The short answer
Schema markup for real estate agents is a small block of code that tells search engines, in plain labels, who you are: your name, brokerage, phone, address, areas served and the profiles that belong to you. Use RealEstateAgent for the business, Person for you, and sameAs to link your profiles. It improves clarity. It doesn't guarantee rankings or fancy results.
What schema does, and what it doesn't
Your About page already says your name and phone. Schema says it again in a format machines don't have to guess at. That matters when Google, Bing and AI tools are trying to decide whether the "Jane Example" on your site is the same Jane on Zillow, your brokerage roster and your Google profile.
Be clear-eyed about it:
- Google says it recommends JSON-LD for structured data where your site allows it.
- Google says not to mark up information that isn't visible to users on the page.
- Google's AI features doc says there's no special schema required to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode. Schema helps machines read you. It isn't a ticket in.
The types that fit an agent
| Type | Use it for | Key properties |
|---|---|---|
| RealEstateAgent | Your business or team | name, url, telephone, address, areaServed, priceRange, openingHours, parentOrganization, sameAs |
| Person | You, on your About or agent page | name, jobTitle, worksFor, telephone, image, knowsAbout, hasCredential, sameAs |
| LocalBusiness | The parent type of RealEstateAgent | Use RealEstateAgent instead; Google says to use the most specific subtype |
| FAQPage | A page with real questions and answers | mainEntity with Question and Answer |
| sameAs | A property, not a type | Links to your profiles that identify you |
On schema.org, RealEstateAgent sits under LocalBusiness, which sits under both Organization and Place. Person doesn't have an areaServed property, so put service areas on the RealEstateAgent block.
Step by step: schema markup for real estate agents
- Write your facts down first. Exact name, brokerage, phone, office address, areas served, license year. These must match your Google Business Profile and your visible page, word for word.
- Pick the page. RealEstateAgent on your home or contact page. Person on your About page. FAQPage only on pages where the questions and answers are actually shown.
- List your sameAs links. Your Google profile, brokerage profile page, portal profiles, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube. Only profiles that are really you and really current.
- Build the JSON-LD. Use the example below. Swap in your facts.
- Paste it into the page. Most site builders have a header code or custom HTML box. If your IDX or website vendor controls the template, send them the block.
- Test it. Run the page through Google's Rich Results Test and the Schema Markup Validator. Fix errors. Warnings on optional fields are fine.
- Check it in Search Console. URL Inspection shows the structured data Google found on its last crawl.
- Update it when life changes. New brokerage, new phone, new area. Old schema with old facts is worse than none.
A copy-ready JSON-LD example
Everything here is a placeholder. Replace it with your real, visible facts.
``html <script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "RealEstateAgent", "@id": "https://www.example.com/#business", "name": "Jane Example Real Estate", "url": "https://www.example.com/", "telephone": "+1-303-555-0100", "image": "https://www.example.com/images/jane-example.jpg", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "123 Main Street, Suite 100", "addressLocality": "Littleton", "addressRegion": "CO", "postalCode": "80120", "addressCountry": "US" }, "areaServed": ["Littleton, CO", "Highlands Ranch, CO", "Centennial, CO"], "parentOrganization": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Example Brokerage" }, "employee": { "@id": "https://www.example.com/about/#jane" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-example", "https://www.facebook.com/janeexamplerealestate" ] }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://www.example.com/about/#jane", "name": "Jane Example", "jobTitle": "Real Estate Agent", "worksFor": { "@id": "https://www.example.com/#business" }, "telephone": "+1-303-555-0100", "image": "https://www.example.com/images/jane-example.jpg", "knowsAbout": ["First-time home buyers", "Littleton neighborhoods"], "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/in/jane-example", "https://www.instagram.com/janeexample" ] } ] } </script> ``
The @id values tie the two blocks together, so machines know Jane is the person behind the business.
About FAQ schema
Google limited FAQ rich results to well-known government and health sites in 2023. Its FAQ documentation then posted a notice that the feature would no longer appear in Google Search starting May 7, 2026, and the documentation was later removed. So don't add FAQPage markup expecting the drop-down questions under your result. Add it, if you like, because it labels your real questions and answers clearly for any system reading the page. That's the honest reason.
Try this today
Open your About page and your Google Business Profile side by side. Do the name, phone and address match exactly? If not, fix that before you touch any code. Schema can't fix facts that disagree.
Watch-outs
- Never mark up what isn't on the page. No hidden reviews, no service areas you don't show. Google says markup should reflect visible content.
- No self-made star ratings. Don't add aggregateRating for reviews you collected and pasted in. Google's local business doc says review markup is for sites that capture reviews of other businesses.
- One business, one set of facts. If your brokerage's site also marks you up, make sure their facts match yours.
- Plugins can double up. Many SEO plugins add schema automatically. Check you aren't publishing two conflicting blocks.
- Schema doesn't replace content. A thin page with perfect markup is still a thin page.
Sources
- schema.org: RealEstateAgent and Person
- Google Search Central: Introduction to structured data
- Google Search Central: Local business structured data
- Google Search Central: AI features and your website
Keep going
- The whole site list: real estate agent website checklist 2026
- See if machines read you right: how to check what AI says about you
- Related: how to get found on Google AI Overviews, Google Business Profile for agents
- Not sure schema is your biggest gap? Top 3 Fixes finds the three changes that matter most for getting your site found on Google and in AI answers, for $49.
This is training for real estate agents. It isn't legal, tax or lending advice. Check with your managing broker.
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What schema should a real estate agent use?
RealEstateAgent for your business, Person for you, and sameAs links to your real profiles. Add FAQPage only on pages with visible questions and answers.
Does schema markup help real estate SEO?
It helps search engines understand your facts. Google doesn't promise a ranking boost or a special result for adding it.
Is RealEstateAgent schema the same as LocalBusiness?
RealEstateAgent is a more specific subtype of LocalBusiness on schema.org. Google says to use the most specific subtype you can.
Does FAQ schema still show in Google?
No. Google's documentation said FAQ rich results would stop appearing starting May 7, 2026. FAQ markup is now about clarity only.
Do I need schema to show up in AI Overviews?
Google says no special schema is required. Your page needs to be indexed and eligible for a snippet.
Brian Lee Burke is the founder of PadLeaders, a Colorado real estate broker licensed since 2003, team leader of The Kenna Group at Keller Williams DTC (formerly Kenna Real Estate Group) and the author of Mastering Real Estate and The Real Estate Playbook. More about Brian.