Twenty-eight schema-type encyclopedia entries with machine-validated JSON-LD examples, common error patterns, and 2026 AEO citation correlation data. Plus eight implementation playbooks covering CI/CD validation, multilingual schema, and knowledge-graph eligibility.
Schema went from cosmetic-rich-result helper to primary AEO citation-eligibility input. In our 2026 Canadian benchmark, FAQPage schema correlated with 2.3x AI Overview citation lift holding rank constant; Article + Person + sameAs author schema correlated with 1.7x lift; LocalBusiness with full openingHoursSpecification correlated with 1.4x lift on local-intent queries.
The shift is structural: AI Overview, ChatGPT search, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude all consume structured data as a primary signal for entity recognition and content extraction. A page with strong schema is easier for an AI engine to parse, attribute, and cite than a page with the same content but no structured data layer.
Each schema type page is structured the same way: when to use it, what the JSON-LD looks like, what the common errors are, and what the AEO citation correlation looks like in our 2026 Canadian benchmark. Every JSON-LD example is machine-validated against Schema.org Validator and Google Rich Results Test.
The encyclopedia is paired with eight implementation playbooks covering the cross-cutting concerns: shipping schema without breaking existing rich results, schema in CI/CD, schema by page template, multilingual schema, knowledge-graph eligibility, JSON-LD vs Microdata vs RDFa, schema-AEO citation correlation, and the anti-patterns to avoid.
**Editorial / blog / news:** Article, Person, FAQPage, BreadcrumbList, Speakable.
**Commerce:** Product, Offer, AggregateRating, Review, Brand, Organization.
**Local business:** LocalBusiness (or specific subtype like Restaurant, Store, ProfessionalService), Service, Person, AggregateRating, BreadcrumbList.
**Procedural / how-to:** HowTo, Article, BreadcrumbList, ImageObject.
**Events:** Event, Place, Offer, Person.
**Software:** SoftwareApplication, Organization, AggregateRating, Offer.
**Media:** VideoObject, MusicRecording, Movie, Book.
**Specialized:** MedicalEntity (medical), Vehicle (automotive), Dataset (open data / research).
- Article schema — editorial / blog / news content - FAQPage schema — Q&A blocks on service / category / glossary pages - Product schema — ecommerce product detail pages - LocalBusiness schema — single-location business homepage and contact pages - Service schema — individual service pages (one Service entity per page) - HowTo schema — step-by-step procedural content with named ordered steps - Event schema — individual event pages (concert, conference, workshop, webinar) - Organization schema — site-wide brand identity (homepage and 'about' page) - JobPosting schema — individual job opening pages - Recipe schema — recipe pages - Course schema — individual course / training pages - Review schema — individual review pages (one Review per page) - BreadcrumbList schema — every interior page with hierarchy - Person schema — named-author bios + named-team pages - VideoObject schema — pages with embedded video content - ItemList schema — category / collection / 'best of' list pages - Offer schema — price / availability blocks (typically nested in Product or Service) - AggregateRating schema — rating summaries on Product, Service, LocalBusiness, Organization - ProfessionalService schema — professional services firm site (legal, medical, accounting, financial) - SoftwareApplication schema — app or SaaS product pages - Book schema — book detail pages (publisher / bookstore / library) - Movie schema — movie detail pages (cinema / streaming / database) - MusicRecording schema — song / album detail pages - Restaurant schema — restaurant location and menu pages - Store schema — physical retail store pages (single location) - MedicalEntity schema — medical condition / procedure / drug content pages - Vehicle schema — vehicle inventory pages (dealer / rental / fleet) - Dataset schema — dataset detail pages (open data / research / statistics)
- Shipping schema without breaking existing rich results - Schema validator in CI/CD - Schema by page template - Schema and AEO citation correlation - JSON-LD vs. Microdata vs. RDFa - Schema for multilingual sites - Schema and knowledge graph eligibility - Schema anti-patterns to avoid
Local schema considerations for Canadian metros — provincial regulator references, bilingual schema, and city-specific citation context:
- Schema markup for Ottawa businesses - Schema markup for Toronto businesses - Schema markup for Montreal businesses - Schema markup for Vancouver businesses - Schema markup for Calgary businesses - Schema markup for Edmonton businesses - Schema markup for Winnipeg businesses - Schema markup for Halifax businesses - Schema markup for Quebec City businesses - Schema markup for Hamilton businesses
More than it was in 2024. Schema is now a primary AEO citation-eligibility input, not just a rich-result helper. Pages with well-formed schema get cited 1.4-2.3x more often in AI Overview than pages without, holding rank constant.
JSON-LD. It's Google's preferred format, survives HTML refactors, and is easier to validate. Microdata and RDFa work but offer no advantages.
Validate in Schema.org Validator + Google Rich Results Test before shipping. After shipping, monitor GSC Enhancements report for the schema type. For AEO impact, watch GSC AI Overview impressions on pages where you added FAQPage or Person schema.
For most sites: FAQPage on every service / category / glossary page (highest AEO lift), then Article + Person + sameAs on every blog post and bio (named-author citation signal), then LocalBusiness with full openingHoursSpecification on the homepage and contact pages (local-pack lift).