What is medical schema markup?
Medical schema markup is structured data, written with the schema.org vocabulary, that describes healthcare organizations, providers, services and content in a format machines can read. Common types include MedicalClinic, Physician, Dentist and MedicalProcedure. It is usually added as JSON-LD code. It helps search engines and AI systems understand a page, though it does not guarantee rich results.
- Vocabulary from schema.org, usually added as JSON-LD.
- Common types: MedicalOrganization, MedicalClinic, Physician, Dentist, MedicalProcedure, MedicalWebPage.
- Must match visible content; Google's structured data guidelines apply.
- Rich results are not guaranteed, and some, like FAQ results, are now limited.
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What medical schema markup is
Schema.org is a shared vocabulary for structured data supported by major search engines. It includes a health and medical section with types for organizations (MedicalOrganization, MedicalClinic, Hospital, Dentist), people and practitioners (Physician, plus Person for individual clinicians), services and topics (MedicalProcedure, MedicalCondition, MedicalSpecialty), and content (MedicalWebPage). Properties describe details such as address, opening hours, accepted insurance, specialty, available services and the person who reviewed a page.
The markup is usually written as JSON-LD in a script tag, separate from visible HTML. Search engines read it to understand entities on the page. Google publishes which structured data types can produce rich results and its guidelines for using them. Many medical types are understood by search engines even when they do not create a special display.
How it applies to practice marketing
- Homepage and location pages: the practice or each location as a MedicalClinic or relevant local business type, with address, phone, hours and geo details.
- Provider pages: each clinician, with credentials and specialty that match the visible bio.
- Service pages: the procedure or service described, linked to the location that offers it.
- Articles: author and medical reviewer details, with dates.
- Connections: consistent IDs that tie locations and providers to the parent organization.
See the healthcare SEO checklist, the website checklist and our healthcare SEO service.
Common mistakes and limits
The most common mistake is markup that does not match the page: services, ratings or credentials in the code that patients cannot see. Google's guidelines treat that as misleading, and it can lead to a manual action. Another is self-serving review markup. Google does not show review stars for a local business or organization based on reviews it publishes about itself.
FAQ markup is a frequent disappointment. Since 2023, Google shows FAQ rich results mainly for well-known authoritative government and health sites, so most practices will not see them. Markup still helps machines read content, but it is not a ranking shortcut. Validate markup with Google's testing tools after every site change.
Keep markup maintainable, too. When a provider leaves, hours change or a location closes, the structured data must change with the page. Generating it from the same source as the visible content, such as the website's provider and location records, prevents the two from drifting apart.
Related pages from the US team
Healthcare SEO checklist
Technical SEO for practices.
Medical practice website checklist
What every practice site needs.
Healthcare SEO agency, USA
SEO for US practices.
US healthcare marketing glossary
Every term, defined in plain English.
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Common questions
What schema types should a medical practice use?
Common choices are MedicalClinic or a more specific local business type for each location, MedicalOrganization for the parent organization, Physician or Person for clinicians, MedicalProcedure for services, and MedicalWebPage for health content. The markup must match what the page visibly shows.
Does medical schema markup improve rankings?
Not directly. Structured data helps search engines and AI systems understand a page and can make it eligible for some rich results, but it is not a ranking shortcut. Content quality, relevance and reputation still matter most.
Can a practice add review stars with schema markup?
Not for its own business. Google does not show review rich results for a local business or organization based on reviews the business collects and publishes about itself on its own site. Reviews on Google Business Profile still show in Google's local results.
Why are FAQ rich results not showing for my practice website?
Since 2023, Google shows FAQ rich results mainly for well-known authoritative government and health websites. Most practice sites will not see them even with valid markup. FAQs are still useful for readers and for AI systems that read the page.
A note on this guide: it explains marketing practice, not legal advice. Rules on privacy, advertising and insurance change and vary by state, so confirm anything compliance-related with your own counsel.
Is your site's structured data helping or hurting?
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