Local business listings with Schema.org structured data

Making your local business stand out in search results is easier with Schema.org data for rich snippets. Adding structured data helps search engines understand your business better. Include your business name, address, phone number, map, reviews, and pictures. Learn how Schema.org data can boost your local SEO.

Local customers use search engines

Today, people use search engines to find businesses, especially those nearby. For instance, someone using their phone to search for ‘Italian restaurants’ will see detailed results for local eateries. These results may show distance, reviews, opening hours, and even reservation options.

Improve Local Rankings

Boosting your local business’s ranking involves providing search engines with plenty of information about your business, which local SEO helps with. You also need a great, fast, mobile-friendly website with quality content, links, and reviews.

To improve your rankings, aim to be the most relevant result for specific searches and the best business overall. One effective way to achieve this is by asking your customers for reviews. Reviews help search engines and potential customers identify legitimate businesses.

Why Schema.org?

Rich search results for Local businesses

Why you should use JSON-LD?

To achieve rich results, you must utilise structured data like Schema.org. In the past, adding Schema.org data to your post was complex as it required embedding it within your HTML code. With JSON-LD, you can insert a JavaScript code block into your page, making it more readable and easily editable. Additionally, there are numerous helpful tools available to assist you.

With JSON-LD, you avoid having code intertwined with your HTML elements, reducing the chances of errors. Moreover, Google recommends its usage. Let’s now explore how it’s implemented.

How to add Schema.org to your local business listing

When creating your local business listing, remember that since LocalBusiness is a subtype of Organisation, it’s best to include fields for Organisation along with those specific to your business.

Choose the Correct Business Type

Ensure you select a specific business type, not a broad one. For example, if you own a barbershop, use the LocalBusiness type HairSalon. You’ll find numerous business types on Schema.org, so you’ll likely find one that closely matches yours. If not, consider using the product types ontology, which uses Wikipedia pages to describe products or services with GoodRelations and Schema.org.

Generate and Test

While writing Schema.org JSON-LD code manually is possible, it’s not recommended. Utilise a generator like the Schema Markup Generator or Google’s Structured Data Helper. Alternatively, you can ask ChatGPT to code structured data for you. The Yoast Local SEO plugin is the simplest way to add local-oriented structured data. It also ensures compatibility with other structured data generated by Yoast SEO.

Validate Your Data

Always validate your structured data in the Rich Results Test Tool or Schema Markup Validator to ensure correct implementation. Classy Schema can also help visualise your implementation.

Monitor Your Site

Add your site to the Search Console to monitor how Google presents it. For more information on Google Search Console, read our beginner’s guide.

Required properties for local businesses

"address": { 
 "@type": "PostalAddress", 
 "streetAddress": "9901 Union Street", 
 "addressLocality": "Simi Valley", 
 "addressRegion": "CA", 
 "postalCode": "93065", 
 "addressCountry": "US" 
}

This structured data ensures that search engines correctly identify and display your business in search results.

Recommended properties

To make the most of structured data for your site, it’s essential to include additional properties beyond those mentioned in the previous paragraph. Ensure you add the following properties as well, if applicable. Remember, this is just the beginning – Schema.org/LocalBusiness offers numerous additional properties, and Google maintains a long list of supported properties:

• URL: Should be a working link, unlike the @id.
• geo
  • geo.latitude
  • geo.longitude
• telephone
• aggregateRating
• openingHoursSpecification
  • openingHoursSpecification.opens
  • openingHoursSpecification.closes
  • openingHoursSpecification.dayOfWeek
  • openingHoursSpecification.validFrom
  • openingHoursSpecification.validThrough
• menu
• department
• servesCuisine
• priceRange: Indicates the price range, e.g., how many $.”

By incorporating these additional properties, you provide more detailed and useful information about your local business to search engines.

Recommended properties for Organisation

As LocalBusiness structured data is closely linked to Organization structured data, it’s crucial to focus on both. There are numerous options available to help Google understand your business better. Below is a list of recommended properties to consider. Remember, Yoast SEO Premium and the Local SEO add-on simplify the process of filling in these details:

• name: Text field for the name of your business
• alternateName: Text field for another name your business often uses
• legalName: Text field for the registered legal name of your business
• description: Text field to describe your business
• logo: URL or ImageObject representing your business logo
• url: URL of your business website
• sameAs: URLs linking to other online services or social profiles associated with your business
• telephone: Text field for the phone number of your business
• email: Text field for the email address of your business
• address: PostalAddress object containing:
  • address.streetAddress: Text field for the street address
  • address.addressLocality: Text field for the locality (city/town)
  • address.addressRegion: Text field for the region (state/province)
  • address.postalCode: Text field for the postal code
  • address.addressCountry: Text field for the country
• contactPoint: ContactPoint object indicating how customers can best contact your business, including:
  • contactPoint.telephone: Text field for the phone number
  • contactPoint.email: Text field for the email address
• numberOfEmployees: QuantitativeValue indicating the number of employees
• foundingDate: Date field for the founding date of your business
• iso6523Code, duns, leiCode, naics, globalLocationNumber, vatID, taxID: Text fields for various identification codes associated with your business.

By including these properties, you provide comprehensive information to help search engines accurately understand and display your business.

Example code for local business Schema.org

To clarify how this works, we will use a real local business: Unique Vintage in Burbank, CA. This makes it a bit easier to validate the data we enter. In the code below, you’ll find all the NAP details, URLs, geolocation data, and opening hours you might need.

<script type='application/ld+json'>
 {
  "@context": "https://www.schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "@id": "https://unique-vintage.example.com/#organization",
  "name": "Unique Vintage",
  "alternateName": "Unique Vintage Clothing Store",
  "legalName": "Unique Vintage LLC",
  "description": "A clothing store featuring vintage-inspired women's separates & dresses plus men's shirts & hats.",
  "logo": "https://www.unique-vintage.com/example_logo.jpg",
  "url": "https://www.unique-vintage.com",
  "sameAs": [
   "https://www.facebook.com/uniquevintage",
   "https://www.instagram.com/uniquevintage",
   "https://twitter.com/uniquevintage"
 ],
  "telephone": "+1 818-848-1540",
  "email": "",
  "address": {
   "@type": "PostalAddress",
   "streetAddress": "2011 W Magnolia Blvd",
   "addressLocality": "Burbank",
   "addressRegion": "CA",
   "postalCode": "91506",
   "addressCountry": "USA"
 },
  "contactPoint": {
   "@type": "ContactPoint",
   "telephone": "+1 818-848-1540",
   "email": ""
 },
 "geo": {
  "@type": "GeoCoordinates",
  "latitude": "34.1736486",
  "longitude": "-118.332408"
 },
"openingHours": "Mo, Tu, We, Th, Fr 11:00-19:00; Sa 10:00-18:00; Su 12:00-17:00",
"image": "https://www.unique-vintage.com/example_image.jpg",
"aggregateRating": {
"@type": "AggregateRating",
 "ratingValue": "4",
 "reviewCount": "250"
 }
}
</script>

Reviews

Reviews play a crucial role in attracting new customers. Achieving high scores in Google reviews indicates that your business offers quality services or products, which can ultimately enhance your local rankings. Consider how you choose the next company to visit. Will it be the one with only three two-star reviews or the one with eighty-five-star reviews?

In the example provided, we’ve included a review section. If you intend to use reviews in your Schema.org data, remember that these reviews must originate from your website. You cannot directly display reviews from platforms like Yelp or TripAdvisor in search engine results. Encourage your customers to leave reviews on your website. Create a dedicated review page, gather customer feedback, and showcase it to the world.

Social

To complete your online profile, you must include links to your social media accounts. You must specify whether it’s an organisation or a person. The URL should direct to your main site, while the sameAs links should lead to your social media profiles.

<script type=”application/ld+json”>
{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
“@type”: “Organisation”,
“name”: “Example Shop,”
“url”: “https://www.exampleshop.com”,
“sameAs”: [
“https://www.facebook.com/exampleshop”,
“https://www.instagram.com/exampleshop”,
“https://twitter.com/exampleshop”
]
}
</script>

In the above example, ‘Example Shop’ provides its main URL and links to its social media profiles, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. These links enhance your online presence and allow customers to connect with your business across different platforms.

Google My Business

Another essential avenue for showcasing your local business is through Google My Business. By creating an account, you can verify your ownership and gain control over your business information. This includes details like address, opening hours, and photos. Moreover, you can manage and respond to reviews directly on Google and monitor the performance of your local listing.

However, it’s crucial to remember that Google My Business applies solely to Google’s platform. While it’s vital, adding structured data to your website using Schema.org is equally important. Schema.org is compatible with various search engines and offers broader functionalities beyond local business listings, making it a primary focus for your online presence.

Despite these efforts, your visibility on Google remains subject to its algorithms. Some businesses enjoy a prominent presence in the Knowledge Panel, while others may not. Similarly, product listings vary in richness, displaying prices, reviews, and availability inconsistently. While predicting outcomes can be challenging, it shouldn’t deter your efforts.

In summary, while Google My Business is valuable, leveraging Schema.org and maintaining an active online presence across platforms remain integral to your business’s success.

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