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Ever wondered how to make your business more visible for local search? One way to make your site more relevant to Google and other search engines is by implementing local business schema markup.

But what exactly is schema markup? 

This article will cover the basics of structured data, its importance, and its implementation.

What Is Schema Markup?

Before going into more detail about local business schema, we must first know what schema markup is and how it helps your site rank better in Google.

Schema markup, also known as structured data, is a microdata vocabulary that allows search engines to better understand vital information on your site. 

Search engines, in general, read sites in a different way than we do. They can’t gather as many context cues as we humans can. And, without a proper understanding of a page’s topic, search engines can’t do much to rank it to relevant terms. 

Implementing structured data helps close this gap. Structured data provides those additional tags on your site’s code to better describe the overall context of your page.

This better understanding also helps your site be eligible for rich results, which have shown so far that have higher click-through rates. 

Since there’s a wide array of content types, there are also different schema types for each content. Using the proper markup language not only helps increase your rankings but also prevents your site from getting your page penalized.

What Is LocalBusiness Schema?

Schema.org LocalBusiness is a structured data type that you can implement to your site for search engines to get relevant information about your particular business. 

Through this schema markup, you can specify to search engines vital information such as:

• Type of business
• Phone number
• Business Name
• Logo
• Hours
• Address
• Opening Hours
• Geo Coordinates

This extra information helps increase your authority in your area, thus aiding you in your Local SEO strategy. 

Creating Local Business Structured Data Markup

Before implementing a local business schema to your site, you must ensure that the code being implemented is formatted properly and that your site follows Google’s guidelines. 

Here are the must-haves for creating a properly formatted code:

Use the Right Category

Similar to your Google Business Profile’s category, the category you choose for the markup must accurately describe your business. 

Picking a relevant category allows Google to understand your side topically. Because of this, sites can gain prominence on Google and rank in searches corresponding to their business and services.

These are some of the most popular categories you can choose from:

• EntertainmentBusiness
• FinancialService
• FoodEstablishment
• HeatlhAndBeautyBusiness
• LegalService
• Dentist
• RealEstateAgent
• ProfessionalService

You can also visit the Schema.org site to gather a complete list of the categories and specific types you can use.

Incorporate Required Local Business Properties

After choosing the specific category type for your business, your code must have two required properties.

At a minimum, it must include the following:

• Image Field
• Name Field

Missing these features will make your schema markup code automatically invalid, showing Google that it has 2 Critical Issues.

Use Additional Attributes if Applicable

While adding the required elements mentioned above will make your code valid, it won’t get you far. 

Here’s where you feed it with all of the remaining information relating to your business. 

Some additional properties to add are:

• URL
• Phone
• Price Range
• Address
• Geo Coordinates
• Business Hours
• Social Media Profiles

This data especially attributes such as Address and Geo Coordinates, allows Google to know your location. Therefore, you’ll be able to appeal to location-themed keywords that appeal to your area and increase your visibility. 

Note: It’s essential that inputting these data must match with what’s on your website, as errors or inconsistencies in these properties could make your site ineligible for rich results.

Testing Out the Markup Code

Lastly, to ensure that markup code abides by Google’s structured data guidelines, it’s best to test it before implementing it on your website. 

You can use two free tools to test code snippets and websites with implemented schema markups. These tools are Schema’s Markup Validator and Google’s Rich Results Testing Tool.

Here are some examples of how a Schema markup code that’s properly formatted would look on both of these platforms:

Markup Validator:

Rich Results Testing Tool:

Lastly, you can gather enhanced reports regarding the schema markups incorporated in your site through Google Search Console.

And this is an example of how the code itself would look like:

   
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "AnimalShelter",
  "name": "Example Animal Shelter",
  "image": "https://www.whitesharkmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wsm-logo.png",
  "@id": "",
  "url": "exampleanimalshelter.com",
  "telephone": "(123) 456-7890",
  "priceRange": "$$",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "405 Post Farm Road",
    "addressLocality": "Atlanta",
    "addressRegion": "GA",
    "postalCode": "30020",
    "addressCountry": "US"
  },
  "geo": {
    "@type": "GeoCoordinates",
    "latitude": 33.764790,
    "longitude": -84.366753
  },
  "openingHoursSpecification": {
    "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification",
    "dayOfWeek": [
      "Monday",
      "Tuesday",
      "Wednesday",
      "Thursday",
      "Friday"
    ],
    "opens": "08:00",
    "closes": "17:00"
  },
  "sameAs": [
    "facebook.com/exampleanimalshelter",
    "linkedin.com/exampleanimalshelter"
  ] 
}
</script>

   

Adding Local Schema Markup to a Site

With a properly formatted schema markup, the code snippet is ready to be implemented on the site. This process differs depending on how your business runs and your site’s built.

If your business serves multiple locations and has different addresses, then the implementation of the code would be best complemented through localized landing pages for each area.

On the other hand, if you’re serving only one location, you can apply the code to the sitewide header.

LocalBusiness Schema markup is a must-have optimization tactic to incorporate into your Local SEO Strategy. By subscribing to our blog, you can learn about essential elements that should constitute your overall search engine optimization strategy! 

Likewise, if you wish for professional help to rank your site, get valuable data, and increase your online presence, feel free to contact our team to learn more about our SEO management services.