Structured data, also known as schema markup, is one of the simplest ways to improve your website’s visibility in the search results. By adding schema to your website, you can provide search engines with extra context about your content, helping you stand out with expanded search results like reviews, FAQs, and more.
Here are 10 types of SEO schemas you should use to improve your site and attract more clicks:
Top 10 SEO Schemas
- Organization Schema
- Local Business Schema
- FAQ Schema
- How-to Schema
- Product Schema
- Review Schema
- Event Schema
- Article Schema
- Recipe Schema
- Video Schema
What is a Schema in SEO?
A schema in SEO is a type of structured data added to your website’s code that helps search engines better understand your content. It provides extra context about your site, such as what type of business you are, the topics you cover, or details about specific products, recipes, or events.
This information makes it easier for search engines to display your content in a more engaging way, like showing star ratings, event dates, or FAQs directly in the search results.
Schema markup is written in formats like JSON-LD, and it plays a key role in making your site stand out in search results.
Top 10 SEO Schemas
In the sections below, we’ll explain each of the most popular schemas in detail, explaining what they do and how they can benefit your website. Whether you’re running a local business, publishing articles, or selling products, there’s sure to be a schema that can boost your search visibility.
1. Organization Schema
The organization schema is used to give search engines detailed information about your business or organization. This schema defines key details about your company, such as its name, logo, contact information, social media links, and even your slogan or owners. This makes it easier for search engines to display professional information, and improves your chances of being featured in a knowledge panel in the search results.
When to Use an Organization Schema
Organization schemas are ideal for businesses that want to establish a strong online presence and improve brand recognition. It’s commonly used on a business’s homepage or “About Us” page, as these usually contain the most relevant information about the organization.
Examples of Pages to Use Organization Schema
- Homepage: Display your company’s name, logo, and contact details prominently in search results.
- About Us Page: Include details like owners, the year the business was founded, and social media profiles.
- Press Pages: Add structured data to highlight awards, media mentions, or partnerships.
Adding Organization Schema ensures that search engines display accurate and professional information about your business, making it easier for users to recognize and trust your brand.
2. Local Business Schema
The local business schema is used to give search engines detailed information about a specific business location. This schema includes details such as your business name, address, phone number, operating hours, and service areas. It can also include customer reviews and links to booking systems. Adding the local business schema helps your business appear prominently in local search results and increases your chances of showing up in Google’s map pack.
When to Use a Local Business Schema
Local Business Schema is perfect for businesses that serve a specific geographic area or have physical locations. It’s especially useful for restaurants, retail stores, salons, and other service-based businesses that want to attract local customers.
Examples of Pages to Use Local Business Schema
- Homepage: Highlight your business’s address, phone number, and hours of operation.
- Contact Page: Provide accurate location details and links to Google Maps for easy navigation.
- Location-Specific Pages: If your business has multiple locations, use schema for each location to target local search queries appropriately.
Adding Local Business Schema ensures that your business stands out in local searches and helps potential customers easily find the information they need.
3. FAQ Schema
The FAQ Schema is used to give search engines a list of questions and answers directly from your content. This schema helps your FAQs appear in an expanded format on search engine results pages (SERPs), giving users immediate answers to common questions without needing to visit your site. It’s a great way to improve visibility and drive traffic to your website by answering user questions upfront.
When to Use a FAQ Schema
The FAQ schema is ideal for pages that include frequently asked questions about your business, products, or services. It’s especially useful for e-commerce sites, service providers, and informational pages where you answer customer inquiries.
Examples of Pages to Use FAQ Schema
- Product Pages: Answer common questions about product features, specifications, or shipping options.
- Service Pages: Include questions about pricing, how the service works, or what’s included.
- Support Pages: Provide solutions to typical customer issues or concerns to reduce customer services inquiries.
Adding FAQ Schema helps your site stand out in the search results by displaying relevant questions and answers, building trust with your audience, and encouraging users to click for more details.
4. How-to Schema
The How-to Schema is used to structure step-by-step instructional content for search engines. This schema allows your how-to guides or tutorials to appear as Google Snippets, often with steps, images, or videos displayed directly in the search results. It helps users quickly understand the process and encourages them to click for more details.
When to Use a How-to Schema
How-to Schema is great for content that walks people through a task with simple, easy-to-follow steps. It works best for DIY projects, recipes, tutorials, and guides where users benefit from a step-by-step breakdown.
Examples of Pages to Use How-to Schema
- DIY or Craft Pages: Include step-by-step instructions for making projects or crafts.
- Tutorial Pages: Use schema for guides that explain processes like troubleshooting a device or using software.
- Cooking Pages: Structure recipes with instructions, ingredients, and preparation tips to appear in rich recipe formats.
Adding How-to Schema helps your content stand out in search results and makes it easier for users to find clear, step-by-step instructions when they need them.
5. Product Schema
Product Schema provides search engines with details about your products, such as their name, price, availability, and customer reviews. By including this structured data, your products will appear in search results with this extra information, making it easier for shoppers to quickly decide if your product meets their needs.
When to Use a Product Schema
Product Schema is a must for e-commerce websites or any business that sells products online. It’s especially useful for individual product pages, category pages, and even promotional landing pages.
Examples of Pages to Use Product Schema
- Product Pages: Highlight details like price, availability, and customer reviews to encourage clicks.
- Category Pages: Provide an overview of multiple products, including key features or discounts.
- Landing Pages: Showcase specific promotions or limited-time offers for better visibility.
Adding Product Schema ensures that your product listings provide useful details directly in the search results, making it easier for shoppers to find what they’re looking for and boosting your conversion rate.
6. Review Schema
The review schema is used to highlight feedback, ratings, and reviews for products, services, or businesses in search results. This schema allows you to display star ratings, reviewer details, and comments directly on the search page, making your content stand out and building trust with potential customers.
When to Use a Review Schema
Review schemas are ideal for pages featuring customer feedback, whether it’s about a specific product, a service you offer, or even your business as a whole. It works well for e-commerce sites, blogs reviews, and testimonial pages.
Examples of Pages to Use Review Schema
- Product Pages: Showcase star ratings and customer reviews to help shoppers make purchasing decisions.
- Service Pages: Highlight testimonials or ratings for specific services you provide.
- Review Blog Posts: Use schema to share aggregated ratings or detailed reviews for products, apps, or experiences.
Adding a review schema helps your content stand out in the search results by providing clear, visible feedback that can increase clicks and build credibility with your audience.
7. Event Schema
Event schemas are used to provide search engines with detailed information about upcoming events, such as dates, times, locations, and ticket availability. This schema helps your events appear in search results with clear, easy-to-read details, making it more convenient for users to find and attend them.
When to Use an Event Schema
The event schema is perfect for businesses, organizations, or individuals hosting public or private events. It’s especially useful for concerts, conferences, workshops, webinars, or any occasion where you want to encourage people to attend.
Examples of Pages to Use Event Schema
- Event Pages: Include event details like date, time, location, and ticket information to help users plan their attendance.
- Homepage or Blog Posts: Use schema to promote featured events, such as upcoming sales or grand openings.
- Ticketing Pages: Highlight important event details, including seat availability and pricing.
Adding an event schema to your page ensures your events are displayed in the search results with all the necessary information, making it easier for people to find and purchase tickets.
8. Article Schema
Article schema is used to give search engines more context about articles, blogs, or news content. This schema helps your articles appear in the search results with additional features, such as a headline, publication date, and author details. It can also make your content eligible for placement in Google’s Top Stories section.
When to Use an Article Schema
The article schema is ideal for bloggers and websites that frequently publish written content. It works well for news articles, opinion pieces, blog posts, and even tutorials.
Examples of Pages to Use Article Schema
- News Articles: Add structured data to highlight publication dates, headlines, and sources. This increases your chances of being featured in Google’s Top Stories.
- Blog Posts: Use schema to showcase titles, authors, and publication details in search results.
- How-to Guides or Tutorials: Apply article schema to written guides to help them stand out in content-rich search snippets.
Adding article schema makes your content more visible in search results and ensures that users can quickly find information about your articles before clicking through.
9. Recipe Schema
Recipe schemas are used to provide search engines with detailed information about recipes, such as ingredients, cooking time, serving size, and nutritional details. This schema allows your recipes to appear in the search results with highlighted features like step-by-step instructions, images, ratings, and cooking times, making them more appealing and useful to searchers.
When to Use a Recipe Schema
The recipe schema is perfect for food blogs, cooking websites, or any page that shares recipes. It’s especially useful when you want to showcase unique dishes, meal ideas, or step-by-step cooking guides to attract foodies looking for new recipes.
Examples of Pages to Use Recipe Schema
- Individual Recipe Pages: Highlight ingredients, preparation time, and cooking instructions to make your recipe stand out in the search results.
- Recipe Roundup Pages: Use schema to feature multiple recipes with key details like prep time or difficulty level.
- Diet-Specific Recipes: Include nutritional information and labels for diets like gluten-free or vegan to target specific audiences.
Adding a recipe schema to your content helps it reach a broader audience by providing all the details upfront, making it easier for users to find and try your recipes.
10. Video Schema
Video schemas are used to provide search engines with detailed information about video content, such as the title, description, duration, upload date, and thumbnail. This schema helps your videos appear more prominently in search results and video carousels, making them easier for users to find and watch.
When to Use a Video Schema
A video schema is ideal for websites that host or embed videos, whether they’re tutorials, product demos, vlogs, or educational content. It’s particularly useful for content creators, businesses with video marketing strategies, and any site relying on video to engage users.
Examples of Pages to Use Video Schema
- Tutorial Pages: Include schema for how-to videos to show titles and descriptions in the search results.
- Product Pages: Highlight product demo videos to attract users searching for visual explanations or reviews.
- Landing Pages: Use a video schema to highlight promotional or explainer videos. This helps them stand out and attract more attention in search results.
Adding a video schema ensures your video content is optimized for search engines, helping it stand out and reach the right audience.
How to Create an SEO Schema
Adding an SEO schema to your site can make your content more visible in search results without requiring advanced technical skills. Schema markup gives search engines extra details about your site, and it’s simpler to set up than you might think. Here’s how to get started:
1. Decide What Information You Want to Highlight
Think about the type of content you’re trying to improve in search results. For example:
- Highlight customer questions with FAQ Schema.
- Provide key product details like price and availability with Product Schema.
- Show step-by-step instructions using How-to Schema.
Choose the schema type that best fits the content on your page. A complete list of schema types is available at Schema.org.
2. Use a Schema Tool or Plugin
You don’t have to write code yourself. Many tools can help you create schema markup easily:
- Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper: Lets you tag parts of your page and generates the schema for you.
- Schema Generators: Online tools where you fill in details, and they create the code for you.
- WordPress Plugins: If your site runs on WordPress, plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math can automatically add schema for you.
3. Add the Schema to Your Site
If you’re using a tool or plugin, it will guide you through where to place the schema. For most tools, you just copy the code and paste it into your site. This usually goes into the background of your webpage, but plugins can handle this step for you.
4. Test Your Schema
Once your schema is added, check to make sure it works properly. Tools like Google’s Rich Results Test can show you if there are any errors and what your schema will look like in the search results.
5. Keep an Eye on Results
After your schema is live, monitor your website’s performance. Google Search Console can show you if your schema is working and if it’s driving more traffic to your site.
Adding schema doesn’t require a lot of technical know-how, and it’s one of the easiest ways to help your site stand out in search results.
Turn Your Website into a Search Engine Favorite with Schemas
Adding an SEO schema is an easy way to improve your website’s visibility and make your content more engaging in search results. In this article, we went over 10 useful schema types, from FAQ to Product to Video Schema, and how they can benefit your site.
Start by focusing on the schemas that fit your content, and use tools or plugins to make adding it simple. With a few small updates, you can help search engines display your content more effectively and attract more visitors.