Pick the most specific type
Google recommends the most specific type that fits, such as Plumber, HVACBusiness, or HairSalon, all LocalBusiness types on schema.org. Put general Organization details on your homepage or About page.
SEO guide 20 · The technical foundation
Structured Data for Local Businesses
Structured data restates your key business facts in code search engines read reliably. It must match what visitors see on the page.
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Why this matters
How this part of SEO supports visibility and customer decisions.
Structured data is code, usually a JSON-LD block, that labels facts like your business name, address, phone, and hours. It helps Google read those facts from your site without guessing.
It's a small, low-risk job that is often oversold. Valid markup makes a page eligible for some search features, not entitled to them. Several once-popular types no longer show anything.
See the work in context.
Describe core business facts in machine-readable form
Structured data is code, usually a JSON-LD block, that labels facts like your business name, address, phone, and hours. It helps Google read those facts from your site without guessing.
- Pick the most specific type
- Mark up the core facts
- Match the visible page
Mark up only what the page visibly shows
It's a small, low-risk job that is often oversold. Valid markup makes a page eligible for some search features, not entitled to them. Several once-popular types no longer show anything.
- List the facts to mark up: name, address, phone, hours, website, and logo.
- Confirm each fact appears in the visible text of the page.
- Add the most specific LocalBusiness type to each real location page.
Skip markup that no longer earns results
Knowing what to avoid saves time and protects the trust you have built.
- Adding review or rating markup for your own testimonials
- Marking up hours, prices, or areas that aren't shown on the page
- Adding FAQ or HowTo markup expecting enhanced results
Recommended practices
What good work looks like.
Mark up the core facts
Google requires name and address for LocalBusiness and recommends phone, website URL, opening hours, and map coordinates. Schema.org's areaServed can list service areas, though Google's local business documentation doesn't list it.
Match the visible page
Google's guidelines say not to mark up content visitors can't see. If the markup lists Saturday hours, the page should show them. If customers don't visit your address and it isn't shown, use Organization markup without it.
Skip markup that won't pay off
Review stars don't appear for reviews a business collects about itself; Google calls these self-serving. FAQ rich results stopped showing in May 2026, and HowTo results were removed in 2023.
Test before and after publishing
Run key pages through Google's Rich Results Test and fix any errors. Recheck after redesigns or plugin changes, which often break or duplicate markup.
What to do next
A practical checklist.
- 01
List the facts to mark up: name, address, phone, hours, website, and logo.
- 02
Confirm each fact appears in the visible text of the page.
- 03
Add the most specific LocalBusiness type to each real location page.
- 04
Test each page in the Rich Results Test and fix errors.
- 05
Update the markup whenever hours, phone numbers, or addresses change.
Avoid these shortcuts
Mistakes that cost visibility or trust.
- Adding review or rating markup for your own testimonials
- Marking up hours, prices, or areas that aren't shown on the page
- Adding FAQ or HowTo markup expecting enhanced results
- Letting several plugins output conflicting business markup
Search visibility, rankings, enhanced results, calls, leads, and revenue depend on demand, competition, the website's starting point, and factors outside any agency's control. Results are not guaranteed.
Questions business owners ask
Direct answers for this part of SEO.
01Will structured data improve my rankings?+
Google doesn't describe it as a ranking boost. It helps Google understand your facts and can make pages eligible for certain features, but valid markup doesn't mean a feature will appear.
02Should I remove old FAQ markup?+
There's no need to add more, since Google no longer shows FAQ rich results. Existing FAQ markup that matches the page can be removed during your next routine cleanup.
03Do I need a developer to add it?+
Often not. Many website platforms and SEO plugins generate it. Check the output in the Rich Results Test, because plugin defaults can be wrong or duplicated.
Primary guidance
Read the current source material.
Apply the right practice to the right problem