How To: Implement Organization Schema Markup

TL;DR:

Organization schema provides search engines and other systems with structured information about your business or organisation, including its name, URL, logo, contact details and official profiles. This guide explains what Organization schema is, which properties to include, how it differs from LocalBusiness schema, and how to implement and validate it using JSON-LD..

What is Organization schema markup?

Organization schema is structured data used to describe a business, company or other organisation in a machine-readable format.

It uses the Schema.org Organization type and can include information such as the organisation’s name, URL, logo, legal name, address, contact details and official social profiles.

This helps search engines and other systems understand which information and online profiles belong to the same organisation.

Organization is also the parent type for a number of more specific organisation types, so you should use the most appropriate type available rather than automatically using the generic Organization type for every business.

Why should you use Organization schema?

Organization schema gives search engines explicit information about the entity behind a website rather than requiring them to infer everything from the visible content.

It can be used to describe important organisational information such as your business name, logo, website, address, contact details and official profiles using recognised Schema.org properties.

Google also supports Organization structured data as a way of providing administrative information about an organisation, including details such as its logo and other business information.

I don’t implement Organization schema because I expect it to produce a particular rich result or increase click-through rate. I use it because, where the information is accurate and appropriate, it provides a clear machine-readable description of the organisation behind the website.

What is the difference between Organization and LocalBusiness schema?

Organization is a general Schema.org type used to describe an organisation. LocalBusiness is a more specific subtype of Organization, designed for businesses with a physical location that customers can visit.

If you’re describing a company or organisation without a customer-facing local premises, Organization will usually be the more appropriate starting point.

If you’re describing a shop, restaurant, salon or other business operating from a physical location, a more specific LocalBusiness type may be appropriate. LocalBusiness schema can include location-specific information such as an address, telephone number and opening hours.

You don’t generally need to describe the same business separately as both an Organization and a LocalBusiness just to provide the properties available to Organization. Because LocalBusiness is a subtype of Organization, it inherits properties from it.

I’ve covered this in more detail in my guide to implementing LocalBusiness schema markup.

Organization Schema Example

The easiest way to understand Organization schema is to look at a JSON-LD example.

Here’s a simplified example showing some of the properties you might use to describe a company:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Example Company",
  "legalName": "Example Company Limited",
  "url": "https://www.example.com/",
  "logo": "https://www.example.com/images/logo.png",
  "description": "A short description of the organisation.",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "1 Example Street",
    "addressLocality": "Manchester",
    "postalCode": "M1 1AA",
    "addressCountry": "GB"
  },
  "contactPoint": {
    "@type": "ContactPoint",
    "telephone": "+44 161 123 4567",
    "contactType": "customer service"
  },
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.linkedin.com/company/example-company/",
    "https://www.facebook.com/examplecompany/"
  ]
}
</script>

Which Organization schema properties should you include?

You don’t need to include every property available for the Organization type. I generally concentrate on properties that accurately describe the organisation and can be supported by information on the website.

Some of the most useful include:

• name – the name of the organisation.
  
• legalName – the registered legal name, where this differs from the trading name.
  
• url – the organisation’s website.
  
• logo – the URL of the organisation’s logo.
  
• description – a concise description of the organisation.
  
• address – the organisation’s postal address, where appropriate.
  
• contactPoint – contact information for a particular purpose, such as customer service.
  
• sameAs – URLs for other pages that represent the same organisation, such as official social profiles.

Other properties such as founder, foundingDate, parentOrganization and more specific organisation types can be added where they’re genuinely relevant.

The aim isn’t to make the JSON-LD as large as possible. Include information that accurately describes the organisation rather than adding properties simply because Schema.org makes them available.

How to test and validate Organization schema

Once you’ve created your Organization schema, validate it before adding it to the live site.

I use the Schema.org Markup Validator. You can paste your JSON-LD directly into the validator or enter the URL of a page where the markup has already been implemented.

The validator will identify the structured data it finds and highlight errors or warnings in the markup.

You may also come across Google’s Rich Results Test, but it serves a different purpose. The Rich Results Test checks whether structured data on a page is eligible for rich results supported by Google.

If your aim is simply to check that your Organization markup is valid Schema.org structured data, I’d use the Schema.org validator.

How to implement Organization schema on your website

Once you’ve created and validated your JSON-LD, you need to add it to your website.

My preference is to add Organization schema directly through the website or CMS rather than relying on a third-party injection method. JSON-LD can be included within either the <head> or <body> of the page.

Exactly how you implement it will depend on your website. Some CMSs and SEO plugins can generate Organization structured data automatically, while other websites may require you to add the JSON-LD manually.

Before adding your own markup, check whether Organization schema is already being generated by your CMS, theme or SEO plugin. You don’t want to create unnecessary duplicate representations of the same organisation.

If you can’t modify the website directly, Google Tag Manager can also be used as an alternative implementation method.

How to add Organization schema in WordPress

If you’re using WordPress, first check whether your SEO or schema plugin is already generating Organization structured data.

If it is, configure the organisation details through the plugin rather than adding a second block of Organization schema manually.

If your existing setup doesn’t generate the markup you need, you can add the JSON-LD manually through your theme or another appropriate implementation method.

Whichever approach you use, validate the finished page rather than assuming the markup has been implemented correctly.

Should Organization schema be on every page?

No. You don’t need to add Organization schema to every page of your website.

Google’s guidelines says Organization markup can be placed on any page, although the home page is a logical place for it. You don’t gain anything simply by repeating an identical block of Organization structured data across every URL.

I generally prefer to provide one clear representation of the organisation on an appropriate page, usually the home page, rather than adding the same markup sitewide.

The important thing is that the structured data accurately describes the organisation and is consistent with the information presented elsewhere on the website.

Is Organization schema worth implementing?

If you’re running a business or organisation website, Organization schema is a relatively straightforward way to provide structured information about the entity behind it.

It won’t automatically give you a Knowledge Panel, increase click-through rate or produce a special search result. I see it as a way of making important information about the organisation explicit and machine-readable.

Use the most appropriate Schema.org type, include properties that genuinely describe the organisation, and avoid adding information simply because a property exists.

Once you’ve created the markup, validate it using the Schema.org validator and check the live page to make sure the expected structured data is actually present.

If the business has a physical location that customers visit, you may want to use a more specific LocalBusiness type instead. I’ve covered that separately in my guide to implementing LocalBusiness schema markup.

I also review structured data implementation as part of my website SEO audits.

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