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Guide

Guide is a pending CreativeWork subtype for pages that recommend specific products, services, or aspects of a thing for users to consider: a buying guide, a product comparison, a ranked "best of" list, a how-to that emphasises recommendations. It adds 2 properties: category (CategoryCode, PhysicalActivityCategory, Text, Thing, or URL) and reviewAspect (StructuredValue or Text, which dimension the guide evaluates).

Full example of schema.org/Guide json-ld markup

The markup is verified as valid with Rich Results Test from Google.

Highlight legend:Required by GoogleRecommendedOptional
schema.org/Guide
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Guide",
  "name": "The 2026 Xoo Code buyer's guide to JSON-LD validators",
  "description": "Ranked review of five JSON-LD validators assessed by depth of schema.org property coverage, pending-property handling, and developer ergonomics.",
  "datePublished": "2026-04-15",
  "dateModified": "2026-04-15",
  "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Xoo" },
  "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Xoo Code" },
  "category": "JSON-LD structured data tools",
  "reviewAspect": "Depth of schema.org property coverage",
  "mainEntity": {
    "@type": "ItemList",
    "itemListOrder": "https://schema.org/ItemListOrderDescending",
    "itemListElement": [
      { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "SoftwareApplication", "name": "XooStructured Enterprise" } },
      { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "SoftwareApplication", "name": "Competitor Two" } },
      { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "SoftwareApplication", "name": "Competitor Three" } }
    ]
  }
}
</script>

Guide vs HowTo vs Article

Use Guide when the page's value is in the recommendation (which product to buy, which option to pick). Use HowTo when the value is in the procedure (step-by-step instructions). Use Article for general editorial content that does neither. A "buying guide" is Guide; a "how to install" is HowTo.

Minimal valid version

The smallest markup that still produces a valid Guide entity. Use it as the floor. Reach for the advanced example above when you want search engines and AI agents to understand more about your content.

schema.org/Guide (minimal)
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Guide",
  "name": "The 2026 Xoo Code buyer's guide to JSON-LD validators",
  "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Xoo" },
  "datePublished": "2026-04-15"
}
</script>

Google rich results this unlocks

Markup matching this example makes your page eligible for the following Google Search rich results. The primary target drives the required / recommended property classification in the advanced code block above.

  • Article / ItemList rich result (via inheritance)primary
    Google docs

Common Guide mistakes

Mistakes that pass validation but silently fail to earn rich results or mislead consumers walking the graph. Avoid these and your markup will be ahead of most sites in the wild.

  1. 01

    Guide without a ranked ItemList or recommendation

    Wrong
    Guide on a page that has no recommendations
    Right
    Article (or BlogPosting) for general editorial; reserve Guide for pages that actually recommend specific things

    The whole point of Guide is the recommendation. A Guide without ranked items or clear recommendations signals nothing useful beyond what Article already provides.

  2. 02

    category as a generic string

    Wrong
    "category": "Tech"
    Right
    "category": "JSON-LD structured data tools" (specific) or a CategoryCode entity

    Specificity helps AI consumers and recommender systems. Overly-broad categories defeat the purpose.

Schema properties in this example

GuideCreativeWorknamedescriptiondatePublisheddateModifiedauthorPersonpublisherOrganizationcategoryreviewAspectmainEntityItemListitemListOrderItemListOrderDescendingitemListElementListItempositionitemSoftwareApplicationCategoryCodePhysicalActivityCategory

About the example data

A Xoo Code buyer's guide to JSON-LD validators, ranking five tools by depth of schema.org coverage.

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