Schema.org for Maritime Websites: A Practical Guide
Schema.org is a vocabulary of structured data that web developers add to HTML to help search engines and AI tools understand what a page is about. It is the difference between a website that says “we do marine surveys” and one that tells a machine: this is a marine surveyor, they operate in the North Sea, they are certified by Lloyd’s, and they can be reached at this phone number.
For maritime businesses, this distinction is enormous. The maritime sector is a niche within a niche. AI search tools that receive a query about “marine warranty surveyor Mediterranean” need clear signals to know which businesses are relevant. Schema.org provides those signals in a format machines can read instantly.
The Three Schema Types Every Maritime Business Needs
1. Organization
This is the foundational schema. It tells search engines who you are, what you do, where you operate, and how to reach you. For a maritime business, the critical fields are:
- name — your exact business name
- description — two to three sentences that describe your speciality in maritime terms
- knowsAbout — an array of your areas of expertise (vessel types, services, certifications)
- areaServed — your geographic operational area
- sameAs — links to your LinkedIn company page, IMO number page if applicable, and other authority sources
2. Person
Particularly important for sole operators, independent surveyors, and named maritime professionals. The Person schema links you as an individual to your organisation and establishes your expertise with AI tools.
3. Service or ProfessionalService
For each distinct service you offer, a Service schema with serviceType, description, and areaServed fields tells AI systems exactly what you provide and to whom.
Implementation
Schema.org markup is added as a JSON-LD script block in the <head> of each page. It does not change anything visible on the page — it is purely for machines. Google Search Console has a Rich Results Test tool that lets you verify your implementation is correct.
The fastest way to check whether your site has any Schema.org implementation at all is to run the free Marine AI Visibility Audit, which tests for structured data as part of the AI readiness category.