What Is Structured Data (Schema Markup)?

Structured data is code that describes the information on your page to search engines in a standard, machine-readable format. The name "schema" comes from schema.org, the shared vocabulary that defines which terms you use to describe that information. Used correctly, it helps Google understand your page better and makes some pages eligible for rich appearances in search results (such as stars, product details or breadcrumbs). But it neither guarantees rankings nor makes any rich result permanent.

What is structured data?

When a person looks at your site, they easily understand: "This is a carpet cleaning company in Beylikdüzü, open weekdays 9:00 to 18:00." A search engine also tries to work this out from the text, but every site words it differently. Structured data means writing this information out separately in a pattern everyone has agreed on:

• @type: LocalBusiness → this is a local business
• address → this is its address
• openingHours → these are its opening hours

The shared vocabulary for these patterns is schema.org. Google supports some of the types in the schema.org vocabulary and publishes separate documentation for each of them.

Which format is it written in?

Google supports three formats: JSON-LD, Microdata and RDFa. Google's general recommendation is to use JSON-LD if your site's setup allows it, because it is the easiest format to implement and maintain. You add JSON-LD to the page's HTML as a separate <script type="application/ld+json"> block, so it doesn't get mixed into the visible content.

Three basic examples

1. Organization: saying who you are

Organization markup defines information such as your business's name, logo, website address, contact details and social media profiles. Google recommends adding this markup to your home page or to a single page that describes your business (e.g. About); you don't need to add it to every page. It has no required properties; you add the ones that fit your business.

“json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Organization", "name": "Example Construction Ltd.", "url": "https://www.example.com.tr/", "logo": "https://www.example.com.tr/logo.png", "telephone": "+90-212-000-00-00", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Beylikdüzü", "addressRegion": "İstanbul", "addressCountry": "TR" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.instagram.com/example", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/example" ] } “

Google also recommends using the most specific subtype: if you are a local business that customers visit or that serves a local area, LocalBusiness and its subtypes are a more accurate choice. We covered its use for local businesses in our article on local SEO.

2. Article: describing your blog posts

Article markup (or its subtypes BlogPosting and NewsArticle) defines a post's headline, image, publication and modification dates, and author. According to Google's documentation, this type has no required properties; instead, Google recommends headline, image, datePublished, dateModified and author. An important detail about the author: the author.name property should contain only the person's name; information such as job titles or company names belongs in other properties.

“json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "What Is Structured Data (Schema Markup)?", "image": ["https://www.example.com.tr/images/schema-16x9.jpg"], "datePublished": "2025-10-23T11:00:00+03:00", "dateModified": "2025-10-23T11:00:00+03:00", "author": [{ "@type": "Person", "name": "Ayşe Yılmaz", "url": "https://www.example.com.tr/author/ayse-yilmaz/" }] } “

3. FAQPage: frequently asked questions

FAQPage markup defines the question-and-answer pairs on a page:

“json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [{ "@type": "Question", "name": "Do you charge for a site survey?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Site surveys are free on Istanbul's European side." } }] } “

We need to be honest here: the effect of FAQ markup on search results changed considerably in 2023. On 8 August 2023, Google announced that it would only show FAQ rich results regularly for well-known, authoritative government and health websites. For other sites, these results no longer appear regularly. In the same announcement, however, Google said there is no need to remove existing FAQ markup and that unused structured data doesn't cause problems in Search. So FAQ markup does no harm on a corporate site, but expecting a question-and-answer dropdown in search results isn't realistic. As for HowTo rich results, the same announcement first limited them to desktop, and Google removed them completely in September 2023.

Google's rules: what to watch for

These are the most important points for businesses in Google's structured data guidelines:

• Don't mark up content that isn't visible. The information you mark up must match what visitors see on the page.
• Don't use misleading markup. The rules prohibit fake reviews, content unrelated to the page, and information impersonating someone else.
• Fill in the required properties completely. To be eligible for a rich result type, a page must include the required properties for that type.
• There is no guarantee. Google states clearly that it does not guarantee structured data will show up in search results.

Markup that violates the rules can lead Google to apply a manual action. According to Google, a structured data manual action removes the page's eligibility for rich results; it does not change how the page ranks in web search.

Rich result types change, too

The rich result types Google supports aren't fixed. In June 2025, Google announced it would phase out some little-used types (e.g. course info, estimated salary, vehicle listing, learning video) to simplify the search results page; in September 2025, it removed the documentation for these types as well. That's why you should treat structured data as something you check regularly, not something you "set and forget."

How do you test it?

• Rich Results Test: Shows whether a page is technically eligible for the rich results Google supports.
• Schema Markup Validator (validator.schema.org): Checks in general whether the markup conforms to the schema.org vocabulary.
• Search Console: Reports structured data errors and valid items on your site. The URL Inspection tool also catches most technical errors.

Automated tools catch technical errors, but only a person can check whether "the information marked up is really on the page, and is it correct?"

Common mistakes

• Marking up information that isn't on the page: for example, adding rating stars when there are no reviews on the page.
• Marking up reviews about yourself: for local business pages, Google recommends the aggregateRating and review properties only for sites that collect reviews about other businesses.
• Not updating the information: the address or phone number changed and the page got an update, but the markup stayed the same.
• Giving the same information from two conflicting sources: if a plugin generates one Organization and the theme another, the markup can contradict itself.
• Counting on the promise of rich results: structured data is an eligibility condition, not a promise of results.

Our experience

On this site (artsution.com.tr), we use Yoast SEO for structured data and the sitemap. Yoast generates an interconnected "graph" in JSON-LD format on every page: the website, web page and organization (Organization) information are the core pieces, and on posts, it adds article information on top. Our job is to feed this automatic output the right information: that the organization name, logo, social profiles and author information are complete and up to date.

We follow the same approach on corporate sites: first we check the markup generated by the plugin, see whether more than one plugin generates the same type, and then, if needed, add types specific to the business (e.g. local business information). We don't mark up information that isn't visible on the page.

Frequently asked questions

Conclusion

Structured data helps your site communicate more clearly with search engines. It describes who you are (Organization), what you write (Article) and where you serve (LocalBusiness) in a standard language. But it isn't a magic ranking tool, and which rich results Google shows changes over time. Simple markup with correct, visible and up-to-date information is always worth more than complex markup that nobody maintains.

Related reading and help with structured data

If you're curious how it relates to metadata, see our articles What is metadata? and, for the bigger picture, What is SEO? If you'd like to review your site's structured data together, take a look at our web design and WordPress development services, or get in touch with us.