Structured Data (Schema): Setup, Validation and Rich Results

// Who is structured data for?

Structured data is for sites that want to appear in search results with stars, prices, question boxes or business details instead of a plain blue link. Google and AI engines interpret page text, but schema makes that interpretation certain: which number is a price, which name is the author and which address is the business becomes unambiguous. If any of the following sounds familiar, you are on the right page.

• Competitors' products show stars and prices in results and yours do not
• Search Console's rich results report shows errors or warnings
• A theme or plugin generates schema automatically but nobody knows what it marks up
• AI describes your brand, service or author wrongly

We apply the same method to a corporate site and a 20,000-product store; only the schema types and the number of page templates change.

// What is included and what is not

The work is a one-off setup and validation project; monthly tracking is included in the SEO and AI plans. The table below lists what a standard project includes and what stays outside, line by line. Schema marks up only information visible on the page; writing schema for hidden content breaks Google's rules and is done in no plan.

If FAQ and author content do not exist, they are written first under AI content optimization, then the schema is set up.

// How does it work and how long does it take?

Setup takes 3 to 5 business days for a typical corporate site and 5 to 8 for stores. Schema is installed at template level, so every new page and product is marked up automatically. Rich results appear as Google reprocesses the pages, within 2 to 6 weeks; errors and warnings are cleared during the 4-week tracking.

// How is the price determined?

Three variables set the price: number of page templates, number of schema types and the platform's flexibility. A 5-template WordPress site and a 15-template custom-built store with product variations do not carry the same workload, so we quote from the schema scan rather than a fixed list. The scan is free and the quote is fixed once it is done.

If the content the schema needs does not exist, writing it is shown separately. For customers on the Zep Bilisim SEO and AI plans, schema setup and monthly tracking are included.

// Results we have delivered

The three cases below represent different schema types. We do not share client names without permission, so sector and scale are given instead; figures come from Search Console's rich results and performance reports. In all three, the content did not change; only schema was set up, and the result was measured 6 weeks later with a Zep Bilisim tracking report.

• Cosmetics store, 800 products — Product and AggregateRating schema made products appear with stars and prices; click-through rate rose from 2.1% to 4.6%
• Law firm, 14 service pages — FAQPage and Service schema were set up; 9 pages began showing question boxes and the site became a source in 9 Google AI Overviews questions
• Engineering firm — 3 conflicting Organization schemas produced by a plugin were removed and one correct schema set up; within 3 months AI described the right company with the right services

Schema is the only certain way to tell Google and AI "this number is the price, this name is the author". Telling always beats making them guess.

// The team behind the work

The work is carried out by Caner Zep Çelik, founder of Zep Bilisim. As founder and technical consultant he has worked on search visibility, web development and structured data since 2020 and has been involved in more than 100 projects. He prepares the schema plan, the setup and the validation himself and does not outsource the work.

The delivery report is written by the same person: which schema on which template with which fields, the validation result and the 4-week rich results change. The report serves as a guide when you add new page types later and stays with you.

// When is it not needed?

If Search Console's rich results report is error-free and stars, prices and question boxes already appear in results, a new setup is unnecessary; we say so plainly in the scan and do not sell it. If the page has no FAQ, author details or product data, there is nothing to mark up; content comes first and we set that order accordingly.

If the theme or plugin already produces correct basic schema, we add only the missing types; we do not recommend starting from scratch.

Google's structured data general policies explain from the official source which schema is accepted and which use is penalized; our setup rules are validated against them.

// Frequently Asked Questions