# Schema Field Reference ## Required vs Recommended vs Optional | Priority | Icon | Meaning | |----------|------|---------| | Required | 🔴 | Must be present for valid schema | | Recommended | 🟡 | Significantly improves AI understanding | | Optional | 🔵 | Nice to have, marginal impact | --- ## Organization Fields ### Required - 🔴 `@type`: Must be "Organization" - 🔴 `name`: Legal company name - 🔴 `url`: Canonical website URL - 🔴 `logo`: Logo image URL (minimum 112x112px) ### Recommended - 🟡 `description`: 1-2 sentence factual description - 🟡 `sameAs`: Array of social media URLs - 🟡 `foundingDate`: ISO 8601 date (YYYY-MM-DD) - 🟡 `contactPoint`: Customer service contact info - 🟡 `address`: Headquarters location ### Optional - 🔵 `legalName`: Full legal name (if different from name) - 🔵 `alternateName`: DBA or brand name variations - 🔵 `founders`: Array of Person objects - 🔵 `employees`: Employee count (QuantitativeValue) - 🔵 `parentOrganization`: Parent company - 🔵 `subOrganization`: Subsidiaries - 🔵 `knowsAbout`: Topics/areas of expertise ### Example with All Fields ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Organization", "name": "Stripe", "legalName": "Stripe, Inc.", "alternateName": "Stripe Payments", "url": "https://stripe.com", "logo": "https://stripe.com/img/logo.png", "description": "Financial infrastructure platform for internet businesses", "foundingDate": "2010-09-01", "founders": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Patrick Collison" }, { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Collison" } ], "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "510 Townsend St", "addressLocality": "San Francisco", "addressRegion": "CA", "postalCode": "94103", "addressCountry": "US" }, "contactPoint": [ { "@type": "ContactPoint", "contactType": "sales", "telephone": "+1-888-963-8442", "availableLanguage": ["English"] }, { "@type": "ContactPoint", "contactType": "technical support", "telephone": "+1-888-963-8442", "availableLanguage": ["English", "French", "German"] } ], "sameAs": [ "https://twitter.com/stripe", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/stripe", "https://github.com/stripe", "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stripe_(company)" ], "knowsAbout": ["Payments", "SaaS", "APIs", "Financial Technology"] } ``` --- ## Article Fields ### Required - 🔴 `@type`: "Article" or "BlogPosting" - 🔴 `headline`: Article title (max 110 chars) - 🔴 `author`: Person or Organization - 🔴 `datePublished`: ISO 8601 datetime ### Recommended - 🟡 `description`: 150-character summary - 🟡 `image`: Featured image (min 1200x800) - 🟡 `publisher`: Organization (usually same as site owner) - 🟡 `dateModified`: Last update datetime - 🟡 `articleSection`: Category/section name - 🟡 `wordCount`: Article length - 🟡 `keywords`: Array of topic tags ### Optional - 🔵 `articleBody`: Full article text - 🔵 `backstory`: Background context - 🔵 `speakable`: Sections for text-to-speech --- ## FAQPage Fields ### Required - 🔴 `@type`: "FAQPage" - 🔴 `mainEntity`: Array of Question objects ### Question Object Fields #### Required - 🔴 `@type`: "Question" - 🔴 `name`: Question text (exactly as shown on page) - 🔴 `acceptedAnswer`: Answer object ### Answer Object Fields #### Required - 🔴 `@type`: "Answer" - 🔴 `text`: Full answer text #### Recommended - 🟡 `upvoteCount`: Number of upvotes (if applicable) ### Best Practices ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "How do I reset my password?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "

To reset your password:

  1. Go to the login page
  2. Click 'Forgot Password'
  3. Enter your email
  4. Check your inbox for reset link

The link expires in 24 hours.

" } } ] } ``` **Notes**: - Answer text can contain HTML - Match question exactly to page text - Include full answer, not just summary - 3-10 questions per page optimal --- ## Product Fields ### Required - 🔴 `@type`: "Product" - 🔴 `name`: Product name - 🔴 `offers`: Offer or AggregateOffer ### Offer Fields (Required) - 🔴 `@type`: "Offer" - 🔴 `price`: Numeric price - 🔴 `priceCurrency`: ISO 4217 code (USD, EUR, etc.) ### Recommended - 🟡 `description`: Product description - 🟡 `brand`: Brand reference - 🟡 `image`: Product images (array) - 🟡 `sku`: Stock keeping unit - 🟡 `mpn`: Manufacturer part number - 🟡 `gtin8/12/13/14`: Global Trade Item Number - 🟡 `aggregateRating`: Overall rating - 🟡 `review`: Individual reviews - 🟡 `offers.availability`: InStock, OutOfStock, etc. - 🟡 `offers.priceValidUntil`: Sale end date - 🟡 `offers.url`: Product page URL ### Optional - 🔵 `color`: Product color - 🔵 `material`: Material composition - 🔵 `weight`: Product weight - 🔵 `depth`, `width`, `height`: Dimensions ### Complete Example ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Product", "name": "Acme Noise-Canceling Headphones", "image": [ "https://acme.com/images/headphones-1x1.jpg", "https://acme.com/images/headphones-4x3.jpg", "https://acme.com/images/headphones-16x9.jpg" ], "description": "Premium wireless headphones with 30-hour battery and active noise cancellation", "sku": "ACH-3000-BLK", "mpn": "925872", "brand": { "@type": "Brand", "name": "Acme Audio" }, "aggregateRating": { "@type": "AggregateRating", "ratingValue": "4.4", "reviewCount": "89" }, "offers": { "@type": "Offer", "url": "https://acme.com/headphones", "price": "299.99", "priceCurrency": "USD", "priceValidUntil": "2024-12-31", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "seller": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Acme Electronics" } } } ``` --- ## HowTo Fields ### Required - 🔴 `@type`: "HowTo" - 🔴 `name`: Guide title - 🔴 `step`: Array of HowToStep objects ### HowToStep Fields #### Required - 🔴 `@type`: "HowToStep" - 🔴 `name`: Step title - 🔴 `text`: Step instructions #### Recommended - 🟡 `url`: Direct link to step anchor - 🟡 `image`: Step image - 🟡 `video`: Step video clip ### HowTo Fields (Recommended) - 🟡 `description`: Overall guide description - 🟡 `totalTime`: Duration (PT30M format) - 🟡 `estimatedCost`: Approximate cost - 🟡 `tool`: Required tools (array) - 🟡 `supply`: Required materials (array) - 🟡 `image`: Guide images - 🟡 `video`: Guide video ### Example ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "HowTo", "name": "How to Bake Sourdough Bread", "description": "A beginner's guide to baking artisan sourdough at home", "totalTime": "PT24H", "estimatedCost": { "@type": "MonetaryAmount", "currency": "USD", "value": "5" }, "supply": [ { "@type": "HowToSupply", "name": "Bread flour" }, { "@type": "HowToSupply", "name": "Water" } ], "tool": [ { "@type": "HowToTool", "name": "Dutch oven" }, { "@type": "HowToTool", "name": "Kitchen scale" } ], "step": [ { "@type": "HowToStep", "name": "Mix the dough", "text": "Combine 500g flour and 350g water. Mix until no dry flour remains.", "url": "https://example.com/sourdough#step1" }, { "@type": "HowToStep", "name": "Fold the dough", "text": "Perform stretch and folds every 30 minutes for 2 hours.", "url": "https://example.com/sourdough#step2" } ] } ``` --- ## Common Data Types ### Date/Time Formats (ISO 8601) | Type | Format | Example | |------|--------|---------| | Date | YYYY-MM-DD | 2024-01-15 | | DateTime | YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS | 2024-01-15T09:30:00 | | DateTime with TZ | YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS±HH:MM | 2024-01-15T09:30:00-08:00 | | Duration | P[n]Y[n]M[n]DT[n]H[n]M[n]S | PT30M (30 minutes) | ### URL Requirements - Must be absolute (https://...) - Must be accessible - Should use canonical URLs - Images: minimum sizes apply ### Text Guidelines - No HTML in `name` fields - HTML allowed in `description` and `text` fields - Keep `headline` under 110 characters - Keep `description` around 150 characters - Use factual, non-promotional language ### Numeric Formats - `price`: No currency symbol, just number (e.g., "29.99") - `ratingValue`: Typically 1-5 scale - `reviewCount`: Integer, no commas - `position` (breadcrumbs): 1-indexed integer