"Schema markup" is the umbrella term for structured data added to a web page using the schema.org vocabulary. The vocabulary defines hundreds of types (Article, Product, Person, Event, etc.) and the relationships between them. The format Google recommends for embedding schema is JSON-LD.
In casual usage "schema" and "structured data" and "JSON-LD" are often used interchangeably, but technically:
- Schema.org is the vocabulary — what types and properties exist.
- Structured data is the broader concept — any machine-readable data on a page.
- JSON-LD is the format for embedding it (alternatives: microdata, RDFa).
Which schema types still earn rich results in 2026
| Type | Rich result | Reliability |
|---|---|---|
Product | Price, rating, availability | High |
Recipe | Card with cook time, calories | High |
Course | Price, provider, rating | Medium-high |
Event | Date, venue, ticket link | High |
BreadcrumbList | Breadcrumb in URL row | Very high |
LocalBusiness | Knowledge panel signals | Medium-high |
Article | Top stories carousel, video badge | Medium |
FAQPage | Limited rich result; high indirect value | Low rich, high AI |
Review | Star ratings under title | Medium |
HowTo | Removed Sept 2023 | Don't bother |
Why schema still matters even when there's no rich result
Three durable benefits:
- AI Overview / Perplexity / ChatGPT citations: AI search engines preferentially cite pages with clear structured data — see our post on generative search citations.
- Voice assistants: Google Assistant, Siri, Alexa draw heavily on schema for answer cards.
- Bing rich results: Bing didn't follow Google's
FAQPage/HowTodeprecations.
Implementation
The cleanest path is JSON-LD in your <head>. Use the Schema Generator to produce valid JSON-LD for the most-used types in one click, then paste straight into your CMS or template.
After implementing, validate with Google's Rich Results Test to confirm the markup parses and would be eligible for any applicable rich result.