Schema Markup: What It Is, Which Types Still Work, and How to Add It

Schema markup is one of the few SEO tasks where a small amount of code can visibly change how your pages look in Google. Product prices and star ratings, breadcrumbs instead of a raw URL, event dates, recipe cards: all of these come from structured data. It also tells search engines and AI systems, without guesswork, who you are and what a page is about.

But the rules have shifted a lot. Google has retired a long list of rich results since 2023, including FAQ rich results in May 2026, so a lot of the schema advice still floating around is out of date. This guide covers what schema markup is, which formats to use, which types still earn rich results in 2026, copy and paste JSON-LD examples, how to add and test it, and the mistakes that quietly break it.

What is schema markup?#

Schema markup is code you add to a page to describe its content in a standard vocabulary that search engines understand. The vocabulary comes from Schema.org, a project founded by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Yandex. The code itself is called structured data.

A human reading your product page sees a name, a photo, a price and some reviews. A search engine sees text and images and has to infer the rest. Schema markup removes the guessing:

• This page is a Product.
• Its name is "Trail Runner 2".
• It costs 129.00 USD and is InStock.
• It has an average rating of 4.6 from 212 reviews.

Google uses structured data to understand the page and, for supported types, to show it as a rich result: a search listing with extra visual elements such as prices, ratings, images or dates.

JSON-LD vs Microdata vs RDFa#

There are three formats for writing structured data. Google supports all three, but it recommends JSON-LD.

Use JSON-LD unless your platform forces something else. Because it lives in its own block, a designer can rebuild your page layout without touching it.

Which schema types still earn rich results in 2026?#

Google's search gallery is the source of truth. As of October 2026 it lists these features:

What Google has retired#

Two important points about retirements. First, Google said the 2025 changes "won't affect how pages are ranked": you lose the visual enhancement, not your position. Second, a retired rich result doesn't make the markup harmful. You don't need to rush to delete old FAQPage markup, but you also shouldn't add new FAQ schema expecting the dropdowns to come back. Spend that effort on types that still produce results.

JSON-LD examples you can copy#

Replace the example values with your own, and make sure every value matches what visitors can see on the page.

Organization (homepage)#

This tells Google and AI systems who you are: your name, logo and official profiles.

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Example Studio",
  "url": "https://www.example.com/",
  "logo": "https://www.example.com/images/logo.png",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.linkedin.com/company/example-studio",
    "https://x.com/examplestudio"
  ]
}
</script>

Article (blog posts)#

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "BlogPosting",
  "headline": "How to Plan a Website Migration",
  "image": ["https://www.example.com/images/migration-cover.jpg"],
  "datePublished": "2026-10-20T09:00:00+00:00",
  "dateModified": "2026-10-24T14:30:00+00:00",
  "author": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Jordan Lee",
    "url": "https://www.example.com/authors/jordan-lee"
  }
}
</script>

Product (ecommerce)#

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Product",
  "name": "Trail Runner 2",
  "image": "https://www.example.com/images/trail-runner-2.jpg",
  "description": "Lightweight trail running shoe with a grippy outsole.",
  "sku": "TR2-BLK-42",
  "brand": { "@type": "Brand", "name": "Example Outdoor" },
  "offers": {
    "@type": "Offer",
    "url": "https://www.example.com/shoes/trail-runner-2",
    "price": "129.00",
    "priceCurrency": "USD",
    "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock"
  },
  "aggregateRating": {
    "@type": "AggregateRating",
    "ratingValue": "4.6",
    "reviewCount": "212"
  }
}
</script>

BreadcrumbList (category and product pages)#

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
  "itemListElement": [
    { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Shoes", "item": "https://www.example.com/shoes" },
    { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Trail", "item": "https://www.example.com/shoes/trail" },
    { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Trail Runner 2" }
  ]
}
</script>

The last breadcrumb item can leave out item, because it's the current page.

How to add schema markup to your site#

Manually or in your code#

Put the JSON-LD block in the page's <head> or <body>; both work. The reliable approach is to generate it from the same data that renders the page, in your template or framework component, so the price in the markup can never disagree with the price on screen. Hand writing JSON-LD per page is fine for a few static pages and fragile for anything larger.

WordPress#

SEO plugins such as Yoast SEO, Rank Math and All in One SEO output Organization, WebSite, Article and BreadcrumbList markup automatically, and WooCommerce adds Product markup to product pages. Check two things: that only one plugin is generating schema (two plugins often produce duplicate, conflicting graphs), and that the organization name and logo in the plugin settings are filled in correctly.

Shopify#

Most Shopify themes include Product and Organization structured data in their Liquid templates. Before adding an app that injects more markup, test a product page to see what your theme already outputs, otherwise you end up with two Product entities with different values. Theme switches and theme updates can change or remove this markup, so retest after either.

Google Tag Manager#

You can inject JSON-LD with a Custom HTML tag, and Google can read structured data that JavaScript adds to the page. It's a workable stopgap, but it's harder to keep in sync with the page content than markup in your templates.

How to test schema markup#

For a quick look at what any live URL declares, the free MyKavo Structured Data Checker parses every JSON-LD block on the page, including @graph containers, lists each entity with its type and key properties, flags blocks that aren't valid JSON, checks common required and recommended properties for popular types, and counts any Microdata and RDFa items. Our guide on how to check structured data walks through the full testing workflow.

Does schema markup help SEO rankings?#

Not directly. Google has said for years that structured data isn't a ranking factor in itself, and adding it won't move a page up. What it can do:

• Make your listing more clickable. Prices, ratings and breadcrumbs take up more space and answer questions before the click.
• Remove ambiguity. Organization markup tells search engines and AI systems which logo, name and social profiles are officially yours.
• Qualify pages for special experiences, such as job search, event listings and merchant listings.

Also note that valid markup is no guarantee. Google decides whether to show a rich result based on the query, the device and the quality of the page.

Common schema markup mistakes#

Catch broken structured data across your site#

Structured data usually breaks as a side effect. A theme update renames a template variable and a JSON-LD block prints an empty value. A plugin conflict produces a trailing comma. A redesign drops the breadcrumb markup. None of this shows on the page, so nobody notices until rich results fade from search.

MyKavo's Site Audit crawls your site and checks structured data alongside its other technical SEO checks. It reports Invalid JSON-LD as an error when a block fails to parse, flags pages with no structured data, and warns when your home page has no Organization, LocalBusiness or WebSite markup, so search engines and AI systems have to guess your brand, logo and profiles.

The bottom line#

Schema markup won't rank a page on its own, but it makes your listings richer, tells search engines and AI systems exactly who you are, and qualifies pages for features plain HTML can't reach. Use JSON-LD, stick to the types Google still supports, keep every value in sync with the visible page, test with the Rich Results Test, and watch for template changes that quietly break it.

Check what any page declares right now with the free Structured Data Checker, then start free with MyKavo to audit structured data and the rest of your technical SEO across your whole site.