web-design/)[Ask us about it](/contact/) ![Elvir Sejfulai, Head of Development at Siite](/images/team/panel/elvir-sejfulai.webp) *Our head of development* ## Related entries - [### Core Web Vitals Google's three field metrics for page experience — Largest Contentful Paint, Interaction to Next Paint and Cumulative Layout Shift — measured from real visitors.](/dictionary/core-web-vitals/) - [### Google Business Profile The free Google profile that controls how your business appears in Maps and the Local Pack — hours, categories, service areas, photos, reviews and messages.](/dictionary/google-business-profile/) - [### Local Pack The block of three local businesses Google shows above the organic results for searches with local intent, pulled from Google Business Profile data rather than from your website.](/dictionary/local-pack/) [All terms A to Z Browse every term A to Z Open the dictionary→](/dictionary/)