The schema.org types businesses actually use, in plain English
Schema.org has hundreds of types, but most business websites need about a dozen. Each page here gives a one-line answer, what the type is for, the properties Google requires or recommends, a minimal valid example and the common mistakes, with links to schema.org and Google Search Central.
Checked against schema.org and Google Search Central in October 2026. To write or test markup, use the free schema.technology generator and validator.
Who you are
Your site and pages
What you publish and sell
Retired features and strict rules
At a glance
| Type | Google feature (October 2026) | Required by Google |
|---|---|---|
| Organization | Logo and knowledge panel details | Nothing required |
| LocalBusiness | Local business details | name, address |
| WebSite | Site name | name, url |
| WebPage | None (ProfilePage has one) | — |
| BreadcrumbList | Breadcrumb, desktop only | itemListElement; position, name, item |
| Article | Article | Nothing required |
| Product | Product snippet, merchant listing | name + offers, review or aggregateRating |
| Service | None | — |
| Person | Via author and ProfilePage | name (ProfilePage) |
| Event | Event | name, startDate, location |
| FAQPage | Retired May 2026 | — |
| HowTo | Retired September 2023 | — |
| Review / AggregateRating | Review snippet | author, reviewRating / ratingValue, ratingCount or reviewCount |
How these fit together
Most sites need a small connected graph: one Organization (or LocalBusiness) with a stable @id, one WebSite published by it, and a WebPage, Article or Product per page that points back to both. The lessons on Ontology Courses explain why search engines and AI assistants think in entities, and connecting entities with @id and sameAs shows how to wire the graph.