Schema Markup for Local Businesses

If it’s hard ranking your local business, then you need to learn about Schema.

In this article you will learn:

• All about schema
• How to use schema on your website
• How Google uses schema markup for its SERPs
• Why schema is important
• Different schema types used by local businesses

500,000 to 1,000,000 websites use LocalBusiness schema, according to Schema.org.

Considering there are millions of businesses worldwide, schema is underused by local businesses.

Most people have seen schema markup without knowing it’s schema.

For example, when using Google Maps to search for a business, the results include an information box.

The information box, also know as a knowledge panel, sits at the top of the page with data, such as:

• The business’s physical address
• Opening hours
• The business’s website address

Schema markup is used to take information from the business’s website for the search engine results pages (SERPs).

So, lets learn the basics of adding schema markup to your local business website.

What is Schema for Local Businesses?

Adding schema markup to your local business website helps Google:

• Know your type of business
• the information to add in search results pages

By adding local business markup to your website, user readable content is made readable to search engines, in their JSON-LD language. 

Basically, your local business schema is cross-checked with categories in the schema.org vocabulary.

In the schema.org vocabulary, the LocalBusiness type is a subcategory of both Organizations and Places.

LocalBusiness is defined in schema.org as, a physical business or part of an organisation.

Examples of LocalBusiness types include:

• Restaurants
• Hotels
• Coffee shops
• Cinemas

The local business schema gives Google all the information needed for your local business website to rank higher in the search results.

For example, for an Indian restaurant in Manchester, UK to be found when people type “Indian restaurant near me,” the web page needs all the markup information.

Remember, only use relevant schema types for the content on your website to keep your information accurate and applicable.

And, view the definitions for each type of markup in schema.org, to understand the meanings before using them.

Local Business Schema Types

The diffreent types of local business schema helps Google determine your website’s category in search results.

A local business’s most common schema markup are:

• Organisations like a school, NGO, corporation, club, and more. Used on the website’s homepage and about page
• Local Business with a physical location. With information about opening hours, contact details, and more.
• Person acting as a contact point for a business or organisation. Includes fictional characters from movies/TV shows

Creating Local Business Schema Markup

Before creating a local business schema markup, you have to take a few steps frist.

These steps include:

• Adding properties
• Follow the schema.org guidelines, found here
• Re-check that the code appears on your website. Use the JSON-LD format
• Test your schema markup using Google’s Rich Results Testing Tool and the Schema Markup Validator

Markup Testing

Two ways to test your markup for local businesses include:

• Schema Markup Validator – checks your markup against the schema.org guidelines and its free
• Google’s Rich Results Test Tool – checks your pages are working and show up in search results as rich results

Manage Local Business Schema Markup

Managing your markup on a regular basis comes after creating your markup.

Managing your markup includes:

• Making sure your code appears on your website
• Making sure any changes shows in the markup

Remember, keep your schema markup up to date, when:

• You update your website
• Google’s updates it’s algorithm

Check Google’s Webmasters Blog regularly to keep up to date with the latest Google changes, which could affect your website.

Conclusion

Schema gets your business attention by increasing your website’s traffic via search engines.

Two important aspects to keep in mind include:

• The type of content you write for you website
• Where your business information appears on each web page

Understanding which markup type will be most benficial to your local business is improtant.

Make sure your markup code is both accurate and value by following the schema.org guildelines.

And, test your markups with Google’s Rich Results Preview Testing Tool, before confirming any updates made.

Let me know if there is anything else you would include in the comments below.