Schema Mountain Part 1 — The Green Circle Runs (Beginner Schema Every Website MUST Build for AEO & GEO)
Schema isn’t sexy.
Nobody wakes up excited to write JSON-LD or brag about structuring their WebSite node.
But here’s the truth:
If you want to win in AI search, schema is the map the engines follow.
And because ski season is here, I figured—why not make this at least kind of interesting and turn the whole thing into a trail map?
Something clear.
Something visual.
Something you can actually use.
Welcome to Schema Mountain — where every trail is a type of schema you need to show up inside:
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ChatGPT
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Gemini
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Perplexity
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Claude
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Copilot
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And Google’s AI Overviews
This post is Part 1 of my three-part Schema Mountain Series, covering the Green Circle runs — the beginner-level structured data every website needs before touching AEO, GEO, or AI ranking strategies.
These are your foundational trails.
No site should skip them.
What Is Schema?
Schema is structured data that explains your website to AI systems in a language they understand.
Not “guess.”
Not “infer.”
Understand.
Here’s the analogy:
If your website is the mountain, schema is the trail map.
Without it, AI engines are standing at the summit staring at a giant white slope thinking:
“Uh… where does this go?”
Schema labels the trails.
It tells AI:
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What the page is
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Who wrote it
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What the business does
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What you sell
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Where you’re located
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How your site is structured
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What content relates to what
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And which information is authoritative
Schema turns your site from a collection of pages into a legible entity.
Why Schema Matters in AEO & GEO
Traditional SEO helped Google index the web.
AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) help AI explain the web.
When someone asks Gemini:
“What’s the best Answer Engine Optimization agency in Boston?”
AI engines don’t return links — they return answers.
Schema is what allows your brand to get:
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Mentioned
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Recommended
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Cited
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Quoted
inside those answers.
No schema = no visibility.
Schema is how you go from “a website” to an entity AI trusts.
🟢 The Green Circle Runs: Your Foundation
These are the 5 essential schema implementations every site must have to even be taken seriously by AI engines.
Think of this as your:
“Don’t wipe out on your first run.”
🟢 Easy Street: Site-Wide Identity
Every mountain has a base lodge.
This is yours.
Easy Street defines your identity layer — the structured version of who you are.
Key Schema Types
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WebSite
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Organization
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Person (YOU, the founder or primary author)
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ContactPoint
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PostalAddress
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Brand
Why It Matters
This is how ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity learn:
“GreenBanana SEO is a real company, led by Kevin Roy, specializing in AEO and GEO.”
This is the spine of your entire AI presence.
🟢 Content Crossing: Page-Level Essentials
Now we tell AI:
Not what a page says, but what a page is.
Just like skiing terrain is clearly marked—green, blue, black—AI needs to know exactly what type of page it’s looking at.
Key Schema Types
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WebPage
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AboutPage
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ContactPage
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ProfilePage
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CollectionPage
Why It Matters
It helps AI:
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Classify your pages
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Choose the right page to cite
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Understand your site intent
This is the “terrain labeling” of your entire site.
🟢 Trail Map Traverse: Navigation & Structure
Trail Map Traverse is your site architecture, but structured.
It teaches AI how your terrain is connected.
Key Schema Types
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BreadcrumbList
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ItemList
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SiteNavigationElement
Analogy
Imagine skiing a brand-new mountain with no map.
You’d be guessing.
And we don’t want AI to guess.
Schema removes the guesswork.
🟢 Reputation Ridge: Reviews & Social Proof
AI engines rely heavily on trust.
Reviews and ratings aren’t optional—they’re authority signals.
Key Schema Types
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Review
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Rating
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AggregateRating
Why It Matters
This is how you get:
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Star ratings
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Social proof
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Credibility in AI answers
If your Google Business Profile says you have a 4.8 rating?
Put it in schema.
AI won’t recommend what it cannot verify.
🟢 Local Lodge Lane: Local Business Basics
If you have a physical location or service area, this run is essential.
Key Schema Types
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LocalBusiness
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Place
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GeoCoordinates
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OpeningHoursSpecification
Why It Matters
AI engines LOVE businesses with strong location clarity.
If you want to rank for:
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“Best ski tuning near me”
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“Ski shop open now”
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“Best HVAC company in Boston”
— then LocalBusiness schema is non-negotiable.
Together, these foundational schema types tell AI:
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Who you are
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What your pages are
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How your site is structured
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Why you’re trusted
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Where you operate
Without these? You’re invisible.
Up Next: The Blue Square Runs
Now that you’ve survived the beginner trails…
We’re taking the lift up into the intermediate runs — the Blue Squares, where we build:
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Authority
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Topic relevance
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Rich results
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Real AEO/GEO momentum
Part 2 is where Schema Mountain gets really fun.
Hit subscribe — and let’s keep climbing.
Kevin Roy is a performance-driven leader who has built his career around providing a vision for profitable growth strategies, products, services, and new market entries. Throughout his career, he has delivered tens of millions of dollars in revenue for private and public organizations in technology, finance, manufacturing, non-profits, retail, defense, biotech, fintech, and many other businesses. As a change agent, he has a proven history of increasing profitability and finding innovative solutions to complex issues. Kevin excels at building collaborative, cross-functional relationships that improve business outcomes, enhance customer experience, and drive up annual profit margins.
