Schema markup is structured code you add to a page to describe explicitly what it is: an article, a recipe, a product, an event, a person, an FAQ, a step-by-step guide. Without schema, Google and LLMs infer context from the HTML; with schema, you are telling them. To audit what you already have, we walk through it in auditing structured data with Search Console and Screaming Frog.
The format Google recommends is JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data), placed in the <head> or at the end of the <body>. Microdata and RDFa still exist but are on the way out.
The types that pay off
You do not need to implement every schema.org type. On SEO projects these are the ones that pay back:
- Article / NewsArticle: blog posts and editorial content.
- FAQPage: frequently-asked-question blocks. No longer produces an accordion in Google since May 2026, but it remains valid and helps AI systems cite the answers.
- HowTo: numbered steps for processes. Google retired its rich result in 2023, but the markup remains valid and structures the content for AI to cite.
- Product: product pages, with price, stock, ratings.
- Organization and LocalBusiness: the business entity, name, address, sister-brand relationships.
- BreadcrumbList: for navigable breadcrumbs.
- DefinedTerm / DefinedTermSet: for glossaries and definitions (this dictionary uses it).
Why it matters more in 2026
Two reasons. First, the rich results that are still alive (product, recipe, event, review) beat the plain blue result in CTR. FAQ no longer counts: Google restricted it to government and health sites in 2023 and retired it entirely in May 2026. Second, and newer, generative LLMs re-use schema as a structured source. When ChatGPT or Perplexity generate an answer, they prefer to cite fragments that come already structured, because they are easier to parse and attribute.
Validating the schema is not optional. Google Rich Results Test catches syntax errors and missing required fields. Broken schema is worse than no schema: Google ignores it and you miss the opportunity without knowing.