ItemList is a Schema.org type for a list of things, each wrapped in a ListItem with a position. On its own it describes listicles, collections and rankings. Google documents ItemList for carousels, where a summary page lists several detail pages of a supported type and Google may show them as a horizontally scrolling set. Supported content types are limited and have changed over time.
Two patterns for carousels
Google documents a summary page plus detail pages pattern, where the list holds only URLs of pages that each carry their own full markup, and an all-in-one page pattern, where the list items contain the full entities. Google's carousel documentation has listed Course, Movie, Recipe and Restaurant as supported types. Separately, Google has tested host carousels for some types in the European Economic Area. Check current documentation, since several of these types have been affected by deprecations.
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "ItemList",
"itemListElement": [
{ "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1,
"url": "https://www.oakhurst.example/academy/intro" },
{ "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2,
"url": "https://www.oakhurst.example/academy/advanced" }
]
}ItemList on SaaS listicles
Best-of and alternatives pages are lists, and ItemList describes them accurately. Software is not a documented carousel type, so this will not produce a carousel in Google. It can still clarify the order and items on the page for parsers.
Rules that apply
All items in a carousel list must be the same type, and each detail page must be on the same domain for the summary pattern. The list should match what users see on the page.
Example
A comparison listicle
Oakhurst publishes a page ranking ten scheduling tools. It adds an ItemList whose ListItems name each tool in the order shown. It does not expect a carousel, since software is not a supported carousel type, but the markup matches the page and costs little.
Common mistakes
Mixed item types in one carousel list
Google expects items of a single supported type.
Expecting carousels for unsupported types
Lists of software, articles or services are valid markup but not carousel-eligible in Google's documentation.
Questions
They can, as accurate description. No Google feature uses ItemList on blog archives.
