Agent skill

schema-markup

Structured data implementation, validation, and optimization. Covers JSON-LD patterns for 20+ schema types, rich snippet eligibility, AI search visibility, Knowledge Graph optimization, and CMS-specific deployment guides.

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tags
seo schema structured-data json-ld rich-snippets knowledge-graph
author
borghei
updated
1774915200
version
1.0.0
category
marketing-growth

SKILL.md

Schema Markup Implementation

Production-grade structured data implementation covering 20+ schema types, rich result eligibility rules, AI search optimization, and CMS-specific deployment patterns. Handles auditing existing markup, implementing new schema, and fixing validation errors.

Table of Contents

  • Operating Modes
  • Schema Type Selection Matrix
  • Implementation Patterns
  • Rich Result Eligibility Rules
  • AI Search Optimization
  • Knowledge Graph Strategy
  • CMS Deployment Guide
  • Validation and Testing
  • Common Errors and Fixes
  • Audit Framework
  • Output Artifacts
  • Related Skills

Operating Modes

Mode 1: Audit Existing Markup

  1. Extract all JSON-LD blocks from the page source
  2. Validate required vs recommended fields per schema type
  3. Cross-reference with Google's current rich result requirements
  4. Score completeness 0-100 per schema block
  5. Deliver prioritized fix list with corrected JSON-LD

Mode 2: Implement New Schema

  1. Identify page type and matching schema types
  2. Select primary + supporting schema combination
  3. Generate complete, copy-paste-ready JSON-LD populated with page content
  4. Advise on placement method (inline head, CMS plugin, server-side rendering)
  5. Test before deployment

Mode 3: Fix Validation Errors

  1. Map Google Search Console errors to specific fields
  2. Identify root cause (missing field, wrong format, content mismatch)
  3. Deliver corrected JSON-LD with change log
  4. Explain the fix to prevent recurrence

Schema Type Selection Matrix

Primary Schema by Page Type

Page Type Primary Schema Supporting Schema Rich Result Type
Homepage Organization WebSite + SearchAction Sitelinks search box
Blog post Article BreadcrumbList, Person (author), ImageObject Article card
How-to guide HowTo Article, BreadcrumbList, ImageObject How-to steps
FAQ page FAQPage BreadcrumbList FAQ dropdowns
Product page Product Offer, AggregateRating, Review, BreadcrumbList Product card
Local business LocalBusiness OpeningHoursSpecification, GeoCoordinates, PostalAddress Local pack
Video page VideoObject Article (if embedded) Video card
Category page CollectionPage BreadcrumbList, ItemList --
Event page Event Organization, Place, Offer Event listing
Recipe Recipe NutritionInformation, AggregateRating Recipe card
Course Course Organization, Offer Course listing
Software/App SoftwareApplication Offer, AggregateRating Software card
Job posting JobPosting Organization, Place Job listing
Review page Review Product or LocalBusiness, Rating Review snippet
Podcast episode PodcastEpisode PodcastSeries, Person Podcast card
Author page Person sameAs links Knowledge Panel
Company page Organization sameAs links, ContactPoint Knowledge Panel
Breadcrumb trail BreadcrumbList -- Breadcrumb rich result
Site navigation SiteNavigationElement -- --
Dataset Dataset DataCatalog Dataset search

Stacking Rules

Always add:

  • BreadcrumbList to any non-homepage if breadcrumbs exist on the page
  • Organization to the homepage (site-wide identity)

Common valid stacks:

  • Article + BreadcrumbList + Person + ImageObject (blog posts)
  • Product + Offer + AggregateRating + BreadcrumbList (product pages)
  • LocalBusiness + OpeningHoursSpecification + GeoCoordinates + Review (local pages)
  • HowTo + Article + BreadcrumbList + ImageObject (guides)

Never combine:

  • Product on a page that does not sell a product (Google penalizes misuse)
  • Multiple Organization blocks for the same entity (combine into one)
  • FAQPage on pages where the Q&A is not visible to users

Implementation Patterns

JSON-LD Format (Always Use This)

JSON-LD is the only format worth implementing. Google recommends it, it lives in the <head>, and it does not touch your HTML markup. Microdata and RDFa are legacy -- do not use them for new implementations.

Placement

html
<head>
  <script type="application/ld+json">
  {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "Article",
    "headline": "Your Article Title",
    "author": {
      "@type": "Person",
      "name": "Author Name",
      "url": "https://example.com/authors/name",
      "sameAs": ["https://linkedin.com/in/name", "https://twitter.com/name"]
    },
    "datePublished": "2026-01-15",
    "dateModified": "2026-03-01",
    "image": "https://example.com/images/article-hero.jpg",
    "publisher": {
      "@type": "Organization",
      "name": "Company Name",
      "logo": {
        "@type": "ImageObject",
        "url": "https://example.com/logo.png"
      }
    }
  }
  </script>
</head>

Multiple <script type="application/ld+json"> blocks per page are valid. Use separate blocks for unrelated schema types. Nest related types within one block.

Scope Rules

Scope Schema Placement
Site-wide Organization, WebSite + SearchAction Homepage template header
Per-page Article, Product, HowTo, FAQPage Page-specific head injection
Per-element BreadcrumbList Every non-homepage
Conditional Event, JobPosting Only on pages with that content type

Rich Result Eligibility Rules

Google does not give rich results for all valid schema. These are the current requirements (as of 2026):

Article Rich Result

Field Required Notes
headline Yes Must match visible page title
image Yes Must be crawlable, min 1200px wide
datePublished Yes ISO 8601 format
dateModified Recommended Must be >= datePublished
author.name Yes Must match a real person or organization
author.url Recommended Links to author page
publisher.name Yes
publisher.logo Yes Max 600x60px

Product Rich Result

Field Required Notes
name Yes Product name
image Yes Product photo
offers.price Yes Numeric value
offers.priceCurrency Yes ISO 4217 code
offers.availability Recommended Use schema.org/InStock etc.
aggregateRating.ratingValue Recommended Numeric
aggregateRating.reviewCount Recommended Integer
review Recommended At least 1 review

FAQPage Rich Result

Field Required Notes
mainEntity Yes Array of Question items
Question.name Yes The question text
Question.acceptedAnswer.text Yes The answer text
Visible on page Yes Q&A must be visible to users, not hidden

HowTo Rich Result

Field Required Notes
name Yes Title of the how-to
step Yes Array of HowToStep items
step.name Yes Step title
step.text Yes Step description
image Recommended Per-step or overall
totalTime Recommended ISO 8601 duration

AI Search Optimization

AI search systems (Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, ChatGPT Search, Bing Copilot) use structured data for content understanding, citation decisions, and entity recognition.

Why Schema Matters for AI Search

  1. Content type classification -- AI systems use @type to determine if content is a how-to, product listing, FAQ, or opinion piece
  2. Citation eligibility -- FAQPage and HowTo schema increase citation likelihood because AI systems can extract structured Q&A and step-by-step content directly
  3. Freshness signals -- datePublished and dateModified help AI systems filter by recency
  4. Authority signals -- author with sameAs links to known profiles boosts entity recognition
  5. Entity connection -- Organization with sameAs links to Wikidata, LinkedIn, and social profiles strengthens entity resolution

AI Search Schema Playbook

Action Priority Impact
Add FAQPage schema to any page with Q&A content (even 3 questions) High Direct citation in AI answers
Add author Person schema with sameAs to LinkedIn, Twitter, Google Scholar High Author entity recognition
Add Organization with sameAs to Wikidata, LinkedIn, Crunchbase High Brand entity recognition
Keep dateModified accurate on every content update Medium Freshness filtering
Add HowTo schema to process/tutorial content Medium Step-by-step citation
Add SoftwareApplication schema to tool/product pages Medium Product recognition in AI answers

Knowledge Graph Strategy

Getting into Google's Knowledge Graph means your entity (person, company, product) is recognized and displayed in panels, AI answers, and cross-referenced searches.

Knowledge Graph Entry Requirements

  1. Wikidata entry -- Create or claim your entity on Wikidata.org
  2. Wikipedia presence -- A Wikipedia article dramatically increases KG entry probability
  3. Consistent NAP -- Name, Address, Phone must be identical across all citations
  4. sameAs network -- Organization schema must link to all official profiles

sameAs Best Practices

json
{
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Your Company",
  "url": "https://yourcompany.com",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12345678",
    "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Your_Company",
    "https://www.linkedin.com/company/yourcompany",
    "https://twitter.com/yourcompany",
    "https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/yourcompany",
    "https://github.com/yourcompany"
  ]
}

Order of importance for sameAs links:

  1. Wikidata (strongest entity signal)
  2. Wikipedia
  3. LinkedIn
  4. Official social profiles
  5. Industry directories (Crunchbase, G2, Capterra)

CMS Deployment Guide

WordPress

  • Yoast SEO / Rank Math: Auto-generate Article, Organization, BreadcrumbList. Add custom schema via their blocks for HowTo and FAQPage.
  • Custom schema: Add via wp_head action hook or a custom plugin.
  • Avoid: Plugins that inject schema via JavaScript (Google may not render it).

Webflow

  • Per-page: Add custom code in page settings > Custom Code > Head
  • CMS-driven: Use Webflow CMS to generate dynamic JSON-LD via embedded code blocks with CMS field references
  • Site-wide: Add Organization schema in Project Settings > Custom Code > Head

Shopify

  • Product schema: Auto-generated by most themes. Verify it includes Offer and AggregateRating.
  • Article/Blog schema: Usually missing -- add manually via theme.liquid or a schema app.
  • Organization: Add to theme.liquid <head> section.

Next.js / Custom React

  • Server-side rendering: Generate JSON-LD in the page component and render in <Head>.
  • next-seo library: Provides schema components for common types.
  • Dynamic pages: Generate schema from your data layer, not hardcoded.

Static sites (Hugo, Jekyll, Gatsby)

  • Template-level: Add JSON-LD to layout templates using template variables.
  • Per-page: Use frontmatter data to populate schema fields dynamically.

Google Tag Manager (GTM)

  • Warning: GTM-injected schema is often NOT indexed by Google because it renders client-side after JavaScript execution.
  • Use only when: No other option exists (no CMS access, no dev resources).
  • Better alternative: Server-side injection via CMS or template engine.

Validation and Testing

Three-Layer Validation

Test every schema implementation with all three tools before deployment:

Tool URL What It Checks
Google Rich Results Test search.google.com/test/rich-results Google's parser, rich result eligibility
Schema.org Validator validator.schema.org Full spec compliance (broader than Google)
Google Search Console Enhancements section Real-world errors at scale, post-deployment

Validation Workflow

  1. Pre-deployment: Rich Results Test + Schema.org Validator on the rendered HTML
  2. Post-deployment (day 1): Check page is crawled via URL Inspection tool in GSC
  3. Post-deployment (week 2-4): Check Enhancements section in GSC for errors at scale
  4. Ongoing (monthly): Monitor GSC Enhancements for new errors from content updates

Common Errors and Fixes

Error Root Cause Fix
Missing @context Schema block has no context declaration Add "@context": "https://schema.org"
Missing required field A required property is absent Add the field with real content from the page
image URL is relative /image.jpg instead of absolute URL Use https://example.com/image.jpg
dateModified < datePublished Impossible date relationship Ensure dateModified >= datePublished
Markup does not match page content Schema claims content not visible to users Only add schema for content actually on the page
Deprecated property Using old schema.org property names Check current spec at schema.org
Nested type conflict Product inside Article incorrectly Keep types flat or use proper @graph nesting
Date format wrong Not ISO 8601 Use "2026-01-15" or "2026-01-15T10:30:00Z"
Empty string values "name": "" passes syntax but fails semantics Use real values, never empty strings
Array expected, single value given mainEntity needs array for FAQPage Wrap in [] array brackets
Logo too large Publisher logo exceeds 600x60px Resize or use a different logo format
GTM injection not indexed Client-side rendering Move to server-side <head> injection

Audit Framework

Audit Scorecard (0-100)

Dimension Weight Scoring
Required fields present 40% -10 per missing required field
Recommended fields present 15% -3 per missing recommended field
Rich result eligibility 20% Binary: eligible or not
Content-markup match 15% -5 per mismatch between schema and visible content
sameAs and entity signals 10% -5 per missing major platform link

Priority Classification

Priority Criteria Action
P0 Critical Required field missing, blocks rich result Fix immediately
P1 High Recommended field missing, reduces eligibility Fix this week
P2 Medium Content mismatch, deprecated property Fix this month
P3 Low Missing sameAs link, optional enhancement Add when convenient

Output Artifacts

Artifact Format Description
Schema Audit Report Scored table Per-page schema inventory, completeness score, priority fixes
JSON-LD Implementation Copy-paste code blocks Complete schema for each page type, populated with placeholder values marked clearly
Error Fix Log Before/after JSON-LD Each fix explained with root cause and prevention
AI Search Gap Analysis Recommendation table Missing entity markup, FAQPage opportunities, sameAs gaps
CMS Implementation Guide Step-by-step instructions Platform-specific deployment instructions
Rich Result Eligibility Matrix Page type x schema x eligibility Which pages qualify for which rich result types

Related Skills

  • seo-audit -- For full technical and content SEO audits spanning beyond structured data. Use when the problem is broader than schema.
  • site-architecture -- For URL structure and navigation. Use when architecture is the root cause, not schema.
  • programmatic-seo -- For sites with thousands of pages that need schema at scale. Schema patterns feed into pSEO template design.
  • content-creator -- For content creation. Use before implementing Article schema to ensure content quality.

Troubleshooting

Problem Likely Cause Fix
Schema passes validation but no rich results appear Missing required fields for rich result eligibility, or Google has not recrawled Verify against Google Rich Results Test (not just schema.org validator); request reindexing via GSC
FAQPage schema not generating FAQ dropdowns Questions not visible to users on the page, or site lacks sufficient authority Ensure Q&A content is visible in page HTML, not hidden behind tabs or JS toggles
Product schema shows "missing field" warnings in GSC Required fields (price, availability, review) absent or malformed Add all required Product + Offer fields; use ISO 4217 for currency, schema.org/InStock for availability
GTM-injected schema not being indexed Client-side rendering — Google may not execute GTM JavaScript for schema Move schema from GTM to server-side <head> injection; GTM schema is unreliable for indexing
dateModified older than datePublished Data entry error or CMS auto-populating incorrectly Ensure dateModified >= datePublished; audit CMS date field logic
Multiple conflicting Organization blocks Different plugins or templates injecting separate Organization schema Consolidate into a single Organization block on the homepage; remove duplicates
Schema validated but Google shows "content mismatch" Schema claims content not actually visible to users on the page Only add schema for content physically present on the page — never fake or hidden content

Success Criteria

  • Rich result eligibility: 100% of content pages with appropriate schema types eligible for rich results per Google Rich Results Test
  • Validation pass rate: Zero errors in Google Search Console Enhancements reports across all schema types
  • Rich result CTR boost: Structured data pages achieving 20-35% higher CTR than non-structured pages (2026 benchmark from SearchPilot testing)
  • AI citation impact: FAQPage and HowTo schema present on all informational content pages to maximize AI extraction
  • Entity recognition: Organization schema with 5+ sameAs links deployed site-wide; brand appearing in Knowledge Graph
  • Coverage breadth: Schema implemented on 95%+ of indexable pages (BreadcrumbList minimum, content-specific types on relevant pages)
  • Freshness accuracy: dateModified updated within 24 hours of every content change across all Article schema

Scope & Limitations

In scope:

  • Schema type selection and JSON-LD implementation for 20+ schema types
  • Rich result eligibility verification and optimization
  • AI search visibility through structured data
  • Knowledge Graph entity optimization
  • Schema validation, testing, and error resolution
  • CMS-specific deployment guidance (WordPress, Webflow, Shopify, Next.js)

Out of scope:

  • Content creation for schema-eligible pages (use Content Production)
  • Technical SEO beyond structured data (use SEO Audit)
  • Microdata or RDFa implementations (JSON-LD only — Google's recommendation)
  • Custom schema.org extensions or vocabulary proposals
  • Server-side rendering implementation
  • CMS plugin development

Known limitations:

  • Google does not guarantee rich results even with valid schema — authority and content quality also factor in
  • GTM-injected schema is frequently not indexed — server-side deployment is required for reliability
  • Schema.org spec updates faster than Google's support — not all valid types generate rich results
  • Rich result types can be deprecated with minimal notice (e.g., HowTo rich results were restricted in 2023)
  • Structured data CTR impact varies by industry and SERP features present

Scripts

bash
# Validate JSON-LD schema from a file or URL
python scripts/schema_validator.py --file schema.json --json

# Audit a page for schema coverage and completeness
python scripts/schema_validator.py --html page.html --verbose

# Generate JSON-LD templates for common page types
python scripts/schema_generator.py --type Article --title "My Post" --author "Jane" --json

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