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Class 24 - Schema Data Part 2
| FREE Advanced SEO Course 2026

Watch the Full Video : Schema Data Part 1

> How Many Types of Schema Can You Add on One Page ?

The main question this class answers: On a single web page, how many types of schema markup can/should you add?

Answer: You can add multiple types of schema on the same page. More schema types (when relevant) = better content understanding by Google = better ranking chances.

3 Ways to Implement Schema

  1. Plugin/Theme — easiest, beginner-friendly
  2. Manual implementation — direct code editing
  3. Google Tag Manager (GTM) — covered later, once GTM itself is studied

Case Study — Finding Schema Types for a News Article

Example used: A Hindustan Times news article about a volcano eruption in Ethiopia.

Step-by-Step Logic to Identify Schema Types

  1. Article / NewsArticle
  • Every article page needs Article-type schema.
  • Article schema has 3 sub-types:
    • Article (general)
    • NewsArticle (breaking/recent news)
    • BlogPosting (blog content)
  • Rule of thumb: If the content is time-sensitive/recent news → use NewsArticle. If content is evergreen (like “benefits of jaggery and chana” — true 10, 20, 50 years ago and still true) → use Article, not NewsArticle.
  1. Organization
  • If the publisher (e.g., Hindustan Times) is a known/authoritative brand, add Organization schema.
  • Helps Google associate the content with a credible, authoritative source → improves ranking chances.
  1. Image
  • If the page has an image, add Image schema.
  1. Video
  • If the page has a video, add VideoObject schema.
  1. Breadcrumb
  • If the URL has a clear folder/category structure (e.g., site.com/world-news/article-name), add Breadcrumb schema.
  1. LocalBusiness (conditional)
  • Add only if a specific local business is mentioned on the page — even if the page isn’t promoting that business.
  • Key concept: Schema is not for promotion. It’s for explaining page content to search engines. If something is mentioned on the page (breadcrumb, business, person), you can add schema for it — you’re not “advertising” it.
  1. Person (conditional)
  • Add if a known/notable person is involved or mentioned in the story.
  1. MedicalWebPage (conditional example)
  • Used only if the article covers a medical topic (hypothetical second article example about pollution-related health issues).

How to Verify Which Schema Types Are Actually Usable

  1. Go to Google’s “Structured Data Markup that Google Search Supports” page — lists all schema types Google shows as rich results.
  2. If a type isn’t listed there (e.g., MedicalWebPage), it doesn’t mean it’s invalid — it just means Google won’t show a rich result for it, even though Google still reads/understands it (since schema.org itself is built by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Yandex together).
  3. Check schema.org directly for the full official structure/example of any schema type (use JSON-LD format — most supported by Google).

Final Decision Rule

  • Prioritize schema types that:
    • Are core to the page (NewsArticle)
    • Are visible in search results (Breadcrumb, Video)
    • Add authority (Organization)
  • Skip types that don’t apply to the page (e.g., no image shown in search → skip Image; no local business mentioned → skip LocalBusiness).
  • Golden rule: Something is better than nothing — even one schema type (e.g., NewsArticle only) is fine if that’s all you can manage. But more relevant types = stronger signal to Google.
  • Adding schema, canonical tags, noindex/nofollow, hreflang etc. doesn’t directly improve your content. It helps Google understand your content better, and Google rewards that with better rankings.

Breadcrumb Schema — Deep Dive

What Is a Breadcrumb Schema?

Represents the path a user takes to reach a page (e.g., Home > World News > Article).

Common Mistake (Made by ~80–90% of Websites)

  • Testing with Google’s Rich Results Test tool may show “no errors” — but that doesn’t mean it’s built correctly per best practice.

Official Rule (from Google's Breadcrumb documentation)

“It is not required to include a breadcrumb list item for the top-level path.”

  • Never include the homepage as an item in breadcrumb schema (no URL, no name for homepage).
  • Never add a URL for the current/last page in the breadcrumb list — only add its name, because the user is already on that page.
  • Most plugins/CMS tools ignore this rule and still add the homepage — Google doesn’t penalize this, but it’s not best practice.
  • Homepage itself should NOT have a breadcrumb schema at all (no crumb to follow — you’re already there).

How to Build Breadcrumb Schema (Example Logic)

For URL: hindustantimes.com/world-news/ethiopia/article-name

  1. Item 1: Name = “World News”, URL = …/world-news
  2. Item 2: Name = “Ethiopia”, URL = …/world-news/ethiopia
  3. Item 3 (current page): Name = article title, no URL

Multiple Breadcrumb Paths

  • If one article is reachable via two different category paths, you can create two separate Breadcrumb schemas. Both are valid and Google can use either.

FAQ Schema

Structure

  • Simple: just Question + Answer pairs.

Current Status

  • Google has restricted FAQ rich results for most websites because of overuse/abuse (same FAQ block repeated across hundreds/thousands of pages).
  • Still usable for: Medical websites, Government websites (though govt sites rarely do active SEO).

Rule to Avoid Penalty

  • You can repeat the same FAQ content across many pages — that’s fine.
  • But only add FAQ schema markup on ONE page, not on every page where the FAQ text appears.
  • Reason: Schema is like a blind man’s stick for Google — overuse/misuse creates trust issues for Google’s systems.

LocalBusiness Schema — Deep Dive

Who Should Use It?

  • Useful for Local SEO.
  • Also useful for any page mentioning a local business — e.g., citation sites, directories, link/backlink exchange pages (adds credibility/value to the mention).

Basic Fields

Field

Notes

@type

Choose most specific type (e.g., Hospital, Dentist); use “LocalBusiness” if nothing fits

name

Exact business name as used publicly

url

Website URL

image

Logo/image URL

id

Often same as URL for simplicity (technically should be a URI)

telephone

Phone number

priceRange

Symbolic only ($, $$, $$$) — Google doesn’t weigh this heavily

address

Must exactly match Google Maps listing

latitude/longitude

   Must be 100% accurate (copy from Google Maps share link)

openingHours

Use 24/7 OR set day-by-day opening/closing times

sameAs

All social media + other profile links (from previous class)

department

Only relevant for large businesses (universities, big hospitals)

Supercharging LocalBusiness Schema (Advanced Fields)

These properties aren’t in basic generator tools — add them manually:

  1. foundingDate — e.g., “1998”
  2. disambiguatingDescription — what makes this business different from competitors (can include target keywords naturally)
  3. paymentAccepted — e.g., Credit Card, Debit Card, UPI
  4. areaServed (Service Area)
    • Add multiple cities/states as a list.
    • Each entry: @type: City, name, and @id (use an authoritative URL — Wikipedia page or another high-ranking page for that city).
    • Removes ambiguity about which city/place you mean.
  5. founder (Person schema nested inside)
    • Fields: name, description (can include target keywords), url, image, jobTitle, worksFor (organization), gender, sameAs (social profiles)
    • Multiple founders = repeat the whole block.
    • Purpose: Builds semantic connections (helps in Semantic SEO — covered in a later class).

General Principle

  • Don’t worry about schema length — 200–300+ words of schema is fine.
  • More structured, connected data = better semantic understanding by Google = better rankings + more accurate audience targeting.
  • Learn the properties (name, address, priceRange, areaServed, founder, worksFor, etc.) through practice. They become second nature over time.

Person Schema

Basic Fields

  • name
  • url (personal website)
  • image
  • sameAs (social profiles)
  • jobTitle
  • worksFor → nested Organization (@type, name)

Key Insight

  • The same nested structures (like worksFor) used inside “founder” earlier are reusable in standalone Person schema — schema.org properties work consistently across contexts.

Summary — Key Takeaways

  • Multiple schema types can and often should be used on one page.
  • Match schema types to what’s actually present/mentioned on the page — not for promotion, but for explanation.
  • Cross-check schema types against Google’s supported list to know which will show rich results; check schema.org for full technical structure.
  • Breadcrumb: never include homepage; never add URL for current page.
  • FAQ: only mark up once per unique FAQ set, even if content is reused across pages.
  • LocalBusiness / Person: basic tool-generated schema is just a starting point — manually add advanced properties (foundingDate, disambiguatingDescription, paymentAccepted, areaServed, founder, sameAs) to “supercharge” it.
  • Still pending (next class): Product schema + wrap-up of leftover topics.

Next Class Preview

  • Product schema type
  • Final wrap-up of Schema Data topic (Class 3)