Schema.org for expert-led companies.

Why schema matters

Structured data is not a ranking signal. Google has said so for years. What schema does is provide unambiguous entity signals that search engines and generative systems can use to attribute claims and decide whether to cite a page.

For expert-led companies, schema is the difference between a page that is eligible to be cited and a page that is not. A page that declares a stable Organization @id, a Person author, and a Service type is materially more citeable.

The schema stack

Five types cover most of the value for an expert-led site: Organization, WebSite, Person, Service or Article per page, and BreadcrumbList on every non-home page. FAQPage is a useful sixth on pages with visible FAQ sections.

Organization declares the canonical entity: legal name, URL, logo, contact email, areaServed, knowsLanguage, and the sameAs links. The @id is stable.

Person is the founder. Use schema.org's Person type with worksFor pointing back at the Organization.

Service is emitted on service pages, Article on case studies and research, AboutPage on the about page, ContactPage on the contact page, WebPage as a default. BreadcrumbList accompanies every non-home page.

hasOfferCatalog, without prices

Service pages benefit from hasOfferCatalog with named offers. The mistake to avoid is fabricated priceSpecification.

For an expert-led company, the right hasOfferCatalog lists engagement models with descriptions that match what the company actually offers. No prices, no review counts, no aggregate ratings unless they are real.

FAQPage and visible FAQ

FAQPage schema is useful on pages with a visible FAQ section. The schema should mirror the visible content; mismatch between schema and visible FAQ is a manual action risk.

The schema is gated: emit it only when the visible FAQ is real.

What to leave out

AggregateRating is the most overused schema on the web. If the business does not have verifiable reviews, do not emit AggregateRating.

SpecialAnnouncement, Event, and JobPosting are tempting for SEO but rarely fit expert-led businesses.

Custom schema types are powerful but risky. We do not recommend them as a default.

Operational discipline

Schema decays. New pages need new schema; updated pages need updated schema. The quarterly review cadence includes a schema audit.

Bear In Code stores schema-relevant data in src/data and emits it from Layout. New pages pick up the schema by declaring the right page key.