Quick answer
For most business websites, the structured data that matters is Organization (or LocalBusiness for physical locations) on the home or about page, BreadcrumbList for navigation, Article for blog posts and guides, Product or Service-related markup where supported, Event for real events, and JobPosting for vacancies. Markup must match visible content, use JSON-LD where possible and be validated with Google’s Rich Results Test.
Key takeaways
- Structured data describes visible content; it is not a ranking shortcut.
- Organization and LocalBusiness help clarify your entity.
- Only some types produce rich results in Google; check current support.
- Validate markup and monitor Search Console enhancement reports.
Who this guide is for
Marketing and web teams deciding which schema.org markup to implement on company, service and content pages.
Know what structured data does
Structured data is code, usually JSON-LD, that describes a page’s content using the schema.org vocabulary: this is an organization with this name and logo, this article was published on this date by this author. Search engines use it to understand content and to enable rich results such as review stars, product details or breadcrumbs. Google states structured data is not a general ranking factor, but it can improve how results appear and how well content is understood, including by AI systems.
Start with Organization or LocalBusiness
Add Organization markup on your home or about page with your legal name, logo, URL, contact points and sameAs links to official social and directory profiles. If customers visit physical locations, use LocalBusiness or a more specific subtype on location pages with address, opening hours and phone number matching your Google Business Profile. This clarifies your business as an entity, which supports knowledge panels and consistent descriptions.
Add Article and BreadcrumbList to content
Blog posts, guides and news should use Article, BlogPosting or NewsArticle with headline, author, datePublished, dateModified and image. Author information should point to real people or your organization; avoid invented authors. BreadcrumbList markup reflecting your site hierarchy can show breadcrumbs in results instead of long URLs and helps clarify site structure.
Use product, event and job markup where they apply
Ecommerce sites benefit from Product markup with offers, price, availability and reviews where genuine. Event markup suits real scheduled events with dates and locations. JobPosting markup can make vacancies eligible for Google’s job search experience if you follow its requirements. Service businesses often lack a dedicated rich result type; describing services clearly in visible content matters more than speculative markup.
Use FAQ and HowTo realistically
In 2023 Google limited FAQ rich results to well-known, authoritative government and health websites and removed HowTo rich results. FAQPage markup can still describe genuine question-and-answer content and is valid schema, but most business sites should not expect expandable FAQ results in Google. Add FAQ sections because they help readers and answer engines, not for a rich result that is unlikely to appear.
Follow the quality rules
Mark up only content visible to users, keep values accurate and consistent with the page, avoid marking up reviews you wrote about yourself and do not add fake ratings or events. Google may ignore markup or apply manual actions for misleading structured data. Prefer JSON-LD, generated from the same data source as the visible page, so the two cannot drift apart when content changes.
Validate and monitor
Test pages with Google’s Rich Results Test and the Schema Markup Validator, and monitor Search Console enhancement reports for errors and warnings. Check markup after site redesigns or CMS updates, which often break or duplicate it. A focused implementation for a business site usually covers Organization or LocalBusiness, BreadcrumbList, Article and any applicable product, event or job types.
Scope checklist
- Is Organization or LocalBusiness markup present and accurate?
- Do articles include author and dates in markup?
- Does every marked-up value appear on the visible page?
- Are you relying on FAQ or HowTo rich results that are restricted?
- Is markup validated and monitored in Search Console?
Frequently asked questions
Does schema markup improve SEO rankings?
Google says structured data is not a general ranking factor. It can enable rich results and help search engines understand content, which may improve visibility and click-through.
Do FAQ rich results still work?
Since 2023, Google shows FAQ rich results mainly for well-known authoritative government and health sites. FAQ content can still help readers and answer engines.
Should I use JSON-LD or microdata?
Google recommends JSON-LD where possible because it is easier to implement and maintain separately from the HTML layout.
Sources and implementation references
- Google Search Central: introduction to structured data
How Google uses structured data and supported formats.
- Google Search Central blog: changes to HowTo and FAQ rich results
The 2023 restriction of FAQ rich results and removal of HowTo rich results.
- Google Search Central: Organization structured data
Recommended Organization properties.
Prepared with AI assistance as an engineering decision guide. Examples are illustrative unless explicitly labelled as an internal implementation. No independent expert review or customer outcome is claimed.
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