Schema Markup
Structured data that tells search engines what content is about in machine-readable form.
Schema markup is a standardized vocabulary (schema.org) of structured data that you add to a page so search engines and AI systems can understand the content more precisely. Typically implemented as JSON-LD in the page head.
Context
Common schemas: Organization, LocalBusiness, Article, BlogPosting, Product, Review, FAQPage, BreadcrumbList, HowTo, Service, Event, Recipe. Each type has required and recommended properties that search engines extract for rich results.
Schema enables rich SERP features: star ratings, FAQ drop-downs, event times, recipe cards, knowledge panels. Beyond SERP features, schema is increasingly critical for AI citation because it gives LLMs structured, unambiguous context about the content.
Adding FAQPage schema to a page with 8 FAQs can unlock a collapsible Q&A rich result in Google, increasing CTR 30–60% for informational queries. The same schema makes the Q&A extractable to AI answer engines.
Schema is a hint, not a guarantee. Google can choose not to show rich results even with perfect schema, usually because it judges the content quality insufficient or the query type inappropriate.
Related terms
Services that apply this
More SEO terms
CTR (Click-Through Rate)
The percentage of people who clicked after seeing your link, ad, or snippet.
SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The page Google shows after a search — far more than just ten blue links.
LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)
How fast the main content becomes visible on a page.
CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)
How much the page jumps around during load.