Article and BlogPosting Schema: Which Properties Matter?

Article and BlogPosting schema describe a piece of content: its headline, author, publish and update dates, image and publisher. Google lists no strictly required properties for Article markup, but it recommends several, and accurate values help search engines understand who wrote the piece and when it was last updated.

Properties worth including

• headline: a concise title for the article.
• author: the person or organisation that wrote it.
• datePublished: when it first went live.
• dateModified: when it was last meaningfully updated.
• image: a representative image.

Article or BlogPosting?

BlogPosting is a more specific type of Article for blog content. Either is acceptable for a blog post, so use the one that best matches the content and stay consistent.

Keep it honest

The markup must match what is visible on the page. Show the author and dates in the content too. Update dateModified only when you genuinely change the article, not to look fresh.

Link authors to real profiles

Point the author to a page about them and, where appropriate, to their other profiles. This supports trust, especially for topics where expertise matters.

Generate and test

Build valid code with the free schema markup generator, then test it and fix issues using how to fix structured data errors. For background, read what schema markup is.

Frequently asked questions

Next steps

Read Organization schema explained, or contact me here.

More in this series (schema markup questions): start with Free Schema Markup Generator, then explore:

• JSON-LD vs Microdata vs RDFa: Which Structured Data Format Should You Use?
• Where to Place JSON-LD on a Page: Head, Body or Injected by Script?
• Organization Schema: Logo, sameAs and Contact Details Explained
• Product Schema: Required and Recommended Properties for Online Stores