The 12 schema.org Types You Actually Need to Know
Article, Product, Organization, LocalBusiness, FAQPage, BreadcrumbList, and the rest — the 12 schema.org types worth learning, with a page-type-to-schema mapping.
TL;DR
schema.org defines 800+ types, but you really only use about a dozen. Here's which type goes with which page, and how to combine them.
The 12 types, in 4 groups
Group them into 4 buckets and they're easier to remember.
Site foundation (every site needs these)
These three belong on every site. They establish site identity and structure.
1. Organization
Defines the company or brand as a single entity. The rule is one per site. AI search consults this first when recognizing a brand.
{
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "E:LAB Studio",
"url": "https://elab-studio.xyz",
"logo": "https://elab-studio.xyz/logo.png"
}
2. WebSite
Represents the entire site as one object. Include a site SearchAction inside it and you can make Google show a search box for your site in the search results.
3. BreadcrumbList
Defines the page's path inside the site (the "breadcrumbs"). It makes the URL in search results display as "example.com › Category › Post" and helps AI search nail down page context.
Content pages
For pages where the main thing is content to read.
4. Article (or BlogPosting, NewsArticle)
Blog posts, press releases, articles. The core fields are headline, author, and datePublished. AI search uses these to cite and summarize with accurate authorship and dates.
5. FAQPage
A frequently-asked-questions page. This is the format AI answers cite most often, so the ROI is high. The answers must actually be visible on the page (detailed guide).
6. HowTo
Step-by-step guides (recipes, DIY, tutorials). Marking up each step's time, tools, and image surfaces rich step previews in search results.
Commerce pages
For purchase-intent pages.
7. Product
A page selling a product. offers (price, currency, stock) is the core. Price, stars, and availability appear directly in search results. If you're unsure when to use Product versus Article, see Product vs Article.
8. LocalBusiness
Physical storefronts (cafes, restaurants, clinics, salons). It's a subtype of Organization, so it covers both roles. Adds address, geo (coordinates), and openingHoursSpecification. Influences Google Maps and Naver Place.
Media and events
For specific content shapes.
9. VideoObject
When the page has a video. thumbnailUrl, uploadDate, duration are the core. The video thumbnail shows up in search results.
10. Event
Offline or online events (concerts, seminars, webinars, marathons). startDate, endDate, location, offers (tickets). Google surfaces these in an event carousel.
11. Recipe
Recipes. recipeIngredient, recipeInstructions, nutrition. Search results can show stars, cooking time, and calories. In the Korean market, this gets the most traction on Naver.
12. Course
Courses and educational content. provider, courseMode (online/offline). Surfaces in Google's course carousel.
Recommended combinations by page type
The most common page types and what to use. Every combination assumes Organization + WebSite are already in place sitewide.
| Page type | Recommended additions |
|---|---|
| Home / about | (foundation is enough) |
| Blog post | BlogPosting + BreadcrumbList (add FAQPage if there's an FAQ section) |
| News article | NewsArticle + BreadcrumbList |
| Product detail | Product + BreadcrumbList |
| Category page | BreadcrumbList + ItemList |
| Store info | LocalBusiness (replaces Organization) |
| FAQ page | FAQPage + BreadcrumbList |
| Course | Course + BreadcrumbList |
| Event | Event + BreadcrumbList |
| Video content | VideoObject + (matching type: Article/Recipe etc.) |
| Recipe | Recipe + BreadcrumbList (add VideoObject if there's a video) |
| HowTo guide | HowTo + BreadcrumbList |
Auto-generate vs hand-write — when to pick which
Most sites end up using both approaches in combination.
- Auto-generation is enough for —
Organization,WebSite,Article,Product,BreadcrumbList. URL + meta tags + OG tags + H1 give us enough to extract accurately. - Hand-writing is needed for —
FAQPage,HowTo,Recipe,Event,Course,VideoObject. Q&A items and step text are hard to extract reliably from page body.
The fastest path:
Paste a URL and we tell you what structured data is currently applied and what's missing, prioritized. One click from the recommendation jumps to auto-generation.
→ Free diagnostic — find out which schemas are missingDrop in the URL of a live page and we output 4 schemas bundled with @graph in one shot.
→ Auto-generate from URL (Org, WebSite, Article, Breadcrumb)For types that can't be auto-extracted, the form builder is the safe way to get them right.
→ Build with a form (11 types including FAQ, Recipe, HowTo)Wrapping up
Picking a schema type starts with one question: "what kind of content is this page?" Learn these 12 types and the page mapping table and you'll handle 99% of cases. When in doubt, go with the parent type (Article, Organization) — using a broader parent is safer than using the wrong child type (calling something NewsArticle when it's really a blog post).