{"id":1842,"slug":"rule-schema-is-eligibility-not-ranking-stop-claiming-otherwise","title":"R2 — Schema markup is rich-result ELIGIBILITY, not a ranking boost; stop claiming otherwise in client materials","kind":"rule","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","dev","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["agency-methodology","editorial-discipline","structured-data-mechanics","rich-results-eligibility"],"reference_body":"**Rule:** In any Candid client material, present schema markup as **rich-result eligibility** (cheap insurance) — **not** as a ranking lever or as a proven AI-citation lever.\n\n**Why:** Google's own documentation: *\"Using structured data enables a feature to be present, it does not guarantee that it will be present\"* ([[google-structured-data-eligibility-not-ranking-correction]]). John Mueller: *\"There's no generic ranking boost for SD usage\"* ([[mueller-no-generic-ranking-boost-for-structured-data]]). Google is *narrowing* rich-result features ([[google-faq-rich-results-deprecation-may-2026]]). No independent or primary evidence that schema markup itself lifts AI citation ([[gap-no-independent-primary-evidence-schema-improves-ai-citation]]). The peer-reviewed GEO lift came from body text, not schema ([[geo-paper-methodology-caveat-body-text-not-schema]]).\n\n**How to apply:**\n- Ship schema for the rich-result types that still exist and serve the business (LocalBusiness, Product, Article, etc.).\n- Do **not** promise ranking or citation lift in proposals.\n- When a vendor or competitor claims \"schema = ranking,\" flag the Google docs.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"geo-paper-methodology-caveat-body-text-not-schema","title":"GEO paper — critical methodology caveat: the lifts come from BODY-TEXT edits, NOT schema markup; authors explicitly note \"less likely to affect search engine rankings\"","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"google-structured-data-eligibility-not-ranking-correction","title":"Google documentation — structured data makes pages ELIGIBLE for rich results, NOT a generic ranking boost (\"enables a feature to be present, does not guarantee that it will be present\")","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"mueller-no-generic-ranking-boost-for-structured-data","title":"John Mueller (Google) via Search Engine Journal — \"There's no generic ranking boost for SD usage\"","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"google-faq-rich-results-deprecation-may-2026","title":"Google has been NARROWING rich-result features — FAQ rich results deprecated May 7, 2026; seven types retired June 2025","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"gap-no-independent-primary-evidence-schema-improves-ai-citation","title":"GAP — no independent or primary evidence that schema markup ITSELF improves AI-answer citation; vendor claims (FAQ schema → 2.8× citations, author schema → 3×) are single-source and unverified","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-website-as-working-surface-june-2026","title":"Research brief: the website as a working surface of the business — four capabilities, AI-citation decoupling, freshness as a real signal (June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-21T13:17:17.780Z","updated_at":"2026-06-21T13:17:17.780Z"}