Schema markup is a vocabulary of code labels you add to your website that tells search engines exactly what your content means. Without it, search engines have to guess. With it, you are handing them a clean, structured summary they can confidently use to display rich results, populate Google's Knowledge Graph, and cite you in AI Overviews. This guide explains schema in plain English, with real examples and a 4-minute WordPress install.
When you publish a recipe, search engines see paragraphs of text. They have to guess which lines are the title, which are the ingredients, which are the steps, and how long it cooks. Schema markup lets you label each piece directly:
namecookTimerecipeIngredientaggregateRatingThe result: Google can show your recipe with a star rating, cook time, and image directly in search results - instead of a plain blue link. That is schema markup.
In 2011, Google, Bing, Yahoo, and Yandex jointly launched Schema.org - a shared vocabulary for marking up content. It was the first time the major search engines agreed on how websites should signal meaning. Today Schema.org defines over 800 entity types (Article, Product, Person, Event, Recipe, LocalBusiness, etc.) and thousands of properties.
Schema markup can be written three ways:
<script> tag with structured data, kept apart from your visible HTML. Easiest to maintain. Google's preferred format.itemtype, itemprop). Works but mixes content and metadata.Use JSON-LD. Every modern WordPress schema plugin generates JSON-LD - it is the standard.
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "What Is Schema Markup?",
"author": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Jane Doe"
},
"datePublished": "2026-04-14",
"image": "https://example.com/featured.jpg"
}
</script>That tiny block tells Google: this is an article, the headline is X, written by Jane Doe, published on April 14 2026, with this image. Multiply that across an entire site and search engines understand your content the way you do.
For a deep dive on each, see our Complete Guide to Schema Types.
Three options, fastest first:
wp_head.For 99% of sites, option 1 is correct. See our step-by-step WordPress schema setup guide.
Two essential tools:
Paste any URL into either, and you will see exactly what schema items are detected and any warnings to fix.
Almost. "Structured data" is the broader concept; schema markup specifically refers to the Schema.org vocabulary. In practice, the terms are used interchangeably.
Indirectly. Schema does not have its own ranking signal, but it enables rich results and AI citations, which drive higher CTR and traffic - both of which Google factors into rankings.
Yes. Every page should have at least the basic schema for its content type (Article, Product, LocalBusiness, etc.). Modern plugins do this automatically.
JSON-LD is a separate script tag with structured data - easier to maintain and Google's preferred format. Microdata embeds attributes inside HTML elements. Use JSON-LD.
If you write JSON-LD by hand, yes. If you use a plugin, no - most plugins require zero coding. Pick a plugin.
Plugin-generated schema persists through theme changes (it's added at the WordPress level, not the theme). Theme-specific schema (like Astra's built-in schema) does break - another reason to use a dedicated plugin.
How to Rank in Google AI Overviews - Why Schema Markup Matters for SEO - How to Add Schema to WordPress - Schema.org Vocabulary
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