Schema Markup Reference

Rank Forge supports a wide range of schema types to help your content appear as rich results in Google. This reference describes each supported type, when to use it, and how Rank Forge applies it.

How Schema Works in Rank Forge

Schema markup is output as JSON-LD in the <head> section of the page. Rank Forge uses a combination of auto-detection and manual configuration:

• Auto-detection: Rank Forge reads your post type and content to automatically apply the most appropriate schema type on a single post or page. Blog posts get Article schema, product pages get Product schema and other pages get WebPage schema. A post or page that has at least two H2 or H3 headings ending with a question mark also gets FAQ schema (not on products).
• Manual selection (additive): In the SEO box on any post or page, you can pick a schema type (FAQ, HowTo, Recipe, Event, Review, Product, VideoObject) from the Schema Builder. As of April 2026 this adds to the auto-detected output rather than replacing it — see “Multiple schemas on one post” below.
• Other pages: Settings has no Schema tab, and the automatic schema is always on. Article, Product, WebPage and FAQ markup is written on single posts and pages only. A BreadcrumbList is added on other pages whose breadcrumb trail has at least two items, and the homepage carries the Organization markup described below.

Multiple schemas on one post

Picking a schema type in the Schema Builder layers on top of the auto-detected default. A blog post with HowTo picked emits:

<script type="application/ld+json"> { "@type": "Article",  ... } </script>
<script type="application/ld+json"> { "@type": "HowTo",    ... } </script>
<script type="application/ld+json"> { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", ... } </script>

This is intentional — Google can use multiple rich-result types from a single page, and stripping the Article block would cost the post its standard blog-rich-result eligibility. Common stacks:

If your manual selection produces the same @type Rank Forge would emit anyway (e.g. picking FAQ on a post that already has 2+ question-marked H2 headings), only one block is emitted — the manual one wins so any custom fields you set are preserved.

The full manual JSON-LD path (_rankforge_manual_schema post meta) is the one exception: when you paste complete custom JSON-LD it owns the entire emit and only BreadcrumbList layers on top. Use that when you need exact control over the shape.

Supported Schema Types

The type menu of the Schema Builder has no Course or SoftwareApplication choice. Its Detect with AI button asks the AI which of Article, FAQ, Product, HowTo, Recipe, Event, Review and BlogPosting fit the post, then sets the type menu to the first one the AI names and fills in the form fields of that type where it has them. The button shows only when the Pro add-on runs its AI features and its AI client is set up, and each press uses credits.

Article Schema (Auto-Detected)

• Headline (the post title, cut to 110 characters)
• Date published and date modified
• Author name and URL
• Publisher (site name, home page address and, when the theme has a custom logo or the site has an icon, the logo)
• Featured image (full size, with its width and height when WordPress knows them)
• Word count
• Article section (the first category in alphabetical order)
• Keywords (the tags of the post, when it has any)
• Description (the meta description of the post, else its first 25 words)

• Change to BlogPosting (more specific than Article)

FAQ Schema

• Each question as a separate FAQ item
• The answer text for each question

• Use H2 or H3 headings that end with a question mark, each followed by the answer text
• Put at least two such headings on the page

HowTo Schema

• Name and description (the post title and the first 50 words of the post)
• The steps, each with a name and, for a [rankforge_step] step, its text
• The featured image of the post, as the one image of the HowTo

With the HowTo form of the Schema Builder filled in, the markup carries the name, the description and the steps you typed. Rank Forge writes no total time, tools, supplies or images for single steps.

• Use [rankforge_step title="Heat the oven"]Body text...[/rankforge_step] shortcodes (preferred — explicit step boundaries)
• Or rely on imperative H2/H3 headings as step names (fallback when no shortcodes are present)

Product Schema (WooCommerce Integration)

• Product name
• Description
• Price and currency
• Availability (in stock, out of stock)
• SKU
• Brand (the brand of the product, else its brand attribute, else the Default brand of the Product Markup card; no brand is written when none is set)
• Aggregate rating (from WooCommerce reviews, written when the product has at least one review)
• Featured image of the product
• Item condition (written as new)
• GTIN, when the product has a value in the GTIN, UPC, EAN, or ISBN field of WooCommerce 9.2 and later: the value needs 8, 12, 13 or 14 digits once spaces and hyphens are taken out, and is written as gtin8, gtin12, gtin13 or gtin14 by its length (a value of another length is not written)
• MPN, from the MPN field next to the SKU of the product, else an mpn attribute
• Price valid until (the end date of a sale, else the end of next year)
• Shipping and return terms from the Product Markup card; each is written when every field of its block is filled in, and for products you ship yourself (not virtual or external products)

• WooCommerce must be active
• Products must have a price set
• Rank Forge reads WooCommerce product data automatically. The default brand, the shipping terms and the return terms are set in Rank Forge > Settings, tab Search Appearance, card Product Markup

LocalBusiness Schema

• Business name
• Address (street, city, state, postal code, country)
• Phone number
• Email
• Website URL (the address of your home page)
• Opening hours (one per line, as Mo-Fr 09:00-17:00)
• Geo coordinates (latitude, longitude)
• Business type (Dentist, Restaurant, etc.)
• Price range
• Logo (when a Logo URL is entered)
• Social profile links (the Social Profile URLs field, one URL per line)

The menu has 30 choices. The choice you make is written as the schema type; the table shows the schema type of each entry.

VideoObject Schema

• Video name (the title of the post)
• Description (the Video Description you typed, else the excerpt of the post)
• Thumbnail URL (the one you typed; for a video found in the post and no thumbnail typed, the thumbnail of that video, else the featured image; with a Video URL you typed and no thumbnail it stays empty)
• Upload date (the publish date of the post)
• Content URL (the address of the video)
• Duration (only when you type it in the Video SEO section of the Rank Forge box)
• Embed URL (for a YouTube or Vimeo video)

• Embed a YouTube or Vimeo video using a standard WordPress embed block or URL paste, then save the published post
• For a self-hosted video, add it to the post as an HTML5 video tag with a src, or type its address in Video URL in the Video SEO section of the Rank Forge box. That section also has Thumbnail URL, Duration (ISO 8601) and Video Description, and what you type there is used with the Video URL you type, or with the first video found when the Video URL is empty

Organization Schema

• Organization name (the site title)
• URL (the address of the homepage)
• Description (the site tagline, only when one is set)

Rank Forge writes no logo, social media profiles or contact information in Organization. The Local SEO screen has fields for those, and its markup carries them.

• If you are a company without a storefront that customers visit (SaaS, online business, nonprofit), leave Local SEO off: the homepage then carries the Organization markup
• If customers come to your physical location (restaurant, dental office, retail store), switch on Local SEO and enter a Business Name: the homepage then carries the business type you choose there (LocalBusiness or a more specific type) instead
• Rank Forge keeps one LocalBusiness profile for the whole site, with no separate locations, and writes it on the homepage and on pages. There is no setting to put it on a single page

Testing Your Schema Markup

After configuring schema on any page, verify it is working correctly:

1. Google Rich Results Test (search.google.com/test/rich-results) — The primary testing tool. Enter your URL and see exactly what Google can read, including any errors or warnings.
2. View Page Source — Right-click on your page, select View Page Source, and search for application/ld+json to see the raw JSON-LD output.
3. Schema.org Validator (validator.schema.org) — A more detailed validator that checks against the full schema.org specification, not just Google’s subset.

Common Schema Issues

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