Schema Markup & Structured Data: How to Use JSON-LD Correctly

Schema Markup helps search engines understand content not just as text, but as structured information. Instead of only reading that a page contains a company, a product, an article or an FAQ, machines can assign this information clearly and consistently.

This article explains two RankScan measures in the Website Health category: “Pages without structured dataSchema markup is code that describes a page's content in a structured way, so search engines understand it not just as text but as clearly classified information.Open glossary entry → (JSON-LDJSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data) is a data format for embedding structured data in a page, separate from the visible HTML. Google recommends it where technically possible.Open glossary entry →)” and “Home page without Organization markupOrganization schema describes a company or organisation as an entity, with details such as name, URL, logo, address, contact and official profiles.Open glossary entry →”. The measures “No clear Q&A structure” and “Question headings without a direct answer” do not require any markup. They are covered in the article on questions with direct answers.

The correct classification is important:

Structured data is not a ranking trick and not a guarantee for rich snippetsRich results are enhanced displays in Google, for example with ratings, prices or breadcrumbs, which can be enabled by suitable structured data.Open glossary entry →. It is a technical clarity signal.

For Google, structured markup can be a requirement for certain rich results. For website operators, it is primarily a way to mark up content in a more machine-readable, unambiguous and consistent way.

This article explains what Schema Markup is, when you should use JSON-LDJavaScript Object Notation (JSON) is a lightweight, text-based data format for storing and exchanging data. It is human-readable and easy for machines to process.Open glossary entry → (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data, a data format for structured data), which schema types make sense for each page type and how to carry out the two measures.

What Is Schema Markup? #

Schema Markup is code that describes the content of a web page in a structured way.

Example: On a product page, a human immediately sees:

• product name,
• price,
• availability,
• brand,
• rating.

Search engines can infer this information from the text, but structured data marks it up explicitly.

Google describes structured data as a standardized format for providing information about a page and classifying its content. Structured data can help Google understand content better and qualify it for rich results.
Source: Google Search Central, Introduction to structured data

Schema.org, Structured Data and Rich Results: The Difference #

These terms are often mixed together, but they do not mean the same thing.

Schema.org is the dictionary.
JSON-LD is the format.
Structured data is the marked-up information.
Rich results are a possible effect.

Schema.org describes itself as a shared vocabulary for structured data on the internet.
Source: Schema.org, Getting started

Why Structured Data Matters for Website Health #

Structured data is not equally important on every page. However, missing or incorrect structured data can make it harder for search engines to assign important information clearly.

Typical benefits:

• clearer entity information,
• more machine-readable content structure,
• rich-result eligibility for suitable page types,
• better connection between organization, website, author, article and products,
• more consistent signals between website, Google Business Profile, social profiles and external sources,
• easier validation of technical SEOSearch Engine Optimization (SEO) covers all measures that help a website become more visible in unpaid (organic) search results.Open glossary entry → quality.

Important: Google explicitly states that structured data can be used to understand content and qualify it for rich results. But Google does not guarantee that rich results will be displayed.
Source: Google Search Central, Structured Data Gallery

Why JSON-LD Is Recommended #

There are several ways to implement structured data:

• JSON-LD,
• Microdata,
• RDFa.

Google recommends JSON-LD when the website setup allows it because it is easier to implement and maintain.
Source: Google Search Central, Introduction to structured data

Example:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "WebPage",
  "name": "Schema Markup & Structured Data: Guide with JSON-LD",
  "description": "A guide to implementing structured data with JSON-LD."
}
</script>

Advantages of JSON-LD:

• separate from visible HTML (Hypertext Markup Language, the markup language for web pages),
• easier to output in templates,
• easier to maintain,
• less vulnerable to design changes,
• well suited for CMSA content management system (CMS) is software for creating, managing and publishing web content, usually without programming knowledge. Well-known examples are WordPress or Shopify.Open glossary entry → (Content Management System) and shop templates.

For RankScan, only JSON-LD counts. The crawl reads the <script type="application/ld+json"> blocks in the HTML.

What Does “Pages without structured data (JSON-LD)” Mean? #

The RankScan measure “Pages without structured data (JSON-LD)” means: the crawl found no JSON-LD block on the affected pages.

RankScan checks whether the page contains a JSON-LD block. Whether the type matches the page is for you to check. That is why the title names JSON-LD. The finding only shows that the delivered HTML contains no JSON-LD block.

Possible causes: the template outputs no markup, a plugin is disabled, or the markup uses a format other than JSON-LD.

Rating in RankScan: high severity · medium effort · work type Development.

RankScan only counts these page types:

• home page,
• articles,
• product pages,
• category pages,
• FAQ pages,
• contact and location pages,
• pages that are not clearly assigned to a type.

RankScan leaves legal pages, confirmation pages such as “Thank you” and functional pages such as a login out of this measure. This is a product decision about priorities, not a general SEO rule. Markup can make sense on these pages too.

You choose the matching type yourself, based on page type and content. The table “The Most Important Schema Types by Page Type” further down helps with this.

Procedure #

1. Check the source code of one affected page to confirm that it really contains no structured markup.
2. Group the affected pages by page type, such as offer, article, product, event or location.
3. Admin pages such as login or billing address need no markup. If RankScan does not detect such a page itself, skip it.
4. For each such page, choose “Skip” under “Affected pages”. From the next scan on, it no longer counts.
5. Pass the remaining page types on to your developers or agency.
6. Have the Schema.org markup added as JSON-LD once per page type in the template, not on each page.
7. Check one page per template with Google’s Rich Results Test.
8. Mark the measure as done once the markup is live.

How RankScan checks it: The next full crawl checks all affected pages. RankScan then reports “Fixed” or “Not fixed yet” with the number of pages still missing.

What Does “Home page without Organization markup” Mean? #

The RankScan measure “Home page without Organization markup” means: on the home page, the crawl found no JSON-LD of type Organization with name (name), URL (url) and logo (logo). Subtypes such as LocalBusiness also count as Organization.

Rating in RankScan: low severity · low effort · work type Development.

The markup helps search engines attribute website, brand and profiles unambiguously, for example for the logo in the knowledge panel. Google names no ranking effect.

The Organization Schema describes your company as an entity.

Typical information:

• name,
• URL,
• logo,
• legal name,
• address and phone, if you receive customers at a location,
• social media profiles,
• identifiers,
• founding information,
• brand relationships.

Schema.org defines Organization as an organization such as a company, school, NGO, club or similar institution.
Source: Schema.org, Organization

Google recommends placing Organization markup on the home page. It does not need to be on every page. Google names no required properties, but recommends name, url, logo, description and sameAs, among others.
Source: Google Search Central, Organization

Procedure #

1. Collect the details for your developers or agency: name, URL, logo and profiles such as Instagram or LinkedIn.
2. Write one sentence as description: who you are and what you offer.
3. Have Organization markup with these details added to the home page.
4. Receiving guests or customers at a location? Use a more specific type such as Hotel or Restaurant, with address and phone.
5. Check the markup with Google’s Rich Results Test.
6. Mark the measure as done once the markup is live.

How RankScan checks it: The next full crawl checks the home page. If name, url or logo is missing there, the measure then shows “Not fixed yet”.

Businesses with a Location: LocalBusiness with Address and Phone #

If the Organization markup is complete, RankScan checks a second case. If the home page describes your business as LocalBusiness or a more specific type such as Hotel, Restaurant, Store or ProfessionalService, this dataset needs an address (address) and a phone number (telephone). If one of them is missing, the measure shows the title “LocalBusiness markup without address or phone”.

Google requires an address for LocalBusiness and recommends a phone number. With both, search engines attribute your location unambiguously. Google names no ranking effect.
Source: Google Search Central, Local Business Structured Data

Online businesses without a location need neither address nor phone in the markup. A pure online shop is still often marked up as Store. At Schema.org, Store is a subtype of LocalBusiness, meaning a physical shop. For an online shop without a location, OnlineStore or Organization fits. Google recommends the OnlineStore type for ecommerce sites.
Sources: Google Search Central, Organization, Schema.org, OnlineStore

Procedure for “LocalBusiness markup without address or phone”:

1. No customers at a location? Have the type changed to OnlineStore or Organization instead.
2. Take address and phone number from your legal notice. They are the template for the markup.
3. Have the address added to the home page markup, with street, postal code, town and country.
4. Have the phone number added in international format, for example +41 41 123 45 67.
5. If the markup names several locations, each location needs its own details.
6. Check the markup with Google’s Rich Results Test.
7. Mark the measure as done once the markup is live.

How RankScan checks it: The next full crawl checks the home page. A phone number in contactPoint also counts. RankScan does not check the individual fields of the address.

Example: Organization Schema with JSON-LD #

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "@id": "https://example.ch/#organization",
  "name": "Example AG",
  "legalName": "Example AG",
  "description": "Example AG designs and builds timber houses in the Zurich region.",
  "url": "https://example.ch/",
  "logo": "https://example.ch/assets/logo.png",
  "telephone": "+41 44 123 45 67",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "Bahnhofstrasse 10",
    "postalCode": "8001",
    "addressLocality": "Zurich",
    "addressCountry": "CH"
  },
  "contactPoint": {
    "@type": "ContactPoint",
    "telephone": "+41 44 123 45 67",
    "contactType": "customer service",
    "email": "contact@example.ch"
  },
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.linkedin.com/company/example",
    "https://www.youtube.com/@example"
  ]
}
</script>

Important:

• always set name, url and logo, otherwise RankScan treats the markup as missing,
• write description as one sentence: who you are and what you offer,
• keep @id stable,
• make the logo URL accessible,
• only include social profiles if they are official,
• address and phone are optional for Organization. If you set them, keep them up to date,
• details must match the visible company information.

Example: LocalBusiness with Address and Phone #

If you receive customers at a location, use the most specific matching subtype of LocalBusiness. For a hotel it looks like this:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Hotel",
  "@id": "https://hotel-example.ch/#hotel",
  "name": "Hotel Example",
  "description": "Hotel Example is a city hotel with 40 rooms next to Lucerne station.",
  "url": "https://hotel-example.ch/",
  "logo": "https://hotel-example.ch/assets/logo.png",
  "telephone": "+41 41 123 45 67",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "Pilatusstrasse 5",
    "postalCode": "6003",
    "addressLocality": "Lucerne",
    "addressCountry": "CH"
  }
}
</script>

Important:

• give address with street, postal code, town and country, as in your legal notice,
• write telephone in international format,
• mark up each location as its own dataset with its own address and phone number,
• without a location for customers, use OnlineStore or Organization instead of Store or LocalBusiness.

Questions and Answers: Not a Case for Markup #

The RankScan measures “No clear Q&A structure” and “Question headings without a direct answer” do not require any markup. They are editorial tasks in the visible text: a question as an H2 or H3 subheading, with the answer in the first sentences below it. The article on questions with direct answers explains both.

FAQPage markup is optional for this, not required. If you use it anyway, it must reflect the visible content. In its general guidelines, Google requires structured data to represent the visible page content.
Source: Google Search Central, General Structured Data Guidelines

FAQ Markup: A Realistic Classification #

FAQ markup was long a popular way to gain prominent FAQ rich results in Google. Today, this visibility is heavily restricted.

In August 2023, Google announced that FAQ rich results would only be shown for well-known, authoritative government and health websites.
Source: Google Search Central Blog, Changes to HowTo and FAQ rich results

Current Google documentation still describes FAQPage markup. However, structured data does not guarantee a rich result.
Source: Google Search Central, FAQPage Structured Data

What this means for you:

• FAQ markup is no longer a reliable CTRThe click-through rate (CTR) indicates how many users click a search result relative to the number of times it is shown (impressions). It reflects how appealing a listing appears in search.Open glossary entry → (click-through rate) lever.
• FAQ markup does not belong artificially on every page.
• For questions and answers in the text, no RankScan measure requires FAQPage markup. What matters is the question as a subheading and the direct answer below it.

Example: FAQPage with JSON-LD #

This example is optional. No RankScan measure requires FAQPage markup.

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What is Schema Markup?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Schema Markup is structured code that helps search engines understand the content of a web page clearly."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "Does FAQ markup guarantee a rich result?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "No. Structured data can qualify content for rich results, but it does not guarantee a display in Google."
      }
    }
  ]
}
</script>

Important:

• The questions and answers must be visible on the page.
• FAQPage is not suitable for forums with multiple user answers.
• For genuine question-and-answer communities, QAPage is more suitable.
• FAQ markup should not be abused as spam or as a keywordA keyword is the search term users enter into a search engine to find information, products or providers. Keywords are the basis against which rankings and visibility are measured.Open glossary entry → collection.

Schema.org defines FAQPage as a web page with one or more frequently asked questions and answers.
Source: Schema.org, FAQPage

The Most Important Schema Types by Page Type #

Not every page needs the same markup. The page type is what matters.

Google offers a gallery of supported structured-data types for Google Search. Not every Schema.org type creates a Google rich result.
Source: Google Search Central, Structured Data Gallery

Prioritization: Which Missing Schema Really Matters? #

Not every missing schema should be treated the same way. The following table is a general professional assessment. RankScan shows a single severity per measure: high for “Pages without structured data (JSON-LD)” and low for “Home page without Organization markup”.

The most important rule:

Prioritize Schema Markup where structured data represents real content: products, organization, locations, articles, FAQs, events and jobs.

Common Structured Data Mistakes #

Mistake 1: Markup Without Visible Content #

Structured data must not contain information that users cannot see or verify on the page.

Bad:

"aggregateRating": {
  "ratingValue": "5.0",
  "reviewCount": "128"
}

if no reviews are visible on the page.

Mistake 2: Wrong Schema Type #

Not every page is an Article, not every service page is an FAQPage, and not every company is automatically a LocalBusiness. A pure online shop is not a Store, but an OnlineStore.

Choose the schema type based on the actual content.

Mistake 3: Outdated or Incorrect Data #

Prices, opening hours, phone numbers, availability and reviews must be up to date.

Mistake 4: Syntax Errors in JSON-LD #

A missing comma can invalidate the entire markup.

Mistake 5: Markup Contradicts Canonical or Visible Content #

If JSON-LD contains a different URL, name or product data than the visible page, contradictory signals arise.

Mistake 6: Too Much Generic Markup #

“More schema” is not automatically better. Markup should describe real content, not be artificially inflated.

Content Error or Template Error? #

For RankScan, it is important to know whether missing schema affects only individual pages or an entire page type.

Content Error #

Examples:

• Author data is missing from one article.
• Product data is incomplete.
• Opening hours were not maintained.

Solution: Add the missing content or data field.

Template or CMS Error #

Examples:

• Product template does not output Product schema.
• Article schema is missing on all blog articles.
• Organization schema is not output anywhere.
• JSON-LD is only generated client-side.
• Wrong canonical URLThe canonical tag is an HTML link element that tells search engines the preferred (canonical) URL of a page. It helps consolidate duplicate or similar URLs onto a main version.Open glossary entry → is used in the schema.
• Multilingual setup creates inconsistent information.
• Reviews are output in JSON-LD although they are not visible in the template.

Solution: Fix the template, data model or plugin configuration.

What to Do After a RankScan Finding #

The steps of each measure are listed above with the measure. The following steps add professional background for “Pages without structured data (JSON-LD)” and “Home page without Organization markup”.

Step 1: Determine the Page Type #

First check whether the affected page is a:

• homepage,
• company page,
• product page,
• category,
• blog article,
• FAQ page,
• location page,
• event,
• job page.

The page type determines which schema makes sense.

Step 2: Evaluate Relevance #

Ask:

• Is the page indexableIndexing is the step in which a search engine processes crawled content and decides whether a URL is added to the search index. Only indexed pages can appear in search results.Open glossary entry →?
• Does it have organic impressionsImpressions indicate how often a website's search result was shown in Google Search, regardless of whether it was clicked. They are a core Google Search Console metric and reflect a page's raw visibility for given queries.Open glossary entry →?
• Is it commercially important?
• Does it contain structured information?
• Is there rich-result potential?
• Can the markup be implemented via template across multiple pages?

If a page needs no markup, for example a login, choose “Skip” for it in RankScan. From the next scan on, it no longer counts.

Step 3: Choose the Right Schema Type #

Examples:

Homepage → Organization + WebSite
Product page → Product + Offer
Blog article → Article or BlogPosting
FAQ page → FAQPage (optional)
Location page → LocalBusiness
Category → BreadcrumbList + CollectionPage

Step 4: Check the Data Source #

Structured data should not be invented manually. It should come from real data fields.

Check:

• title,
• description,
• URL,
• canonical,
• image,
• price,
• availability,
• author,
• date,
• address,
• phone,
• opening hours,
• FAQ questions and answers.

Step 5: Implement JSON-LD #

Implement JSON-LD as template-based markup wherever possible.

Important:

• output it in the HTML,
• align it with visible content,
• use absolute URLs,
• keep the canonical URL consistent,
• use suitable data fields for each page type.

Step 6: Validate #

Use:

• Google Rich Results Test,
• Schema Markup Validator,
• Google Search ConsoleGoogle Search Console (GSC) is a free Google tool that shows how a website performs in organic search, with data on impressions, clicks, click-through rate and average position, plus indexing and technical issues.Open glossary entry →.

The Google Rich Results Test checks whether a page is eligible for Google rich-result types. The Schema Markup Validator checks Schema.org markup more generally.
Sources: Google Rich Results Test, Schema Markup Validator

Then mark the measure as done. The next full crawl checks the affected pages. RankScan then reports “Fixed” or “Not fixed yet”.

What RankScan Measures and What a Good Schema Check Looks For #

In these two measures, RankScan measures exactly three things:

• whether a page contains a JSON-LD block at all, not whether the type matches,
• whether the home page has Organization markup with name, url and logo,
• whether a LocalBusiness markup on the home page has an address and a phone number.

The following list is a general checklist for a thorough review. RankScan does not check most of these points in these measures. A thorough structured-data check asks:

• is structured data completely missing?
• is Organization Schema missing?
• is JSON-LD syntactically valid?
• does the schema type match the page type?
• do schema URL and canonical match?
• are required fields for Google rich results present?
• are recommended fields present?
• are visible content and markup consistent?
• are prices, availability and reviews up to date?
• is there markup on noindex pages?
• are there duplicate or contradictory markups?
• does the issue affect individual pages or a template?
• are there differences between desktop, mobile and rendered HTML?

For these points, use the Rich Results Test, the Schema Markup Validator and Google Search Console.

Example: SaaS Website Without Organization and Article Schema #

Initial Situation #

A B2B SaaS company regularly publishes guide articles and has several product pages. RankScan reports:

“Pages without structured data (JSON-LD)”
“Home page without Organization markup”

Analysis #

• The homepage has no Organization schema.
• Blog articles have no JSON-LD, so no Article markupArticle and BlogPosting schema label editorial content such as blog posts or news in a structured way, providing context like title, author, date and image.Open glossary entry → either.
• Breadcrumbs are visible but not marked up as BreadcrumbList.

Solution #

1. Add Organization schema with name, URL, logo and description to the home page, with a stable @id.
2. Add Article schema to the blog article template.
3. Add BreadcrumbList to subpages.
4. Validate JSON-LD with the Rich Results Test and Schema Validator.
5. Mark both measures as done. The next full crawl checks them.

Result #

The website provides clearer machine-readable information about the company, articles and navigation. This does not guarantee better rankings, but it strengthens technical clarity and rich-result eligibility.

Checklist: Using Schema Markup Correctly #

Use this checklist:

• Is JSON-LD present on relevant page types?
• Does the schema type match the content?
• Do markup and visible content match?
• Do markup URL and canonical match?
• Is Organization Schema present and up to date?
• Are logo, name, URL, description and sameAssameAs is a Schema.org property that links an entity to reference pages confirming its identity, such as official profiles, Wikipedia or Wikidata. It serves disambiguation.Open glossary entry → correct?
• Receiving customers at a location: does the LocalBusiness markup have address and phone?
• Do articles have author, date, title and image?
• Do products have price, availability, image and brand?
• If you use FAQPage markup: are all questions and answers visible on the page?
• Is BreadcrumbList present on subpages?
• Are there no fake reviews in the markup?
• Are there no outdated prices or opening hours?
• Is JSON-LD valid?
• Was it tested with Google Rich Results Test?
• Was it tested with Schema Markup Validator?
• Did you mark the measure as done?

In addition, E-E-A-T, semantic HTML, Generative Engine Optimization and AI Readiness Score help narrow down the cause and prioritize the next SEO measures cleanly.

For further optimization, thin content and high-quality content are especially relevant because these topics are directly linked to how the page is evaluated and found.

Conclusion: Structured Data Makes Content Clearer #

Schema Markup is not a magic SEO lever. But it is an important technical signal for making content clearer, more consistent and more machine-readable.

The RankScan measures “Pages without structured data (JSON-LD)” and “Home page without Organization markup” show where the crawl found no JSON-LD block or no complete Organization markup. For a business with a location, the second measure also shows a missing address or phone number in the LocalBusiness markup. Whether an existing type matches is for you to check. Questions and answers, by contrast, you solve in the text, not in the markup.

The best approach for the markup is:

1. determine the page type,
2. assess relevance,
3. choose the right schema type,
4. use real data sources,
5. implement JSON-LD via templates,
6. align visible content and markup,
7. validate with Google Rich Results Test and Schema Validator,
8. mark the measure as done. The next full crawl checks it.

This turns structured data into a clean website-health process and makes your most important content easier for search engines, rich results and modern AI systems to understand.

Sources and Further Reading #

• Google Search Central, Introduction to structured data
• Google Search Central, Structured Data Gallery
• Google Search Central, General Structured Data Guidelines
• Google Search Central, FAQPage Structured Data
• Google Search Central Blog, Changes to HowTo and FAQ rich results
• Google Search Central, Organization
• Google Search Central, Local Business Structured Data
• Schema.org, Getting started
• Schema.org, Organization
• Schema.org, OnlineStore
• Schema.org, FAQPage
• Google Rich Results Test
• Schema Markup Validator