⚖️ Law Firms · FAQPage Schema

Criminal Defense FAQPage Schema for Law Firms

FAQPage JSON-LD markup tells ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews exactly what questions your page answers — and what the answers are. It's the single highest-impact GEO signal for local service businesses. Use this free copy-paste template for your Criminal Defense page.

Copy-paste JSON-LD template

Add this inside a <script type="application/ld+json"> tag in your <head> section. Replace the sample values with your actual business details.

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "How much does a criminal defense attorney cost?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Criminal defense attorneys typically charge $1,500–$10,000+ depending on the severity of charges. Misdemeanors: $1,500–$5,000. Felonies: $5,000–$100,000+. Many attorneys offer payment plans. Public defenders are free for those who qualify financially."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What should I do if I'm arrested?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Remain calm. Do not resist. Invoke your right to remain silent — say \"I am invoking my right to remain silent.\" Do not consent to searches. Ask for an attorney immediately and do not answer questions without one present. Contact a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "What is the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Misdemeanors are less serious crimes (theft under $500, first DUI, simple assault) punishable by up to 1 year in jail. Felonies are serious crimes (robbery, assault with a weapon, drug trafficking) punishable by more than 1 year in prison. Felony convictions can permanently affect employment, housing, and civil rights."
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Question",
      "name": "Can a criminal record be expunged?",
      "acceptedAnswer": {
        "@type": "Answer",
        "text": "Expungement eligibility depends on the crime, your state, and time since conviction. Many misdemeanor and some felony convictions can be expunged after completing your sentence and waiting period. Expungement seals the record from most background checks. An attorney can assess your eligibility."
      }
    }
  ]
}

Required and recommended fields

Field	Value	Status	Notes
`@context`	`https://schema.org`	Required	Always exactly this value
`@type`	`FAQPage`	Required	Always exactly "FAQPage"
`mainEntity`	`Array of Question objects`	Required	Minimum 1 question; aim for 3-8 for best AI extraction
`name (Question)`	`The question text`	Required	Write how patients/clients actually search — buying intent questions perform best
`@type (Question)`	`Question`	Required	Always exactly "Question"
`acceptedAnswer`	`Answer object`	Required	Must be present for every Question
`@type (Answer)`	`Answer`	Required	Always exactly "Answer"
`text (Answer)`	`The answer text`	Required	Keep under 300 words. Direct, specific, no filler.

Common mistakes to avoid

Using generic questions ("What are your hours?") instead of buying-intent questions ("How much does the procedure cost?")
Nesting FAQPage inside another schema type — it must be a top-level @type
Writing answers longer than 300 words — AI systems prefer concise, direct answers

Why this helps ChatGPT and Perplexity cite your Criminal Defense page

Let AI extract direct answers from your service pages. When a client asks ChatGPT "criminal defense near me" or "best criminal defense in [city]," the AI scans pages it can crawl for structured answers. FAQPage Schema gives it exactly what it needs — a machine-readable Q&A it can extract and cite without any interpretation.

From AltorLab's weekly crawls of law firms websites: fewer than 25% have any FAQPage schema, and fewer than 15% have complete LocalBusiness schema with the correct subtype. This means the bar to appear in AI answers is low — one afternoon of technical work separates cited practices from invisible ones.

Want to see exactly where your criminal defense page stands? Check your GEO Health Score free →

Validate your implementation

After adding the schema, test it with these free tools:

Google Rich Results Test — checks for structured data errors
Schema.org Validator — validates against schema.org specification
AltorLab AI Visibility Checker — checks all 6 GEO signals including schema

Other law firms schema templates

Want a complete GEO audit for your criminal defense page?

AltorLab (ex-Microsoft AI team) checks all 6 AI citation signals on your website and gives you a prioritized fix list — free, 15 minutes.

Book free audit → Email amanda@altorlab.xyz