SEO On-Page: Schema / Structured Data

Guides implementation of Schema.org structured data (JSON-LD) for rich snippets, enhanced search results, and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).

When invoking: On first use, if helpful, open with 1–2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On subsequent use or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output.

Scope (On-Page SEO)

• Schema markup: Schema.org types for rich results, AI search visibility, and machine-readable content
• Schema.org vs. search engines: Schema.org defines 800+ types; each search engine supports only a subset for rich results

Schema.org vs. Search Engine Support

Schema.org and Google Structured Data are not fully aligned. Schema.org is an open vocabulary (800+ types); Google, Bing, and other engines each support only a curated subset for rich results.

Engine	Support	Notes
Google	Subset only	Only types in Google's search gallery generate rich results. Valid Schema.org markup not in Google's list won't produce enhanced snippets—even if technically correct.
Bing	Subset; different	Supports JSON-LD, Microdata, RDFa, Open Graph. Some types (e.g., Product, Offer) have format-specific support. Check Bing Webmaster docs.
Other engines	Varies	Yandex, DuckDuckGo, AI search tools (Perplexity, etc.) may use Schema.org for understanding even when they don't display rich results.

Practical implication: Implement Schema.org markup for your content type. If Google doesn't show rich results for that type, Bing or AI systems may still use it. Always verify against Google's developer docs for Google-specific rich result eligibility.

Rich Results: Google Support (2025)

High-impact types: Product, Review snippets, HowTo (desktop), Article/News, Video, Recipe, LocalBusiness, Event, Breadcrumb, Sitelinks searchbox, JobPosting.

Limited or context-dependent: HowTo (mobile), FAQ (government/health sites for many queries), Education Q&A, Course, SoftwareApplication, Speakable (news), DiscussionForumPosting.

Deprecated: COVID data panels, some AMP-only formats, data-vocabulary.org.

Implementation: JSON-LD preferred; include @context, @type, stable @id; ISO 8601 dates; match structured data to visible content. Validate with Rich Results Test. Rich results can increase CTR up to ~35% and improve AI citation. AISO Hub, Digital Applied

Schema ↔ SERP Features ↔ Rich Results (Strongly Related)

Schema, SERP features, and rich results are strongly related. Schema is the necessary condition for most rich results. When targeting a SERP feature, implement the corresponding schema type. See serp-features for the full SERP feature list and optimization.

Rich Results vs Featured Snippets

• Rich results: Schema-powered enhancements to standard listings (stars, breadcrumbs, FAQ dropdowns, product info). Appear within organic positions; do not require top-10 rank.
• Featured snippets: Google-extracted answer boxes at position zero. No schema required; content structure matters. Schema (FAQPage, HowTo, Article) can support extraction.

Schema Type	SERP Feature / Rich Result	Notes
FAQPage	PAA, Featured Snippet	FAQ dropdown; Q&A-style snippet. Eligibility restricted for many sites (e.g. government/health)
BreadcrumbList	Breadcrumbs	Path display in result
AggregateRating, Review	Reviews / Stars	Star ratings
HowTo	Featured Snippet (list)	Step-based snippet; desktop support; mobile may be limited
Article	In-Depth Articles, Snippet	Article rich result
VideoObject	Video	Video thumbnail; see video-optimization
Product, Offer	Shopping, Product	Product/shopping results
Recipe	Recipe	Recipe rich result
JobPosting	Google Jobs	Job listings
Event	Event	Event rich result
WebSite + SearchAction	Sitelinks searchbox	Site links for brand queries
Organization, Person	Knowledge Panel	Entity info; see entity-seo

Workflow: 1) Use serp-features to identify target SERP feature; 2) Look up schema type in this table; 3) Implement and validate with Rich Results Test.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

GEO = optimizing content so AI systems (Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, ChatGPT, Gemini) choose, cite, and quote your content in generated answers. Structured data makes content machine-readable; AI engines extract and cite more accurately. Key schema types for GEO: Organization, Person/Author, WebSite, WebPage, FAQPage, HowTo, Article, Product, AggregateRating. See generative-engine-optimization for full GEO strategy.

Initial Assessment

Check for project context first: If .claude/project-context.md or .cursor/project-context.md exists, read it for product type and content.

Identify:

1. Page type: Article, Product, FAQ, Organization, JobPosting, Event, etc.
2. Content: What entities to describe
3. Goal: Rich snippets, AI Overview visibility, Knowledge Panel

Schema Type Classification

Core Types (General Use)

Type	Use case
Organization	Site-wide; company info, logo, sameAs; see placement below
WebSite	Site-wide; search action, site name; pair with Organization on homepage
Article	Blog posts, news, tool intros
BreadcrumbList	Breadcrumb navigation
FAQPage	FAQ sections; triggers PAA-style results
Person	Author info; pairs with Article
ImageObject	Image metadata for rich results
HowTo	Tutorials, step-by-step guides. Note: Google may have deprecated HowTo rich results (2023–2024); Schema.org still supports it; Bing/AI may use it

Exclusive Types (Specific Scenarios)

Type	Use case
JobPosting	Recruitment sites, AI Job Matching
Product	E-commerce product pages
Event	Event pages, ticketing (not general blogs)
SoftwareApplication	App pages, tool pages
LocalBusiness	Local business pages
Dataset	Data platforms, datasets
DiscussionForumPosting	Forums, community posts
Quiz	Education, flashcards
MathSolver	Math tools
CaseStudy	Case study pages
Recipe	Recipes, meal plans, cooking instructions

Rule: Use core types for most sites. Use exclusive types only when page content matches (e.g., don't use Event on a blog; don't use JobPosting on a product page).

Organization & WebSite Schema Placement

Where	Organization	WebSite	Notes
Homepage	Minimum	Minimum	Add both Organization and WebSite to homepage at least. Organization describes the entity that owns the site; WebSite enables sitelinks searchbox and site identity.
Root layout / global	Optimal	Optimal	Place in site-wide layout (e.g. layout.tsx, _document, global header/footer) so schema appears on every page. Google uses the first instance found; one instance per site is sufficient.
About page	No	No	About page uses AboutPage schema (page-specific: headline, description, author, about). Organization is entity-level, not page-level—do not confine it to About. See about-page-generator.

Implementation: JSON-LD in <head>; use @id (e.g. https://example.com/#organization) to link Organization ↔ WebSite ↔ WebPage for entity graph. See entity-seo for @id and Knowledge Panel.

Action: Website/Product Type → Schema Mapping

Use this table to recommend which exclusive schema types fit a site. Match the site's content and product type to the most relevant schema. When in doubt, start with core types (Organization, WebSite, Article); add exclusive types only when content clearly matches.

Website / Product type	Recommended exclusive schema	Why
AI meal planner, recipe site, food blog, cooking app	Recipe	Ingredients, instructions, cook time, servings—highly relevant for food/meal content. Google supports Recipe rich results.
Job board, recruitment site, careers page	JobPosting	Title, company, location, salary, employment type. Required for Google Jobs.
Event platform, ticketing, webinar, conference	Event	Date, location, price. Use only on actual event pages.
SaaS, app, Chrome extension, tool, software product page	SoftwareApplication	App name, category, rating, price, OS. Fits product/feature pages.
E-commerce product page	Product	Price, availability, brand, reviews. Use with Offer, AggregateRating.
Forum, community, Reddit-style, Q&A	DiscussionForumPosting	Post content, author, comments. For user-generated discussion.
Data platform, dataset repository, Scale AI / Surge AI	Dataset	Dataset name, creator, license, distribution format. For data catalog pages.
Education site, flashcards, Quizlet-style	Quiz	Question-answer pairs. For educational Q&A content.
Math solver, calculator, equation tool	MathSolver	Math problem input, solution output. For math tools.
Restaurant, local service, store locator	LocalBusiness	Address, hours, NAP. For local SEO.
Case study, customer story page	CaseStudy	Client, outcome, methodology. For B2B case studies.
FAQ page, product FAQ, support FAQ	FAQPage	Question + acceptedAnswer pairs. Triggers PAA-style results.
Tutorial, how-to guide, step-by-step	HowTo	Steps, tools, time. Note: Google may have deprecated rich results; Bing/AI may still use.
News article, press release	NewsArticle	Use instead of Article for news.
Video page, podcast episode	VideoObject / PodcastEpisode	For video/audio content. See video-optimization for VideoObject, thumbnail, key moments.

Examples:

• AI meal planner (e.g., generates weekly meal plans with recipes) → Add Recipe schema to each recipe/meal page; Article or WebPage for landing pages
• AI writing tool → SoftwareApplication on product page; Article on blog
• Recruitment SaaS → JobPosting on job listing pages; SoftwareApplication on product page
• Recipe blog → Recipe on each recipe post; Article for non-recipe posts

Output: When recommending schema, state: (1) which exclusive types fit the site/product, (2) which page types get which schema, (3) core types to add site-wide (Organization, WebSite, BreadcrumbList).

Article / BlogPosting / NewsArticle: Type Selection & Implementation

Choose the most specific type that matches content:

Type	Use case
BlogPosting	Informal blog posts; individual authors; regularly updated
Article	Formal, evergreen content; tool intros; encyclopedic
NewsArticle	Time-sensitive news; recognized publishers

Required properties: headline (max 110 chars), image (min 1200px wide; absolute URL), datePublished (ISO 8601), author (Person or Organization), publisher (Organization with logo).

Recommended: dateModified, description, mainEntityOfPage (canonical URL).

Date display for CTR: Google recommends showing only one date on the page. If both datePublished and dateModified are visible, Google may pick the wrong date for SERP display—Search Engine Land saw ~22% CTR drop. Best practice: show dateModified if it exists, otherwise datePublished. Keep both in JSON-LD; the rule applies to visible date only.

JSON-LD example (BlogPosting):

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "BlogPosting",
  "headline": "The Ultimate SEO Checklist for 2025",
  "description": "A complete guide to optimizing blog posts for search and AI.",
  "image": "https://example.com/image.jpg",
  "datePublished": "2025-01-15T09:00:00Z",
  "dateModified": "2025-02-01T14:30:00Z",
  "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Doe", "url": "https://example.com/author/jane" },
  "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Example", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://example.com/logo.png" } }
}

Place in <head> via <script type="application/ld+json">. For article pages, use og:type: article with og:article:published_time, og:article:modified_time, og:article:author. See article-page-generator, open-graph.

BreadcrumbList

For breadcrumb navigation. Schema must match visible breadcrumbs exactly. See breadcrumb-generator for UI, placement, and semantic HTML.

Requirement	Guideline
Format	JSON-LD in <script type="application/ld+json">
URLs	Absolute URLs with https:// for each item
Position	Sequential integers starting from 1
Match	Schema must match visible breadcrumbs exactly

JSON-LD example:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
  "itemListElement": [
    { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://example.com/" },
    { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Category", "item": "https://example.com/category/" },
    { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Current Page", "item"