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BEACON Guide

Schema markup for SEO and AI search.

Structured data — usually JSON-LD — is how you tell Google and AI engines exactly what a page is: a product, an article, an FAQ, an organization. It powers rich results in search and makes your facts cleanly extractable for AI answers. Here’s what to add and why.

Updated · By the Beacon team

JSON-LD is the standardA small script in your <head> describing the page. Preferred by Google over microdata — easy to add, easy to maintain.
Organization & WebSiteEstablish your brand entity, logo and sitelinks search box — foundational for both SEO and AI.
Article & FAQArticle schema for content; FAQPage for Q&A blocks — both frequently surface in rich results and AI answers.
Product & OfferPrice, availability and AggregateRating let search and AI quote your commercial details accurately.
Why AI loves itModels extract structured facts far more reliably than prose — schema makes you quotable and citable.
Validate itUse Google’s Rich Results Test and Schema.org validator — invalid schema can be silently ignored.

Which schema types actually matter

You don’t need everything. Prioritise the types that match your content and unlock rich results:

  • Organization + WebSite — brand entity and search box
  • Article / BlogPosting — editorial content
  • FAQPage — Q&A sections (great for AI quoting)
  • Product + Offer + AggregateRating — commercial pages
  • BreadcrumbList — navigation context
  • LocalBusiness — for physical locations

How to add JSON-LD

Add a <script type="application/ld+json"> block to each page with the relevant schema. Keep it in sync with the visible content — schema that contradicts the page can be penalised or ignored. Most CMSs and frameworks can template this so it’s generated automatically per page type.

Schema and AI extractability

For AI search, schema is the difference between a model guessing your price or rating and reading it exactly. It’s one of the highest-leverage, lowest-risk GEO moves. Beacon’s free scan detects whether your pages expose JSON-LD and which types — so you know where you stand before you start.

FAQ

What is schema markup?

Structured data added to a page (usually as JSON-LD) that tells search engines and AI exactly what the content is — a product, article, FAQ, organization and so on.

Does schema improve rankings?

Schema itself isn’t a direct ranking factor, but it enables rich results and makes content machine-readable, which improves click-through and the odds of being cited in AI answers.

Which schema should I add first?

Start with Organization and WebSite for your brand, then add Article, FAQPage, or Product/Offer depending on your page type. Validate each with Google’s Rich Results Test.

How do I know if my pages have schema?

Run Beacon’s free AI Visibility check — it detects the JSON-LD types present on your homepage and flags pages missing structured data.

Keep reading

What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)? How to appear in Google AI Overviews. Free Perplexity Visibility Checker Free Gemini Visibility Checker

Check your structured data for free

See which schema types your site exposes — in seconds.