Schema markup doesn't move rankings — but the SERPs sure use it

Moz's latest test lands one conclusion and a lot of noise around it: adding schema markup doesn't change where your page sits in Google. The ranking algorithms aren't reading your JSON-LD to decide who wins. They're using it for something else entirely — the rich results that sit on top of the organic list.

The difference matters because people keep treating schema like a ranking hack. It isn't. The data structures help Google understand what your page is — a recipe, an event, a product, a FAQ — and surface it as a star rating, a recipe card, a calendar listing. Those features don't add points; they change the shape of the page you see. A 2021 Moz study found a strong correlation between schema and rich results, but correlation is not causation, and the 2025 test is the clearest signal yet.

The practical takeaway is simple: if you're a business — a bodega, a contractor, a food truck — schema is still worth doing. It makes your listing show up with the stars, the price, the hours. It doesn't push you past the guy with a better backlink profile, but it does make you visible in the places people actually click. La migra app doesn't need schema. A local shop does.

Why this matters for us: the hustlers and small shops in our barrios can use this to look legit on Google without paying an agency — it's free markup that tells the search engine what you actually sell and when you're open.