Blog · Jun 1, 2026
What is schema markup, in plain English?
Schema markup labels your business facts so machines don't have to guess which number is your phone and which is your fax.
Key takeaways
- Schema markup is hidden code that labels facts on your page: phone, address, hours, prices and FAQs.
- Visitors never see it, and it doesn't change how your site looks.
- Most small businesses need two sets of labels: their business facts and their FAQs.
A label-maker for your website
Your site shows visitors "(412) 555-0140." A person knows that's a phone number. A machine sees digits. Schema markup is a hidden label that says: this is our phone number. The same goes for your address, hours, prices and FAQs. It changes nothing about how your site looks, because it's written for machines: search engines and AI systems.
Why labels help
When an assistant answers "When does Acme Plumbing open?", it needs a fact to quote. If your hours are labeled, it can read them directly. If they aren't, it has to interpret your footer, and any interpretation can be wrong. How each assistant uses structured data varies, but a clearly labeled fact is easier to get right than an inferred one.
What a small business actually needs
You don't need every type of markup. Most small businesses need two:
- Your business facts: name, address, phone, hours and service area.
- Your FAQs: each question paired with its answer, which mirrors how people ask assistants questions.
Everything else is optional.
How it gets on your site
The labels live in a small block of code in your page. A web person adds it once, and it sits there quietly. Some platforms have plugins that generate it for you. For the technical version with copy-and-paste examples, read our Schema.org markup guide.
How to check yours
A CrawlReady scan detects which labels your site already has, which facts are missing them, and what to add. Keep your markup in step with the page: if your hours change, update both.