SEO in 2025: A practical guide for performing arts presenters, festivals, and artists
Search engine optimization (SEO) isn’t just for big tech companies. It’s a powerful tool that helps even the smallest performing…
Schema markup is a behind-the-scenes tool that helps search engines and AI tools (like ChatGPT and Perplexity) understand your website content. Adding it to your site can improve how your events, shows, and work appear in search results—and increase the chances that people discover you.
Schema markup is a behind-the-scenes tool that helps search engines and AI tools (like ChatGPT and Perplexity) understand your website content. Adding it to your site can improve how your events, shows, and work appear in search results—and increase the chances that people discover you.
This cheat sheet outlines the most useful types of schema for Canadian artists and arts organizations in 2025, with simple guidance you can implement even without a developer.
Schema is a special code you add to your website. It tells Google and AI tools what your pages are about—like whether you’re an artist, a venue, or hosting an event.
It’s not visible to your visitors, but it helps your content:
You can generate it using tools like:
Tells Google who you are, what you do, and where you’re located.
Include:
👉 Use this on your homepage or “About” page.
Adds location-based discoverability to your organization.
Include:
👉 Use this if you run a venue, gallery, or rehearsal space.
Tells search engines about you as an artist.
Include:
👉 Use this on your “About” page or artist bio page.
Helps your events show up in Google’s event previews and get cited in AI search.
Include:
👉 Use this on every individual event page.
A specialized version of Event Schema focused on music.
Include:
👉 Best for musicians or festivals presenting live music.
Improves visibility of performance clips, trailers, or behind-the-scenes footage.
Include:
👉 Use this if you embed YouTube or Vimeo videos on your site.
Lets Google pull your answers directly into search results.
Include:
👉 Use this on your FAQ page or to mark up short Q&As about booking, accessibility, or your artistic work.
Helps describe your collective or your artistic output. Optional but useful if you have:
Yoast SEO is another popular plugin option. It adds basic schema like Organization and Article automatically, but you must upgrade to the premium version to access a wider range of schema types.
If you’re comfortable pasting code:
<script type="application/ld+json">
{ your schema code here }
</script>
Use Google’s Rich Results Test to make sure it works!
Write JSON-LD schema for a concert by [artist name] on [date], at [venue]. The event starts at [time], costs [$], and features [description or names of additional performers]. Include a description and performer names.”
Schema is most important when you want your content to show up clearly and attractively in search results—or to be cited by AI tools like ChatGPT or Perplexity. If you’re promoting an event, launching a new album or show, or updating your bio or venue information, adding schema helps search engines understand exactly what’s happening, when, and where. It’s especially valuable for event listings, video content, and frequently asked questions, since these types often appear as rich results or answer boxes.
Schema is less critical for ephemeral, time-sensitive content that:
In these cases, schema isn’t harmful—it just may not provide much return on effort. It’s better to prioritize schema for evergreen or searchable content that supports your visibility, such as:
Start by adding schema to your most important and visible pages, and expand from there when time allows.
