Periodical

Periodical is a CreativeWorkSeries subtype for serials: scholarly journals, trade magazines, newspapers, newsletters, any publication that comes out on a recurring schedule. It is the umbrella that holds PublicationVolume (the bound-together annual run) and PublicationIssue (a single issue) together. Its direct subtypes are ComicSeries and Newspaper.

Periodical adds 3 properties of its own: issn (the International Standard Serial Number), startDate (when the serial began publishing), and endDate (when it ceased, if it did). Everything else is inherited from CreativeWork.

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

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

Highlight legend:Required by GoogleRecommendedOptional

schema.org/Periodical

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Periodical",
  "name": "Xoo Code Quarterly",
  "alternateName": "XCQ",
  "issn": "2693-0000",
  "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Xoo Code", "url": "https://xoocode.com" },
  "startDate": "2024-03-01",
  "url": "https://xoocode.com/quarterly",
  "description": "Peer-reviewed quarterly covering structured data, JSON-LD patterns, and schema.org vocabulary evolution.",
  "inLanguage": "en",
  "hasPart": [
    { "@type": "PublicationVolume", "volumeNumber": 3, "datePublished": "2026" },
    { "@type": "PublicationVolume", "volumeNumber": 2, "datePublished": "2025" },
    { "@type": "PublicationVolume", "volumeNumber": 1, "datePublished": "2024" }
  ]
}
</script>

Periodical, Volume, Issue, Article chain

The canonical stack for a journal article is: ScholarlyArticle (the paper) → isPartOf → PublicationIssue (the issue) → isPartOf → PublicationVolume (the volume) → isPartOf → Periodical (the journal). Indexers like CrossRef and Google Scholar expect this structure.

ISSN format

ISSN is an 8-digit serial identifier in the form NNNN-NNNN where the final character may be X (check digit). Do not prefix with "ISSN "; supply the raw identifier.

Minimal valid version

The smallest markup that still produces a valid Periodical 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/Periodical (minimal)

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Periodical",
  "name": "Xoo Code Quarterly",
  "issn": "2693-0000",
  "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Xoo Code" }
}
</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.

No dedicated rich result
Google docs

Common Periodical 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.

01
ISSN with 'ISSN' prefix or wrong format
Wrong
```
"issn": "ISSN 2693-0000"
```
Right
```
"issn": "2693-0000" (raw 8-digit identifier, hyphen between groups of 4)
```
The issn property expects the bare ISSN value. Prefixes like 'ISSN ' or formats without the hyphen will not match registries like the ISSN International Centre.
02
Using Book/CreativeWork for a journal
Wrong
```
Book or bare CreativeWork for a scholarly journal
```
Right
```
Periodical so indexers can link volumes, issues, and articles into the standard serial hierarchy
```
Periodical unlocks the Volume/Issue/Article chain that CrossRef, Google Scholar, and library systems expect. Book and CreativeWork do not carry that structure.

Schema properties in this example

About the example data

The Xoo Code Quarterly, a fictional structured data trade journal published quarterly since 2024, ISSN 2693-0000.

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