Schema Markup / Structured Data
Tell Google exactly what's on the page.
Schema markup (JSON-LD) is structured data you embed in pages so Google understands "this is a product with a price", "this is a recipe with 4.9 stars", "this is a local business open until 18:00". Google rewards the clarity with rich SERP results: stars, prices, FAQs, images, map cards. Higher CTR from richer listings. Free, technical, and one of the highest-leverage SEO wins for most sites.
<script type="application/ld+json">
Product
{
"@context": "schema.org",
"@type": "Product",
"name": "Handwoven Wool Throw",
"image": "throw-01.jpg",
"offers": {
"@type": "Offer",
"price": "89.00",
"priceCurrency": "EUR",
"availability": "InStock"
},
"aggregateRating": {
"ratingValue": "4.8",
"reviewCount": "127"
}
}
</script>Valid · 0 errors
Google search result
Rich result
Your listing appears as:
theirstore.ie › throws › wool-throw
Handwoven Wool Throw · Heather
4.8(127) · €89.00 · In stock
Hand-loomed in Donegal from pure Irish wool. Warm, soft, durable. Free shipping on orders over €75.
CTR uplift vs plain listing: typically +15-35%
Product
FAQPage
LocalBusiness
Recipe
Article
Event
The types that matter
8 schema types cover 95% of Irish SMB sites.
Organization
Company name, logo, contact details, social profiles. Every site should have this site-wide.
Fits: All sites
LocalBusiness
Address, hours, phone, price range, reviews. Drives local-pack visibility + map card.
Fits: Service businesses with physical premises
Product
Price, currency, availability, ratings, brand, GTIN. Star ratings + price in search.
Fits: E-commerce, B2B product catalogs
FAQPage
Q&A pairs. Google shows expandable accordion directly in SERP — owns more real estate.
Fits: Service pages, support content, long-form guides
Article / BlogPosting
Author, date, image, publisher. Powers Top Stories, AMP article carousels.
Fits: Editorial content, blog posts, news
BreadcrumbList
Page hierarchy (Home → Category → Product). Replaces URL display in SERP with readable breadcrumb.
Fits: Any multi-level site structure
Review / AggregateRating
Star ratings shown in SERP. Powerful but requires genuine customer reviews (not self-assertion).
Fits: Products, services, restaurants, local businesses
Event
Date, location, tickets, virtual/in-person. Events show in dedicated Event carousels + Maps.
Fits: Venues, conferences, workshops, classes
How to implement
The 3 ways to add schema to a site.
Pick the approach that matches your stack + who's doing the work.
Via SEO plugin
Easy
Yoast SEO / Rank Math / SEO Framework
WordPress sites get automatic schema for Organization, BreadcrumbList, Article. Configure Product + LocalBusiness in plugin settings. Fine for most SMB WordPress sites.
Fits: WordPress, non-technical team, 80% of schema needs met
Headless / manual JSON-LD
Medium
Next.js, React, Astro, custom CMS
Add `<script type="application/ld+json">` tags directly in page templates. More control, more work. Use libraries like `next-seo` / `schema-dts` for type safety.
Fits: Dev-led projects, custom stacks, specific requirements
Tag Manager injection
Flexible
Google Tag Manager + Custom HTML tag
Inject JSON-LD server-side via GTM per page rule. Good for sites where you can't/won't touch HTML templates. Risky if not tested — Google may ignore dynamic schema.
Fits: Legacy sites, when dev resource limited, experimenting fast
Testing the implementation
3 tools. Use them in this order.
Schema that validates but doesn't qualify for rich results is common. Test at each level before assuming it works.
01
Google Rich Results Test
search.google.com/test/rich-results
Official Google tool. Tells you if Google will show rich results for this page. Highest source of truth. Use first + last.
02
Schema.org Validator
validator.schema.org
Validates syntax against schema.org spec. Will accept valid-but-non-rich-results schema. Catches malformed JSON + schema-spec errors.
03
Search Console Enhancement reports
search.google.com/search-console
After live for ~1 week, GSC shows which URLs have valid/invalid schema + rich-result eligibility. Monitor ongoing.
Schema pitfalls
Where schema implementations fail.
Schema that doesn't match visible content
Rating of 4.9 in schema but no reviews visible to users. Google penalises mismatches. Everything in schema must appear in the page content.
Self-serving review schema
Marking up your About page with aggregate rating is against Google's guidelines. Rich-result only for user-submitted reviews on product/service pages.
Overstuffing schema types
Page about a coffee shop is marked as Restaurant + Hotel + LocalBusiness + Event. Confuses Google. Use one primary type + specific sub-properties.
Stale review ratings
Schema from 2022 says rating 4.8 (127 reviews) but current reviews are 4.2 (300 reviews). Always dynamic — pull from review source.
FAQPage abused for non-FAQs
Making up fake Q&A to pad content with FAQ schema. Google has deprecated FAQ rich results for most sites because of this. Use only for genuine user questions.
Schema on noindex pages
Page has `noindex` but also has schema. Google indexes the schema even if it doesn't rank the page, potentially causing confused signals. Align schema + index intent.
Frequently asked
Schema questions.
Brochure site with a few pages: €400-1,200 flat fee. WordPress site with Yoast / Rank Math setup + custom JSON-LD on key templates: €1,500-4,000. Complex e-commerce with product + review + breadcrumb schema across thousands of URLs: €5,000-15,000 depending on CMS + dev complexity.
Get your schema right.
45-minute schema audit. Share your URLs; we run them through Rich Results Test + schema.org validator + check your GSC enhancement reports. Identify the 3-5 schema types that would give you rich-result wins. Flat-fee implementation after.