What is schema markup?
Schema markup is code added to a page that describes its content in a standard vocabulary, schema.org, so machines do not have to guess. Instead of inferring from prose that a page is a recipe, a search engine reads markup saying: this is a Recipe, its name is this, it takes 25 minutes, it has these ingredients.
schema.org was launched in 2011 by Google, Bing, Yahoo, and Yandex, and it is maintained as a shared vocabulary with hundreds of types. Search engines use a subset of those types to power rich results, and AI systems can use the same markup to understand and attribute content.
How it works
Markup can be written in three formats: JSON-LD, Microdata, and RDFa. Google supports all three and recommends JSON-LD, a separate script block that does not need to be woven through your HTML.
Each type has properties. Google documents which types it uses and which properties are required or recommended for each rich result. Markup must describe content that is visible on the page; marking up things users cannot see is against Google's guidelines and can lead to a manual action.
Schema is not a direct ranking factor. It makes a page eligible for enhanced displays and removes ambiguity, which can raise click-through rate and help machines cite the page accurately. Eligibility is not a guarantee: Google decides whether to show a rich result.
Example
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "How to Brew Pour-Over Coffee",
"author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dana Ruiz" },
"datePublished": "2026-09-12",
"image": "https://example.com/images/pour-over.webp"
}
</script>
In WordPress
WordPress core outputs no schema. SEO plugins and some themes add it, which is a common source of duplicated or conflicting markup. Hydrogen SEO generates JSON-LD server-side with Article, Product, FAQ, HowTo, Recipe, Course, Event, Local Business, Breadcrumbs, and other types, set per post in the SEO Settings sheet. See the schema markup overview, schema types reference, and the schema markup guide.
Common mistakes
- Marking up content that is not on the page, such as reviews that do not exist.
- Duplicate schema from a theme and a plugin describing the same page differently.
- Expecting FAQ or HowTo rich results. Google limited FAQ results to a small set of authoritative sites and deprecated HowTo results in 2023.
- Never validating. Use the Rich Results Test and Schema Markup Validator.
Common questions
Does schema markup improve rankings?
Not directly. It can make pages eligible for rich results and helps search engines and AI systems understand content, which can raise clicks.
Which schema type should a blog post use?
Article, or its subtypes BlogPosting or NewsArticle, with author, dates, and image. Add other types only when the content genuinely matches them.