Schema markup
Schema markup is structured data based on the standardized schema.org vocabulary, added to a page's HTML so search engines can better understand its content. With schema markup, Google can show rich results in search, such as star ratings, product prices, FAQ answers, or breadcrumbs. Google recommends implementing it in JSON-LD format.
Schema markup directly affects how your website looks in search results—and therefore how many people click through to it. A number of studies document the impact of structured data on organic search performance:
- Rich results get significantly more clicks: Milestone Internet research analyzing 4.5 million search queries, 2.7 billion impressions, and 157 million clicks across 175 domains found that users click on rich results 58% of the time, compared with just 41% for standard organic results (Milestone Internet – SEO Click Curves Study)
- Real impact on CTR: Rotten Tomatoes added structured data to 100,000 pages and saw a 25% higher CTR than on pages without schema markup (Google Search Central – Intro to Structured Data)
- Adoption is growing, but most websites lag behind: according to the HTTP Archive Web Almanac 2024 (an analysis of nearly 17 million websites), only 41% of pages use JSON-LD. Yet 72.6% of pages on Google's first page have structured data implemented (HTTP Archive – Web Almanac 2024)
- A measurable effect even at a small scale: seoClarity tested adding FAQ schema and within two weeks saw CTR rise from 1.02% to 2.22%—more than double (seoClarity – FAQ Schema CTR Test)
FAQ
Which types of schema markup does Google currently support?
Google supports more than 30 types of structured data. The most widely used include Product (a product with price and availability), Review (star ratings), LocalBusiness (a local business), Article, Breadcrumb (breadcrumb navigation), and Organization (company information). In 2025, Google dropped support for some types, such as HowTo. You'll find the current list in the official Google Search Central documentation.
Does schema markup directly affect search rankings?
Google doesn't officially list structured data as a direct ranking factor. But schema markup helps indirectly: rich results increase CTR, and a higher click-through rate signals to search engines that a page is relevant. In the Milestone Internet study, the average CTR of rich results was 58%, which is 41% higher than for standard results.
How do I check whether schema markup is implemented correctly?
Google offers a free Rich Results Test that checks whether your structured data is valid and eligible for rich results. For ongoing monitoring, use the Enhancements reports in Google Search Console, which flag errors and show impression statistics for your rich results.
Sources:
- Milestone Internet – SEO Click Curves Study – analysis of 4.5M queries, 2.7B impressions, and 157M clicks across 175 domains
- Google Search Central – Intro to Structured Data – official documentation, including the Rotten Tomatoes case study
- HTTP Archive – Web Almanac 2024, Structured Data – annual analysis of nearly 17 million websites
- seoClarity – FAQ Schema CTR Test – controlled test of how FAQ schema affects CTR
%201.webp)