Structured Data & Entity Markup Standard: JSON-LD Patterns for B2B Sites

Entities, Eligibility, and Evidence

Structured Data & Entity Markup Standard

Use JSON-LD to describe your brand, pages, and products in a way that people, crawlers, and LLMs can trust. This standard covers entity-first modeling, global markup, page-type patterns, rich result eligibility, QA, and governance. It follows Google Search Central, Schema.org, and accessibility guidance.

Updated Aug 2025 • ~35 to 45 min read

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Objective and scope

Define one JSON-LD standard that describes your brand and every key page type. The goal is clarity and consistency. Your markup should match visible content and comply with Google’s structured data overview and structured data policies. Use the visible page as the source of truth. If it is not on the page, do not claim it in JSON-LD.

Use JSON-LD in the document head or body. Avoid Microdata unless you have a legacy reason. Google recommends JSON-LD in the intro.

Principles

Entity-first modeling

Describe real world things: your Organization, your Product, a specific Article, a specific Video. Link them with @id and sameAs. Keep names and identifiers stable. See Schema.org types.

Match the page

Only claim what users can verify. If the page does not show a price, do not add a price. Google’s policy requires visible parity.

Keep it crawlable

Links inside your content must be normal anchors. Google’s note on crawlable links explains why. Structured data helps, but links drive discovery.

Global markup: Organization, Website, Breadcrumb

Add global entities site-wide. They help connect your pages and improve consistency.

Organization

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context":"https://schema.org",
  "@type":"Organization",
  "@id":"https://accordcontent.com/#org",
  "name":"Accord Content",
  "url":"https://accordcontent.com/",
  "logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://accordcontent.com/og/logo.png"},
  "sameAs":[
    "https://www.linkedin.com/company/accordcontent/",
    "https://twitter.com/accordcontent"
  ],
  "foundingDate":"2022-01-01",
  "contactPoint":[{
    "@type":"ContactPoint","contactType":"sales","email":"hello@accordcontent.com"
  }]
}
</script>

Website with SearchAction

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context":"https://schema.org",
  "@type":"WebSite",
  "@id":"https://accordcontent.com/#website",
  "url":"https://accordcontent.com/",
  "name":"Accord Content",
  "publisher":{"@id":"https://accordcontent.com/#org"},
  "potentialAction":{
    "@type":"SearchAction",
    "target":"https://accordcontent.com/search?q={query}",
    "query-input":"required name=query"
  }
}
</script>

BreadcrumbList

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context":"https://schema.org",
  "@type":"BreadcrumbList",
  "@id":"https://accordcontent.com/resources/structured-data-entity-markup-standard/#breadcrumb",
  "itemListElement":[
    {"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://accordcontent.com/"},
    {"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Resources","item":"https://accordcontent.com/resources/"},
    {"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Structured data & entity markup standard","item":"https://accordcontent.com/resources/structured-data-entity-markup-standard/"}
  ]
}
</script>

See Google’s docs for Logo, Sitelinks search box, and Breadcrumb.

Entity graph and @id strategy

Use stable identifiers to stitch entities together. Think of @id as a bookmark URL with a hash. It does not need to resolve on the web, but many teams use a real page URL plus a hash for clarity. Reference the same @id across pages.

Entity	@id pattern	Notes
Organization	https://domain.com/#org	Referenced by WebSite and Product
WebSite	https://domain.com/#website	Global site entity
Product or SoftwareApplication	https://domain.com/product/#saas	Attach offers and reviews
Article	page canonical + #article	Link to Organization via publisher
FAQPage	page canonical + #faq	One FAQ entity per page

Google recommends consistent identification and clean canonicals in the duplicate URL consolidation note.

Page-type patterns

Use the smallest set of page types that cover your site. The following patterns are battle tested for B2B and SaaS. Copy and adapt, but always reflect the visible page.

Article or BlogPosting

Use Article for resources and BlogPosting for blog posts. Add author, datePublished, image, and about entities.

FAQPage

Visible Q and A pairs only. No hidden content. Each Question must be present in the page HTML.

HowTo

Step by step instructions with visible steps on the page. Add totalTime and tool when relevant.

Article example

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context":"https://schema.org",
  "@type":"Article",
  "@id":"https://accordcontent.com/resources/on-page-seo-checklist/#article",
  "headline":"On-Page SEO Checklist",
  "description":"25 must-do optimizations for B2B sites.",
  "mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://accordcontent.com/resources/on-page-seo-checklist/"},
  "image":"https://accordcontent.com/og/onpage.png",
  "datePublished":"2025-07-15",
  "dateModified":"2025-08-01",
  "publisher":{"@id":"https://accordcontent.com/#org"},
  "author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Accord Content"},
  "about":[{"@type":"Thing","name":"On-page SEO"},{"@type":"Thing","name":"B2B content"}]
}
</script>

See Google’s Article docs.

FAQPage example

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context":"https://schema.org",
  "@type":"FAQPage",
  "@id":"https://accordcontent.com/resources/on-page-seo-checklist/#faq",
  "mainEntity":[
    {"@type":"Question","name":"What is on-page SEO","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It is the practice of optimizing content and HTML elements to improve search visibility and user experience."}},
    {"@type":"Question","name":"Should I use schema","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Use JSON-LD that matches visible content and Google’s policies."}}
  ]
}
</script>

Eligibility and behavior are explained in Google’s FAQ docs.

HowTo example

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context":"https://schema.org",
  "@type":"HowTo",
  "@id":"https://accordcontent.com/resources/how-to-add-schema/#howto",
  "name":"How to add JSON-LD to a page",
  "totalTime":"PT10M",
  "step":[
    {"@type":"HowToStep","name":"Open the HTML","text":"Locate the head tag."},
    {"@type":"HowToStep","name":"Paste JSON-LD","text":"Insert a script type application/ld+json block."},
    {"@type":"HowToStep","name":"Validate","text":"Use Rich Results Test and Search Console."}
  ]
}
</script>

See HowTo docs and note eligibility requirements.

SoftwareApplication or Product for SaaS

For SaaS, SoftwareApplication often fits better than Product. If you show plans and prices, you can include offers. Only include ratings if they are shown on the page and comply with policy.

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context":"https://schema.org",
  "@type":"SoftwareApplication",
  "@id":"https://accordcontent.com/product/#saas",
  "name":"Accord Content Planner",
  "applicationCategory":"BusinessApplication",
  "operatingSystem":"Web",
  "url":"https://accordcontent.com/product/",
  "publisher":{"@id":"https://accordcontent.com/#org"},
  "offers":{
    "@type":"Offer",
    "url":"https://accordcontent.com/pricing/",
    "priceCurrency":"USD",
    "price":"49.00",
    "availability":"https://schema.org/InStock"
  }
}
</script>

See SoftwareApplication at Schema.org and Google’s Product docs for price and rating rules.

VideoObject

When you embed a hosted video, include VideoObject with name, description, thumbnailUrl, uploadDate, and contentUrl or embedUrl.

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context":"https://schema.org",
  "@type":"VideoObject",
  "@id":"https://accordcontent.com/demo/#video",
  "name":"3 minute walkthrough",
  "description":"Quick overview of Accord Content Planner.",
  "thumbnailUrl":["https://accordcontent.com/og/demo-thumb.jpg"],
  "uploadDate":"2025-06-20",
  "embedUrl":"https://player.example.com/embed/abc123",
  "publisher":{"@id":"https://accordcontent.com/#org"}
}
</script>

See Google’s Video docs. Provide a static thumbnail that is crawlable.

Review and Rating

Use ratings only when they are sourced and visible to users. Self-serving reviews are restricted. See policy notes in Review snippet.

Event and Webinar

For live sessions, use Event with eventStatus, eventAttendanceMode, startDate, endDate, and url. See Event docs.

Rich result eligibility

Structured data does not guarantee a special result. It makes a page eligible. Google decides based on many signals. Keep content helpful, fast, and trustworthy. See the intro and type specific docs.

Common wins

Breadcrumbs
Article enhanced display
FAQ (when policy allows)
Video enhancements

Requirements to respect

Visible parity with claims
Policy compliance for reviews
No misleading or irrelevant markup

Performance matters

Slow or unstable pages reduce visibility. Follow Core Web Vitals at web.dev.

Evidence and citations

Back claims with visible citations and stable sources. Your JSON-LD can reference the same pieces through citation or isBasedOn where relevant.

What counts as evidence

Primary research and vendor docs
Government data and reputable statistics
Well described methodology

Examples: Search Console docs, BLS, U.S. Census, Statista.

How to cite

Link sources in the copy. Keep the link text descriptive. LLMs and readers rely on nearby context. NN/g explains link clarity at NN/g.

QA and validation workflow

Create a repeatable QA matrix for every page type. Validate structured data, check parity, and confirm that links are crawlable.

Page type	Validator	Parity check	Search Console enhancements	Status
Article	Rich Results Test	Author, date, images present	Article	Pass
FAQ	Rich Results Test	Q and A visible, no hidden toggles	FAQ	Pass
SoftwareApplication	Schema Markup Validator	Offers match visible plans	Product	Review
Video	Rich Results Test	Thumbnail and title visible	Video	Pass

Tools: Rich Results Test, Schema Markup Validator, Search Console.

Release checklist

Canonical, Open Graph, and JSON-LD agree on URL and image
Structured data references existing @id values
No 404s in sameAs or publisher.logo
All anchors are normal links; no JS-only navigation
Core Web Vitals within targets

Governance, versioning, and rollout

Ownership

SEO owns schema types and IDs
Engineering owns injection and testing
Legal reviews claims and reviews policy

Versioning

Store JSON-LD templates in version control
Use feature flags for rollout
Document changes in a CHANGELOG

Rollout plan

Start with global entities then high traffic pages
Monitor enhancements in Search Console
Expand to remaining templates

Do not ship review markup until policy and parity are locked. See Google’s review snippet policy.

CMS integration patterns

WordPress

Generate JSON-LD in theme templates
Expose fields for author, date, FAQ entries, product offers
Avoid duplicate plugins that inject competing markup

Headless frameworks

Keep a shared schema utility with ID constants
Render JSON-LD inline, not via client-only hydration
Pre-render pages for crawlability

Google’s JavaScript SEO notes explain why server rendering helps.

Measurement with Search Console and GA4

Track appearance types and CTR changes. Use GA4 events to link rich features to behavior.

Search Console

Performance report filtered by Search appearance
Enhancements report for Article, FAQ, Video, Breadcrumb
Monitor indexing and coverage

Docs at Search Console performance.

GA4 events

gtag('event','rich_result_view',{
  type:'article',
  location:'search',
  page:'/resources/on-page-seo-checklist/'
});

Event setup in GA4 events and conversions in GA4 conversions.

What to watch

CTR change for articles with enhanced display
FAQ impressions vs clicks when enabled
Video impressions and watch time on page

Implementation checklist

Publish Organization and WebSite JSON-LD across the site
Adopt a stable @id pattern and keep a list of constants
Choose page-type schemas and add only what the page shows
Add BreadcrumbList where navigation exists
Validate with Rich Results Test and Schema Markup Validator
Ship to a small set of pages, monitor Search Console enhancements
Roll out to all templates, then review quarterly
Keep Core Web Vitals within targets on pages with heavy media
Document policy for ratings, prices, and event status
Back claims with visible citations and reputable sources

FAQ

Do I need both Article and BlogPosting

Pick one that fits your content model. Many teams standardize on Article for simplicity. The important part is consistency and parity with the page.

Can JSON-LD live in a tag manager

Prefer rendering in HTML so crawlers see it with the page. Tag managers can work, but you must avoid client-only injection that appears late.

Should I add Person authors

If a named person is shown on the page, you can use Person. If content is published by the company, Organization is fine. Keep attribution truthful.

What about duplicate markup from plugins

Use one source of truth. Disable overlapping features so you do not generate conflicting entities or IDs.

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