Schema markup is structured data.
It’s an extra piece of code that you can add to your website to help a search engine understand more about the content.
Whilst search engines can crawl your website to gain a picture of what you are trying to rank for, schema adds an extra layer of information.
For example, it can help to tell a search engine bot:
Over 800 schema types exist.
The main library of the schema can be viewed at Schema.org.
In addition, Google also provides a guide for Schema types.
Whilst Google may state they only support a range of the schemas available, this does not mean that the other schema types do not serve any benefit to you when Google or other tools decide whether to share your website.
However, Google and other providers often state that they prefer the JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data) schema over the microdata schema.
JSON schema is easier to update and produce. Whilst microdata is more technical and requires a developer.
JSON is the preferred format because it’s cleaner and less likely to produce errors.
When a search engine or AI tool bot crawls your website, it can decide to pick up the schema data you provide.
This additional information can help the bot find what it needs faster and display these key items in search engine or AI results.
Adding schema can help with your search engine optimisation and AI SEO efforts, but it shouldn’t be your sole focus.
It’s best to only choose the most relevant schema types (usually fewer than 5 per content type).
In some cases, you may only have a site-wide Schema for a piece of content when there’s no point in adding additional Schema. For example, your Terms and Conditions page would not need additional Schema.
A detailed study from Surfer showed that adding schema can help increase your organic search results. However, adding too much can also have the opposite effect.
Schema used to be achievable only by using a web developer.
Nowadays, many websites can add Schema add-ons or tools to include basic or advanced Schema markup.
Yoast: This is the most popular search engine optimisation plugin for WordPress sites. It lets you add basic site-wide schema, such as Organisation or Person. And you can also select schema types for individual pages, e.g., Article type for blogs. However, outside of this, it has limited schema custom options.
RankMath: Another popular option for search engine optimisation. The paid version of this plugin offers a wide range of Schema options that are more custom and specific to sections of your website’s content.
SchemaPro: Our personal favourite. And if you purchase our AI SEO eBook, you get a free lifetime licence.
It lets you add a wide range of Schema to your website, but best of all, it allows you to tailor the Schema’s content so it’s more meaningful for search bots and humans. It’s also super easy to use.
Yoast: The Yoast paid app gives you access to site-wide schema and eCommerce options.
Schema Plus: $17.99 USD a month for up to 250 products. For a more advanced Schema, the price is $26.99 USD, but it includes unlimited products and schemas.
JSON-LD: Starts at $399 USD per year and includes a comprehensive audit and 6-month monitoring.
This DIY site builder already adds site-wide schema to your website based on the detected site and content type.
This includes:
You can’t delete or edit the Schema. To add more schema, you’ll need another tool or a developer.
Wix presets the Schema for you but lets you edit it, e.g., at the Product level. It also supports adding a new Schema.
But unlike other paid tools, it can’t provide support for issues you run into.
If you have Google Chrome, there’s a free Schema tool you can use to mark up site content.
You’ll still need to add the code into the <head> tag of your website. You may need a web developer to help you.
Once you have implemented the Schema on your website, you can use Schema.org’s free validation tool to check what the structured data says about your website page or content.
1. Enter the URL (website address) of the page of the Schema you have added. Or provide the code (advanced). Then, click ‘Run test’
2. Check that the Schema type you’ve added is there and look for any errors or warning messages for your Schema types.
3. If the Schema is not there, check that you’ve added it correctly. Or you may also need to clear your website cache (this can be a speed plugin or firewall software that saves a previous version of your website).
4. In the ‘Detected’ side, open the Schema tab, for example, ‘Review’, so you can view what the data is showing within that Schema.
This verifies that the Schema has collected the correct information.
If the Schema is not showing the right data, check that your markup is not site-wide (if applicable) and that you have the right code or settings in place.
For Google-supported Schemas, you may also like to use the Google rich results test tool.
The free tool is ideal for further testing schemas and identifying any recommendations Google has for key fields.
Google may still show errors or alerts about the structured data.
In Google Search Console under ‘Enhancements’, click the arrow next to the schema type to find more information.
Then scroll down until you find the error item, and click it to see more information.
This will allow you to learn more about the error. As well as validating its fix or asking Google to relook at the data.
If you sell products and use Google Merchant Center, you may also see errors for structured data.
Go to the “Products” > “Diagnostics” section in your Google Merchant Center account to see specific errors and affected products.
When looking at alerts, it’s best to investigate the issue. Sometimes, an alert may appear when the data is correct.
With the introduction of AI tools and Google AI Overviews, many experts claim that Schema is one of the key factors that help AI crawlers to show your content.
Although results aren’t perfect on this, adding code to your website that Google and other search providers mention plays a role in how you show up online.
Unlike other things that AI SEO has discovered, like the made-up llm.txt file that no AI tool uses and serves little to no benefit, schema is a proven tactic that has existed for some time, and has shown favourable results.
So, it’s definitely worth doing.
To get your AI SEO action plan, check out my simple to use AI SEO Checklist and guide.
