What Is Article Schema Markup?
Article schema is a type of structured data based on the Schema.org vocabulary that describes editorial content to search engines. By embedding JSON-LD markup in your page's <head>, you tell Google exactly who wrote the article, when it was published, who published it, and what the article is about — in a machine-readable format.
This context helps Google display your content as a rich result in Google Search, Google News, Google Discover, and other surfaces. For news publishers, Article schema is particularly important for appearing in the "Top Stories" carousel that appears above organic results.
Article vs NewsArticle vs BlogPosting
Article
The generic base type. Use for editorial, how-to guides, opinion pieces, and general informational content that doesn't fit the other subtypes.
NewsArticle
Specifically for timely news reporting. Required for Google News eligibility and the Top Stories carousel. The publisher must be a recognized news organization.
BlogPosting
For content on a blog or personal publication. Google treats it the same as Article for most rich result purposes, but signals a less formal editorial context.
Why Article Schema Matters for SEO
- Top Stories carousel — NewsArticle schema is a prerequisite for appearing in Google's Top Stories feature, which can generate enormous traffic spikes for timely content.
- Google Discover — Article schema helps Google understand your content for recommendation in Google Discover, which surfaces content to logged-in users on Android and iOS.
- Author E-E-A-T — Explicitly declaring the author and publisher strengthens your Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness signals — especially important after the 2023 helpful content and HCU updates.
- Freshness signals — The
datePublishedanddateModifiedfields communicate content freshness, which influences ranking for time-sensitive queries.
Article Schema Best Practices
- Use the same headline in your schema as the visible
<h1>on the page (slight wording variations are fine, but keep them consistent). - Always include a publisher logo URL — this is required for Top Stories eligibility.
- Use ISO 8601 date format (
YYYY-MM-DD) fordatePublishedanddateModified. - Update
dateModifiedevery time you make significant content changes — Google uses this to determine freshness. - The featured image must be at least 1200px wide and be crawlable (not blocked by robots.txt).