Schema Markup

Schema Markup

Schema markup is structured data vocabulary (from schema.org) embedded in web pages to make content machine-readable. In GEO, schema markup serves as a direct signal to AI retrieval systems, identifying what type of content a page contains, who created it, and how individual elements relate to each other. Pages with appropriate schema markup earn citations at significantly higher rates than pages without it because the AI system can parse content structure without inference.

Schema Types That Matter for GEO

  • FAQPage: Marks question-answer pairs explicitly. Pages with FAQPage schema earn approximately 3x the AI citation rate for question-based queries because each Q&A pair maps directly to potential fan-out sub-queries.
  • Article / NewsArticle: Identifies content type, author, publish date, and modification date. The dateModified field is critical for content freshness signals.
  • DefinedTerm: Marks glossary definitions, making them directly parseable as atomic propositions. Ideal for glossary entries and definition paragraphs.
  • Person: Links author credentials to content, strengthening E-E-A-T signals. Author schema connecting to LinkedIn profiles and other publications builds expertise signals.
  • Organization: Establishes entity identity in the knowledge graph. Complete organization schema helps AI systems resolve your brand correctly during aspect resolution.
  • HowTo: Structures procedural content into discrete steps, each extractable as an independent passage for retrieval.

Implementation Best Practices

Use JSON-LD format (recommended by Google) rather than microdata or RDFa. Validate all markup using Google’s Rich Results Test. Do not add schema that does not match the actual page content, as inconsistency between markup and visible content degrades trust signals. Prioritize FAQPage and Article schema first, as these have the most documented impact on AI citation rates. Add DefinedTerm schema to glossary entries for maximum machine readability.

For the complete technical optimization framework, see the Generative Engine Optimization guide.

Related: FAQPage Schema · JSON-LD · DefinedTerm Schema · E-E-A-T