Schema & Structured Data
5 practices
Attribute-Rich Schema Outperforms Generic Schema by 20pp for AI Citations
Generic schema provides zero citation advantage (OR=0.678, p=.296). Product/Review schema with populated pricing/ratings: 61.7% vs 41.6%.
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Google Deprecated FAQ Rich Results (May 2026) — But AI Citation Signal from FAQPage Schema Remains Active
FAQ rich results deprecated for most sites May 7, 2026. FAQPage markup should stay — AI citation extraction is separate from Google rich result display.
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Gemini Is Most Schema-Responsive Engine — 52% Citations from Brand-Owned Sites, Only 13.7% Overlap with AI Overviews
Yext 6.8M citation study: Gemini cites brand-owned sites at 52% — highest of any engine. Gemini and AI Overviews share only 13.7% of citations on same queries.
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Schema Markup Produces 2.3x Citation Lift on AI Overviews
Study of 1,000 AI Overviews found FAQPage, HowTo, Article, Product schema shows 2.3x citation lift vs unmarked pages. Zero-cost technical fix.
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Schema Markup Has Near-Zero Independent Effect on AI Citations — Ahrefs 1,885-Page Controlled Study
Ahrefs tracked 1,885 pages adding schema vs 4,000 controls. Result: zero meaningful citation lift on any AI platform. Schema compounds quality but doesn't stand alone.