Schema.org markup is structured data vocabulary created by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Yandex in 2011 to give webmasters a common language for describing content. You embed it in your HTML using JSON-LD, Microdata, or RDFa formats—JSON-LD is now the standard Google recommends because it sits in a script tag and doesn't clutter your visible markup. The core value is disambiguation. Without schema, Google reads your page and guesses what it's about. With schema, you explicitly declare "this is a Recipe with a cook time of 25 minutes and a 4.7 rating" or "this is a LocalBusiness with these opening hours and this phone number." That explicitness powers rich results: recipe cards with images and times, job postings with salary ranges, FAQ accordions, product snippets with price and availability, and local business panels with maps. Schema.org defines over 800 types and 1,400 properties. Common ones we implement at Ottawa SEO include Article, Product, Organization, LocalBusiness, Event, FAQ, HowTo, and BreadcrumbList. You pick the type that matches your content, then fill in required and recommended properties. Google's Rich Results Test shows you whether your markup is valid and which features you're eligible for. Implementation is straightforward—paste JSON-LD into your head or body tag, either hardcoded or dynamically generated via your CMS. WordPress plugins like Rank Math or Schema Pro automate common patterns, but custom schema often requires manual tweaking or developer involvement to cover edge cases like multi-location businesses or variant products. One misconception: schema doesn't guarantee a ranking boost. Google treats it as a qualifier for enhanced display, not a ranking signal on its own. You still need quality content and solid technical SEO. But when you do rank, schema can double your click-through rate by making your result visually dominant with stars, images, or extra data lines. For local Ottawa clients, we layer LocalBusiness schema with GeoCoordinates and opening hours because that data feeds the local pack and Knowledge Panel—critical for brick-and-mortar visibility.