Schema markup is structured data added to a page, almost always as 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?
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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?
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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?
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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?
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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?
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After every template change, and whenever the facts change. Markup breaks silently, and nobody notices until a rich result quietly disappears.
