Article Schema Markup for Blog Posts: What to Include
Which properties to include in Article or BlogPosting schema, and how to keep them accurate.
Article schema tells search engines the key facts about a blog post or news article: its headline, images, author, and when it was published and updated. It does not make a page rank by itself, but it helps Google understand and display your content accurately.
Article, BlogPosting or NewsArticle?
- BlogPosting โ blog posts. The most common choice for business blogs.
- NewsArticle โ news reporting.
- Article โ general articles, guides and anything else.
Google treats all three the same way for article features, so pick the one that describes your content best.
Properties to include
- headline โ the article title. Keep it concise and matching the visible H1.
- image โ one or more large, relevant images that are on the page. Google recommends high-resolution images in several aspect ratios.
- datePublished โ the first publication date and time, with time zone.
- dateModified โ the last meaningful update. Only change it when the content really changes.
- author โ a Person (or Organization) with a name and, ideally, a URL to an author page.
- publisher โ your organisation, with name and logo.
Author information matters
Readers and search engines both want to know who wrote a piece. Give each author a page with their background and experience, link to it from the article and the schema, and keep names consistent. This supports the trust signals described in what E-E-A-T means.
Dates must be honest
Changing the modified date without changing the content, or showing a different date in schema than on the page, can mislead readers and search engines. Show the dates visibly and keep schema identical. See how to update old blog posts.
How to add it
Most blogging platforms and SEO plugins add Article or BlogPosting markup automatically โ check that the author, image and dates are filled in correctly. For a custom site, build the JSON-LD with the free schema generator and output it from your post template so each post fills in its own values. Add breadcrumb schema alongside it.
Test it
Run a few posts through Google's Rich Results Test and the Schema Markup Validator. Fix errors first, then warnings for useful missing properties like image or author URL.
A worked example
A travel blog's theme output BlogPosting schema with the author set to "admin" and no image. The owner created real author pages, updated the template to use each writer's name and page, and added the featured image and both dates. Test results came back clean, and the posts' search snippets began showing the correct dates instead of old ones.
Common article markup mistakes
- Author set to "admin" or a username instead of a real name.
- Image missing or pointing to a tiny thumbnail.
- Dates without time zones, or dates that differ from those shown on the page.
- Two sets of article markup from a theme and a plugin at once, with conflicting values.
- Headline different from the H1 because it was copied from an old title.
Test one new post after every theme or plugin update, since these settings often reset without warning.
Related guides
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Frequently asked questions
Does article schema improve rankings?
Not directly. It helps search engines understand the page and display it correctly.
Should every blog post have schema?
Yes โ it is easy to add through the template and keeps information consistent.
Can I use Organization as the author?
Yes, but a real person with an author page gives readers more confidence when one exists.
Should I update dateModified for small edits?
Only for meaningful content changes, not typo fixes.