What Schema.org type do I use to define a service?

Question

How I define a service with schema.org?

For example, A pest control business: "Termite control" -> I think it's not a product ( http://schema.org/Product )

What should I use to define it?

Lectureship

Answer 1

At http://schema.org/Product it reads (bold emphasis mine):

A product is anything that is made available for sale—for example, a pair of shoes, a concert ticket, or a car. Commodity services, like haircuts, can also be represented using this type.

So I’d say if you sell the "Termite control" service, Product is fine.

Update: The description for Product changed to this:

Any offered product or service. For example: a pair of shoes; a concert ticket; the rental of a car; a haircut; or an episode of a TV show streamed online.

So it still includes services.

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While there is now also the type Service ("A service provided by an organization, e.g. delivery service, print services, etc."), it misses properties to sell this service, i.e., you can’t reference an Offer and so you can’t denote a price for the service you provide.

Update: A Service can now also have the offers property, so it’s possible to sell/offer a Service. (Thanks for the notice, @Murali KG.)

Pennebaker

@Pennebaker With the last update you made, it doesn't actually show it being used anywhere in a Service. Not even showing it in the examples except for Invoice. Are you sure it can be used in Service? – Jelene

@adamj: As soon as a property is listed in the first table on a type’s page, you can use it. And for Service it (still) lists offers. So yes, you can have a Service and provide an Offer for it via the offers property. -- The examples are only informational, and there are many types/properties without any example at all. – Pennebaker

Answer 2

Basically, you can use the service itemtype this way:

<div itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Service">

        <img  itemprop="image" src="http://my-image.jpg">
        <div itemprop="name">Service name</div>
        <span itemprop="description">Description of the service</span>
                
</div><!--end of itemscope-->

Unfortunately, service itemtype doesn't allow you to specify as many properties as with Product itemtype, so:

You can also use product itemtype to define a service but, some search engines might not use it if you don't follow their guideline. For instance, Google requires that:

• the main topic of the page should be a specific product
• The product should be available for purchase directly on the page
• price must be included
• It's not an adult-related products
• If the product has been reviewed by a single reviewer, the reviewer’s name needs to be a valid name for a Person

See Google's Rich snippets - Products guideline

Mclellan

Answer 3

I would advise you NOT to use the product schema for a service as there is a property specifically for Services.

Faucher

Answer 4

I think you should be fine using ProfessionalService as itemtype, because to my best understanding pest control is a professional service.

Temptation