The goal of any successful website is to rank highly on Google.
And, the goal of Google is to provide the best and most relevant results to a user query.
So, to be selected by Google as the best and most relevant result, you simply need to be the best and most relevant, right?
Well, not exactly.
While ensuring your website is full of useful, interesting, and accurate content is essential, what also matters is ensuring that Google can understand your content.
One of the ways you can help it to better understand your content, and therefore give yourself a ranking boost, is with structured data.
What Are Markup Languages
Before getting deeper into schema, it helps to understand markup languages.
A markup language is a human-readable language that a machine uses to annotate (mark up) an electronic document (e.g. web page) so that the computer can better interpret the document’s design and layout.
They are computing languages like the ones most widely used in web design; HTML, XML, and XHTML.
When creating a webpage using HTML (the most widely used Markup Language) you will combine the content that you want to display on your webpage, with code that determines how that content will be displayed. This code can also be called ‘markup’ (you markup your website when you add this code).
Markup languages use tags to distinguish the markup from the actual text that will be displayed to users on the webpage.
Example:
<h1>My web page</h1>Here the HTML elements <h1> </h1> determines that the words ‘My web page’ should be displayed as the first header. Users never see these elements.
Consider how you use punctuation when you write, to give readers an understanding of how a text should be read. The markup in your HTML will give search engines the same understanding of your page.
Here’s a list of Markup Languages:
- HTML – Hypertext Markup Language
- XHTML – eXtensible HyperText Markup Language
- XML – eXtensible Markup Language
- KML – The Keyhole Markup Language
- MathML – Mathematical Markup Language
- SGML – Standard Generalized Markup Language
What Is Structured Data?
Structured data provides standardized rules to web developers on how to show search engines what your content means. It is unseen code that you can add to your page source with the function of describing the content on your page.
Structured data is coding that is formatted in a certain way to enable search engines to understand and organise any given information on a web page. This means you could mark up the name of the person who wrote an article on your web page as the ‘author’ so Google has a better understanding of what this name means and who the person is.
You could mark up the date the article was published so that Google understands this is a publishing date and not just a random date on the page. All of this type of structured data helps Google to better process the information on your website, and when Google has a better understanding of your content, it is better positioned to present your site as the most relevant to a user query.
Schema markup is a form of structured data that gives search engines extra context when they are trying to understand your content. If they can understand your content correctly then they can display it to search users correctly.
This will allow search engines to display your page correctly to users.
This makes schema markup extremely important for SEO.
Structured data can also be described as a markup language.
For example, a search engine could come across the words ‘Facebook page’ in your blog. Structured Data can determine how those words are interpreted. Without structured data the search engine will have to run an algorithm to understand what it means.
However, if you mark it up as displaying your social media account then Google can understand this straight away and display the information in search results pages.
In modern SEO, structured data also plays a key role in helping search engines understand entities (such as people, businesses, products and topics) and how they are connected.
This shift towards entity-based search means it’s not just about keywords, but about clearly defining who you are and what your content represents.
Structured data helps provide that context, making it easier for search engines to interpret and trust your content.
What Is Schema.org?
Schema markup is a markup language and is often synonymous with structured data. As we mentioned before, structured data is a set of standardized rules with which you can markup your page.
However, if everyone phrased their structured data differently, search engines would not be able to keep up.
So, Google, Bing, Yahoo! and Yandex teamed up to create Schema.org Vocabulary (aka schema markup/schema/schema.org markup).
Schema.org provides standardised rules on how to use structured data in a way that these search engines will understand. This makes sure everyone is using the same markup.
As there are so many potential elements that can be included in a website, and search engines should understand them all, there is a huge variety of markups (HUNDREDS) that you can apply. The details of these markups can be found on the Schema.org website, where you can find something for practically any case.
From grocery marts to shopping centers. There’s a high probability that Schema.org will have a relevant itemscope and itemtype for the data on your website.
Benefits of Using Structured Data
The specific benefits of using structured data may vary depending on who you ask, but the overall consensus is clear – it is beneficial. In 2026, there’s no real debate around its value. While it’s not a direct ranking factor, it plays an important role in how your content is understood and presented in search results.
Ranking Boost
Whether or not using structured data can boost your ranking on Google or any other search engine is something that is still up for debate. Google’s Search Liaison, Danny Sullivan, commented in 2020 that structured data was optional, stating it has “no impact on ranking in web search.”
A few years prior in 2018, John Mueller from Google’s Search Relations tweeted, “There’s no generic ranking boost for SD (structured data) usage.” Source.
However, there is evidence that shows there is some correlation between using structured data and performing better in SERPs. After implementing structured data through their CMS, traffic to Rakuten Recipe pages increased by 2.7 times. Not only did they have a surge in traffic, but they also found that users spent 1.5 times longer on pages with structured data, compared with pages without structured data.
Another study showed that The Food Network saw a 35% increase in traffic after updating 80% of its content with structured data. Similarly, Rotten Tomatoes experienced a 25% higher click-through rate for its pages with structured data, compared with pages without structured data. Source.
While there is no evidence to suggest there is a Google algorithm linking structured data to better rankings, it’s clear that structured data is certainly improving the engagement rate of websites that are using it.
Rich Results
One thing we know for sure about using structured data is that it allows rich results to be shown in SERPs.
Rich results are the snippets of information that stand out from the usual blue text you see in a Google search result. Rich results might include an image, a star rating, or specific information the website wants you to see, such as upcoming events or a flash sale. They are important because they can drastically increase click-through rates, getting you more organic traffic and more opportunities for conversion.
Why Is Schema Markup Important for SEO (and Click-Through Rates)?
When you tell search engines exactly what information is on your page, in a language they can understand, then they will then be able to use all this extra information to return more insightful and informative search results for users.
The goal of search engines is to provide a really good user experience. So, when they have more information about your website, they will provide this to users in the search results.
Schema provides an organized way to give search engines extensive information about your page and enables them to display more information about your page for query results.
In the example above we can see that website have used schema to mark up their events. This allows search engines to recognize them as events and display them to users. This is called a Rich Result.
Rich Results (formerly rich snippets) are far better at attracting targeted traffic to your page and are achieved with marking up your page with schema.
Here is an example of a search snippet without schema markup (a snippet is how your page is displayed in search engine result pages – SERPs):
A rich result will provide valuable information to the user at first glance. If schema markup is widely used among your competitors, you cannot afford not to use it too. Users will skim over your snippet in favour of a competitor that provides easily available info, such as their NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number).
Your ranking will then be negatively affected as you receive less and less traffic and you will lose your competitive edge.
In comparison, if schema markup is not widely used in your industry you can quickly gain a competitive advantage and a boost in traffic by optimizing your site with schema markup. Your rich result will drive your visitor numbers.
So to sum it up – schema markup is a vocabulary that you can apply to your HTML to enhance the way your website is interpreted by search engines and displayed in the SERPs (search engine results pages) and drive targeted visitors to your page.
Getting Started with Structured Data
Most structured data uses a vocabulary developed by Google, Microsoft, Yandex, and Yahoo, called Schema.org.
The collaborative, shared vocabulary is understood by the main search engines to power rich results and enable a better understanding of online content amongst search engines.
You can refer to schema.org to gain an understanding of how to use terms and formats within structured data, however, Google recommends that you “rely on the Google Search Central documentation as definitive for Google Search behavior, rather than the schema.org documentation.” Source.
You can add structured data to your existing HTML by adding snippets of Schema vocabulary in the recognised places. For help with this, check out Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper. Using this free tool you can select which areas you want to add structured data to by highlighting them and then selecting their purpose.
For example, you could enter the URL for an article on your website, and select the ‘article’ option on the Markup Helper. Next, you could highlight the author of the article and tag the information as ‘author’. You could highlight the title of the article and tag it as ‘title’, and so on. The Markup Helper will then create the HTML code you need to insert into your site, with the additional structured data added in the correct places.
Before you begin implementing structured data into your website, you can use Google’s Rich Results Test to find out if your page supports rich results.
After implementing structured data, use the Rich Results Status Reports for ongoing monitoring of your pages.
Most Important Schema Types to Use
No matter what type of content you want to optimize with schema, you will be able to find the correct markup on Schema.org.
Quick Stat: Schema.org vocab currently contains over 800 Types and over 1500 Properties. There’s schema markup for everything!
However, the real question here is which ones do you actually need? The answer is simple – if you see them providing value to both search engines and people searching for information online than you do want this particular schema on your website.
WebPage – Nested
Rather than having six or seven fragmented schema markups (Organisation, LocalBusiness, Logo, Sitelinks Search Box etc) implemented on your website, we advise using a nested schema markup.
This means that whatever your web page contains, you will be able to easily make the content comprehensible to search engines by using the associated schema.
Organisation & Local SEO
Depending on what your web page presents you will use more specific schema accordingly. This will allow search engines to understand and rank each web page more clearly and with more information.
Schema types such as Organization and LocalBusiness help search engines clearly identify who you are, what you do, and where you are located. This is essential for building trust, supporting brand signals, and improving visibility in local search results and knowledge panels.
For example, your WebPage presents an Organisation which is a Local Business, i.e. you are a Solicitor and it is important for you to have your clients easily find your contact email and an address.
About Us Page
If you still don’t have one – go create an About Us page. It’s not only there to fill in a spot in navigation but because it contributes to transparency and trustworthiness of your website.
To help this page rank as high as possible and provide an informative and enticing snippet to search users, optimize your About Us page with the About Us schema from Schema.org.
Contact Us Page
Contact Us Pages are extremely important in providing a seamless user experience. If your site visitors have trouble finding your contact details when they need them, they are more likely to lose interest in your page, become frustrated, and turn to a competitor.
Having a well structured Contact Us page that features necessary contact details such as business name, address, phone and email – can have the benefit of driving high intent customers to your website, because users that search for contact details for your service already want to engage with you at a very high level.
This makes it a critical priority to optimize your Contact Us page to capitalize on this potential.
Products & E-commerce
For websites selling products, Product, Offer and AggregateRating schema are key. These help search engines clearly understand important details such as pricing, availability and customer feedback – making your listings more informative and appealing to potential customers.
Implementing single Product Schema and making sure it’s error (and warning) free is a must-have for any Ecommerce website.
This will allow Google to understand the details about what you are selling so that they can pass this information on to the searchers in the SERPs.
Optimisation with Product Schema can help you:
- Provide a rich snippet
- Catch searcher’s attention – better CTR (click through rate)
Implementing this schema involves identifying and providing structured product data such as price, availability, reviews, images etc.
Collection Page
A collection page can be used when you want to collect similar pages under one overview page. This is helpful with recurring pieces of content such as blogs, news articles, help articles etc as well as if you would like to organize and display a collection of products in one structured group.
This is an important aspect of Ecommerce site structure.
To help your collection pages rank better and to drive traffic, conversions and growth, you should make sure to implement the schema associated with Collection Pages.
Content & Articles
Schema types like Article and BlogPosting help search engines better understand your content, including authorship, publish dates, and page context. This supports eligibility for enhanced search features and improves how your content is interpreted.
f you produce a blog or news articles you should use article schema to mark it up.
Your visibility in Google Search results can be enhanced by adding this organized data to your blog/news/sports/fashion article page.
Navigation and Breadcrumbs
Optimising your navigation for SEO and user experience is essential for a high performing website. Navigation works with the layout, URLs, and other elements, such as XML sitemaps, to solidify what each page or piece of content is about and how it fits into the structure of the site.
User experience refers to the way that a visitor perceives the usefulness and aesthetics of your website. Reduce bounce rates by providing a good user experience for everyone who visits your site. For this, it is essential to build a clearly structured and intuitive navigation path.
Various elements can contribute to the site-wide navigation process: the menu and the breadcrumbs.
Optimising your navigation with schema markup will make it easy for Google to optimise webpage crawl rate in order to save resources. It is essential that you enable this effective and efficient crawling in order to boost your search engine rankings.
In combination with schema markup you can optimise your site navigation with Technical SEO best practices such as:
- XML Sitemaps
- Information Architecture
- URL optimization
Schema.org offers the following markups that can be implemented to optimize your site navigation.
Breadcrumbs Schema
Breadcrumbs are a great tool to improve the user experience of your website and the SEO as they help search engines to understand it’s structure. Websites can also benefit from increased visibility and improved CTR because Google displays breadcrumbs in SERPs as well.
Breadcrumbs are called breadcrumbs for a reason; as users navigate through your website, breadcrumbs provide a visual aid to keep track of the path they have taken.
The benefits of breadcrumbs include:
- Improved Accessibility
- Minimize navigation actions that users have to take
- Improved SEO
It’s like Hansel and Gretel leaving a trail of breadcrumbs through the enchanted forest so they can find their way back to where they came from:
Home > Blog > How to Use Schema Markup for SEO
The breadcrumb navigation elements is usually displayed at the top of the page, and optimized with clickable links to allow users to find their way back to previous pages. They offer an excellent source of contextual information within the hierarchy of the site.
Recipes
When it comes to recipes, structured data will help your page go from this:
To this:
Examples of Discontinued Schema Properties
Google can remove or reduce support for certain types of schema markup over time. In 2024, Google removed support for the Sitelinks Search Box rich result.
Before this change, websites could use Sitelinks Search Box schema to help Google understand the brand and potentially display enhanced search results.
The example below shows how a search result could previously appear with a built-in search box and expanded sitelinks.
A more recent example is the removal of FAQ rich results (although it’s still a valid Schema.org markup).
Tools for Implementing
If you are intimidated about the thought of implementing schema markup in your source code yourself, or if you simply don’t have the time – here are some great resources that you might find helpful:
- Schema Markup Validator
- Google Rich Results Test
- Google Structured Data Markup Helper
- Google Search Console enhancement reports
- Schema App
Final Thoughts
Getting to grips with structured data will give search engines a better understanding of your content.
It might not result in an overnight boost to the top of Google’s organic search results (but if you know what does, let me know!).
However, it’s certainly good practice to mark up your web pages with structured data so that search engines can put your information into context, and therefore more confidently present it as a result for relevant search queries.
Need a helping hand? Connect with us to find out how we can improve your SEO.
