What is B2B schema markup?
Schema markup is a set of labels that tells search engines what a page is about, in a format they can read directly. The labels come from Schema.org, a shared vocabulary launched in 2011 by Bing, Google and Yahoo!. Yandex joined later that year. As of June 2026 it covers more than 823 types.
For a B2B site, the types that matter most describe the company (Organization), the services (Service), the articles (Article or BlogPosting), the page path (BreadcrumbList) and the questions on the page (FAQPage). Google also maintains a Knowledge Graph, a knowledge base it uses to enhance search results, and clear entity markup helps it connect your company to the right facts.
Schema.org and JSON-LD
Schema.org defines the labels. JSON-LD is the format used to write them. It is a script block in the page that holds the data apart from the visible HTML. JSON-LD became a W3C Recommendation in 2014.
Google recommends JSON-LD "if your site's setup allows it". It also accepts Microdata and RDFa, as long as the markup is valid.
Does schema markup still help B2B sites in 2026?
Schema does not guarantee rankings. What it does is make your entities clear, so Google can connect the right facts to the right company.
Google's Organization guidance says structured data "can help Google better understand your organization's administrative details". It also says the markup can help "disambiguate your organization in search results". For a B2B firm with a common name, that is the main reason to add it.
What Google says schema can do
Google's rule is that markup must describe content users can see. Its introduction guide says not to "add structured data about information that is not visible to the user", even when the information is accurate.
Eligibility for a rich result also depends on the required properties for that feature. Google's guidance says complete, accurate recommended properties matter more than many sparse or inaccurate ones.
Where vendor claims go too far
Many schema guides quote click-through and ranking uplifts. Most of these figures have no primary source, or come from software vendors who sell schema tools. The second-ranked page for this query, from a schema vendor, features a 400% growth figure from one SAP case study. Treat that as marketing, not evidence.
Schema is a clarity signal. The Rich Results Test shows whether your markup is valid for the features Google supports. It does not predict whether you will rank, and some guides that say schema improves visibility in AI search cite no source at all.
Which schema types should a B2B services site use?
Use Organization on the homepage, Service on service pages, Article on articles and BreadcrumbList on inner pages, and leave FAQPage out of the search strategy. The table below gives the detail. The Google column reflects Google's own documentation as checked in October 2026.
- Service (service pages)
- Article (articles)
- BreadcrumbList (inner pages)
- Person (author)
- FAQPage (no rich result)
| Page | Schema type | What it tells search engines | What Google shows (October 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homepage and About | Organization | The company name, website, logo and profile links | Used for organisation details and the logo. No standalone rich result |
| Service pages | Service | The provider, service type, audience and area served | A clarity signal. Google does not display a service rich result |
| Articles and guides | Article or BlogPosting | Headline, image, publish and update dates, author | Used for article details. Google lists no required properties |
| Inner pages | BreadcrumbList | The page's position in the site path | Breadcrumb trail in search results on desktop |
| Question and answer blocks | FAQPage | The questions and answers that appear on the page | No FAQ rich result. Google removed it in 2026 |
Organization on the homepage
Put Organization on the homepage. Include the name, url, logo, sameAs (links to profiles on other sites, such as LinkedIn or Google Business Profile) and contactPoint. Google lists no required Organization properties, so add only the ones you can verify.
Service on each service page
Use the Service type on every service page. Schema.org defines a service as "a service provided by an organization". The useful properties are provider, serviceType, areaServed, audience and offers.
Set provider to point at your Organization. That way the service and the company describe the same business, not two unrelated ones.
Article and BlogPosting on articles
Google supports Article, NewsArticle and BlogPosting for article markup. The recommended properties are headline, image, datePublished, dateModified and author. Keep dateModified accurate. A date that changes without a change to the content misleads readers, and it undermines the markup.
Naming a real author with Person markup helps readers judge who wrote the page. Google's helpful content guidance covers expertise, experience, authoritativeness and trust, and says "Of these aspects, trust is most important." It also says "We strongly encourage adding accurate authorship information, such as bylines to content where readers might expect it." Accurate is the operative word: the author named in the markup must be the author shown on the page.
BreadcrumbList on inner pages
Google needs at least two ListItem entries in a BreadcrumbList. The last item can leave out the item URL. Google advises building the trail around the paths users take, not copying every folder in the URL.
FAQPage: what changed in 2026
This is the biggest change to FAQ advice in recent years. Google's FAQ documentation carried a deprecation notice from 8 May 2026, and the page was removed on 15 June 2026. FAQ rich results no longer appear in Google Search. Several guides that still rank for this query, including the vendor page in second place, continue to recommend FAQ markup for search listings.
FAQPage markup is still valid schema.org, so nothing needs to be removed for technical reasons. Keep an FAQ block where it helps readers, and do not expect a dropdown of questions in search results. Organization, Service, Article, BreadcrumbList and Person markup remain valid and useful, but FAQPage no longer earns a search feature.
Which schema types should you skip?
Skip any type that describes something your site does not offer. Adding it creates markup that is either misleading or incomplete.
- Product needs price, availability, and review or rating fields to be useful. A bare Product entry with only a name can be reported as invalid in Search Console. A services firm should use Service with offers instead, and only if the offer details are real.
- Event needs a date and a location. Skip it unless you host a dated event you can describe fully.
- Review and Rating need real, attributable reviews. Do not add ratings you cannot source.
- HowTo describes step-by-step instructions on the page. Add it only where the page has real numbered steps. Most service pages and articles on a services site do not need it, and this post does not claim any display benefit for it.
- JobPosting and VideoObject are for job adverts and videos. Add them only when the page actually is one.
How do you add schema to a B2B site?
Add one JSON-LD block per page, in the head or the body. You can group related nodes inside one block using @graph, so the homepage can hold the Organization and the WebSite together.
Keep the business name, address and phone number identical to what the page shows. If you trade under a brand name and your legal name is different, decide which name goes in name and which in legalName, then use the same pair everywhere. Leave out any field you cannot verify.
Use sameAs to connect entities
sameAs points to a page on another site that describes the same entity. Examples are a Wikipedia article for Schema.org, a LinkedIn profile for a founder or a Google Business Profile for a local firm. Link only to pages that clearly describe the same thing.
How do you test schema before it goes live?
Use these three checks in order:
- Run the page, or the code snippet, through Google's Rich Results Test while you build.
- After launch, use URL Inspection to confirm Google has found the structured data on that URL.
- Check the rich result status reports in Search Console. A template fault can break markup on many pages at once, so look across page types, not one page.
For types that Google does not display, the Rich Results Test will not check them, so use the Schema.org Validator instead. For the wider technical picture, see technical SEO for B2B sites and our B2B SEO services. If you want a second opinion on your markup before launch, book a free B2B SEO audit.
Common schema mistakes on B2B sites
- Markup for content users cannot see. Google's rule applies even when the facts are true.
- Different company names in different places. A brand name in the header and a legal name in the schema is a common source of confusion.
- FAQ markup on a page with no visible FAQ. The markup must match the page.
- Stale update dates. dateModified should change only when the content does.
- Types for features you do not offer. Add a type only when the page is that kind of thing.