Structured data is code that tells search engines what your page means rather than leaving them to infer it. Most small sites need four types, not forty, and adding it badly is worse than not adding it at all.
Most small businesses need four schema types: LocalBusiness or Organization for the company, Service for what you sell, FAQPage for question sections, and BreadcrumbList for navigation. Add Article to blog posts and Product if you sell. Never mark up content that is not visible on the page, since that is structured data spam and can earn a manual action.
What schema actually does
It does not directly raise your rankings. What it does is make you eligible for rich results, help search engines understand your entity, and give AI systems structured facts they can quote.
That last one has become the strongest argument for it. Assistants building an answer prefer explicit structured facts over prose they have to interpret.
The types worth adding
| Type | Use on | Gets you |
|---|---|---|
| LocalBusiness | Homepage, contact, location pages | Eligibility for local rich results, clear entity signals |
| Organization | Homepage of non-local businesses | Knowledge panel eligibility, logo and profile links |
| Service | Each service page | Clear understanding of what you sell and at what price |
| FAQPage | Pages with genuine question sections | Structured answers assistants can quote |
| BreadcrumbList | Every page below the homepage | Breadcrumb trail in search results |
| Article or BlogPosting | Blog posts | Author and date signals, Top Stories eligibility |
| Product | Product pages | Price, availability and review stars |
Rules you should not break
- Only mark up content that is visible on the page. Invisible markup is spam.
- Never fabricate reviews or ratings. Invented aggregateRating is among the most reliably penalised things you can do.
- Keep it accurate. Prices, hours and availability in your markup should match the page.
- Use JSON-LD rather than microdata. It is Google's stated preference and far easier to maintain.
- Validate with the Rich Results Test and Schema.org validator before shipping.
Connecting your entity
The most under-used property is sameAs. Listing your LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and any directory profiles connects the entity across the web and helps search engines confirm you are who you claim.
For businesses with people worth trusting, adding Person schema for named authors with sameAs to their professional profiles supports the experience and expertise signals Google's quality guidance asks about.
Frequently asked questions
Does schema markup improve rankings?
Not directly. It makes you eligible for rich results, clarifies your entity, and gives AI systems structured facts to quote. Those can raise click-through and citation rates considerably, but the markup itself is not a ranking factor.
What schema does a small business need?
LocalBusiness or Organization, Service on each service page, FAQPage where you have genuine question sections, and BreadcrumbList. Add BlogPosting to articles. Those five cover almost everything a typical small business needs.
Can schema markup hurt my site?
Yes, if it is inaccurate or marks up content that is not visible. Fabricated reviews and hidden markup are structured data spam and can earn a manual action that removes rich results entirely. Accurate markup carries no risk.
Is FAQ schema still worth adding?
Yes, though its role has shifted. Google reduced FAQ rich results in ordinary search, but structured questions and answers remain valuable for AI assistants and answer engines, which quote them directly.
Should I use JSON-LD or microdata?
JSON-LD. It is Google's recommended format, it sits in a single script block rather than being tangled through your HTML, and it is far easier to maintain when the page changes.