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Common Types of Schema for Your Website
Sep 21, 2026 • 7 Minute Read • Keli Pembroke, Digital Marketing Lead
Using Schema Markup
Schema markup, also known as structured data, is a powerful tool that helps search engines better understand and categorize the content on your website. By implementing schema, you provide detailed information about your business, products, services, and other key areas, making it easier for search engines like Google to index your website accurately.
The most widely used method for adding schema markup today is through JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data). With JSON-LD, schema is embedded in your site or application using a <script> tag, enabling enhanced search features such as rich snippets, improved visibility in search results, and increased click-through rates.
Standing out in both traditional search and voice search results is essential for modern search engine optimization (SEO) and answer engine optimization (AEO) and leveraging structured data gets you there.
How is schema useful for your business?
Schema markup is an essential SEO tactic that enhances your website’s visibility in Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs). By implementing structured data, you enable the display of rich snippets—such as ratings, FAQs, and event details—which can increase click-through rates and drive more targeted traffic to your site.
While schema markup is just one component of a comprehensive digital marketing strategy, its primary benefit lies in helping search engines accurately interpret and index your website’s content. Using schema markup not only boosts your SEO performance but also supports better answer engine optimization (AEO), making your content more accessible for voice search and AI-powered search experiences.
History of Schema
Schema.org was established in 2011 by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Yandex to create a unified standard for structured data on the web. Its primary goal is to standardize HTML tags and microdata to help search engines better interpret and categorize website content, supporting the broader vision of the semantic web project to make data more accessible and meaningful for both humans and machines. By providing a shared vocabulary for structured data, Schema.org enables search engines to deliver richer, more relevant search results and enhances the visibility and understanding of web content
Use Types of Schema
While sites do not have to use every type of Schema on their website, many common Schema types can be applied to different kinds of businesses.
Consider the following commonly used types of Schema:
Creative works:
- CreativeWork – a generic kind of creative work including books, movies, photographs, software programs, etc.
- Book – add schema around the name of the book, ISBN, date of publication, etc.
- Movie – add schema for an actor, duration, production company, etc.
- MusicRecording – Add schema for artist, duration, the name of the album, etc.
- Recipe – add schema for ingredients, instructions, cook time, etc.
- TVSeries – add schema for an actor, director, episode, etc.
Embedded non-text objects:
- AudioObject – add schema for bitrate, file site, duration, etc.
- ImageObject – add schema for file size, height, data published, etc.
- VideoObject – add schema for actor, caption, director, etc.
- Event – add event schema for events such as a concert, lecture, or festival.
- Health and medical types – useful for marking up medical content on the web
- Organization – useful for schools, corporations, clubs, etc.
- Person – can be a person living, dead, or a fictional person
- Place – a fixed, physical property
- LocalBusiness – a physical branch of an organization
- Restaurant – schema used for restaurants only; can mark up if the restaurant accepts reservations or the type of cuisine served
- Product – mainly used in digital commerce for physical products but can be applied to the service industry as well
- Offer – an offer to provide a service or transfer rights to an item
- AggregateOffer – when a single product is associated with multiple offers
- Review – a review of an item, for example, a movie, restaurant, store, etc.
- AggregateRating – the average rating based on multiple ratings or reviews
While this is a shortened list, the full list of schema types can be found on Schema.org.
Selecting the Right Schema for your Business
Choosing the right schema starts with the page; the goal is to describe what the page is primarily about and connect that information to the broader organization and website.
Use this five-step process for each important page template:
1. Identify the Page’s Primary Purpose
Is it an article, product detail page, service page, location page, event page, job posting, or something else? Start with the main reason the page exists.
2. Choose the Most Specific Accurate Type
Select the Schema.org type that best describes the page’s primary subject. For example, use Article or BlogPosting for an editorial article, Product for a product detail page, Service for a service offering, Event for an event, or LocalBusiness for a physical location.
3. Confirm that the Information is Visible on the Page
Only mark up details that users can find on the page, such as the name, description, author, price, location, date, or availability. Schema should represent the page, not add claims that are hidden or unsupported.
4. Add Supporting Types Where they Clarify Relationships
A page can describe more than one connected entity. An article can include an author and publisher; a product can include an offer, brand, or review; and a service can identify its provider. Use supporting types when the relationship is real and the information is maintained accurately.
5. Add the Sitewide Foundation
Each indexable URL should be represented as a WebPage and connected to the organization using stable identifiers. The page-specific type sits on top of that foundation; it does not replace it. We will explain how to build a sitewide schema foundation in the next section.
A simple way to think about the decision is:
- What is this page mainly about? Choose the primary page-specific type.
- Who or what is responsible for it? Connect the page to the relevant Organization, Person, or other entity.
- What facts can a user verify on the page? Include only those visible, accurate properties.
- Does the markup match the page template? Implement it dynamically through the CMS so the values update when the page changes.
Not every page needs every type. A homepage may primarily use WebPage and Organization markup; an insight may use Article or BlogPosting in addition to WebPage; and a product page may use Product, Offer, and Brand when those details are present. The right implementation is the smallest accurate set of types that clearly describes the page and its relationships.
How do I generate schema markup?
Fortunately, not all schema markup has to be hand-coded. There are some powerful and beneficial tools to help you. Merkle has its Schema Markup Generator tool with fields ready to plug in.
Also, Steal Our JSON-LD has some great examples that can be updated to fit your organization’s needs.
Getting Started: Build a Sitewide Schema Foundation
Before adding schema for individual pages, establish a consistent foundation across your site templates. For most organizations, that foundation should include Organization and WebPage markup, connected with stable identifiers.
Organization describes the business or entity behind the website. Use it to communicate consistent, verifiable information such as the organization’s name, canonical website URL, logo, relevant social or external profiles, and contact information when those details are accurate and publicly available. Choose a more specific subtype when it genuinely applies, such as Corporation, EducationalOrganization, or LocalBusiness.
WebPage describes the individual URL being crawled. It can identify the page’s canonical URL, name, description, primary image, and relationship to the broader website and organization. A WebPage node should be generated dynamically from the page template so that each indexable URL receives accurate, page-specific values.
The goal is to define one consistent organization entity with a stable @id, and reference that entity from your page-level markup. This creates a connected schema graph and reduces the risk of conflicting business names, logos, URLs, or social profiles across the site.
A basic sitewide implementation might look like this:
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@graph": [
{
"@type": "Organization",
"@id": "https://www.example.com/#organization",
"name": "Example Company",
"url": "https://www.example.com/",
"logo": "https://www.example.com/assets/logo.png",
"sameAs": [
"https://www.linkedin.com/company/example-company"
]
},
{
"@type": "WebPage",
"@id": "https://www.example.com/about/#webpage",
"url": "https://www.example.com/about/",
"name": "About Example Company",
"isPartOf": {
"@id": "https://www.example.com/#website"
},
"about": {
"@id": "https://www.example.com/#organization"
}
}
]
}
</script>
Replace the example values with the organization’s actual information and the current page’s canonical URL, title, description, and image. The exact implementation will vary by CMS, but the setup should generally follow this pattern:
- Add the Organization entity through the global site template, shared layout, or SEO/schema module.
- Generate a WebPage entity from the template for each indexable page, using fields already maintained in the CMS.
- Use a consistent @id convention, such as https://www.example.com/#organization for the organization and the canonical page URL plus #webpage for each page.
- Reference the Organization by @id rather than creating separate, conflicting versions of the entity.
- Layer page-specific schema on top of this foundation. For example, an insight can use Article or BlogPosting, a product page can use Product, and a service page can use Service. These types should describe content that is actually present on the page; they do not replace the WebPage entity.
- Keep the structured data synchronized with visible page content. Do not include outdated, hidden, or unsupported claims simply to add more properties.
How do I test my Schema?
Thankfully there are some great tools for testing your schema both before and after implementation.
Google has the Rich Results Test where you can either enter a URL to test or paste in the code directly. Additionally, Schema.org has its own validator.
How else can I use Schema?
These are the basics of schema implementation but there is much more that could be done by using other existing schema types that fit your organization or creating and testing a custom schema markup. The use of schema continues to change over time and providing the search engines with updated, accurate information can only help your brand or organization.
Schema markup is low-effort, high-reward—especially when it’s done right. See how Verndale can help you turn clicks into customers.
Talk to our experts today.