HowTo Schema Generator | GEO Checker Tool

Why HowTo Schema Matters for GEO

Procedural queries ("how to", "steps to", "guide to") make up a huge share of AI assistant usage. When a user asks ChatGPT or Perplexity how to do something, the AI looks for pages with structured step-by-step data it can extract reliably. HowTo schema makes your steps machine-readable.

Clear step names: Keep step names short and action-oriented: "Gather water supplies" rather than "The first thing you should do is..."
ISO 8601 duration: Always fill in totalTime. AI engines use it to match queries like "30-minute guide to..."
estimatedCost: Highly valuable for budget-focused queries. AI engines cite cost-transparent guides more frequently.
5–12 steps: The optimal range for AI extraction. Fewer than 4 steps may not qualify as a HowTo; more than 15 steps dilutes the signal.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is ISO 8601 duration format? ⌄

ISO 8601 duration starts with "P" (for Period), then uses D for days, H for hours, M for minutes after a "T" separator. Examples: PT30M = 30 minutes, PT1H = 1 hour, PT1H30M = 90 minutes, P1D = 1 day, P1DT2H = 1 day and 2 hours. Never write "30 minutes" in plain text: always use the P/T/H/M format.

Can I include images in HowTo steps? ⌄

Yes. Each HowToStep can include an image property with the URL of a step-specific image. This is required for Google's HowTo rich results in image search. Add "image": "https://example.com/step1.jpg" to each step object. The generator above creates basic steps: add image fields manually if needed.

Should I combine HowTo with Article schema? ⌄

Yes. For a how-to guide that is also an article (which most are), include both HowTo and Article schema in separate JSON-LD blocks. HowTo schema covers the procedure, Article schema covers authorship and credibility. Both are processed independently by Google and AI engines.