Local business schema that matches your real business

Local business schema is structured data that describes a physical business or local service on a webpage. Use the most specific Schema.org LocalBusiness subtype that fits. Add JSON-LD to the page for that location. Include required and useful properties from Google's current documentation. Make every marked fact match visible content, then validate and maintain it.

Structured data gives machines a consistent description of visible facts. It can support eligible search features. It does not guarantee a rich result, a ranking, or an AI citation.

This guide focuses on implementation quality. Start with one real location page. Map its facts carefully. Expand only when each additional location has distinct, useful public information.

1. Pick the page before the schema type

Use a page that a visitor would trust as the primary source for the location. It should show the business name, address or service area, contact method, hours when relevant, services, and useful location details.

A multi-location business usually needs one useful page per location. Do not create empty doorway pages. Each page should help a customer visit, call, book, or understand that location. The markup must describe that page's location, not every location at once.

2. Choose the narrowest truthful subtype

Schema.org places many business types under LocalBusiness. Examples include Restaurant, Dentist, Store, and ProfessionalService. Choose the most specific type that clearly fits. Use LocalBusiness when a narrower documented type would be misleading.

3. Build the first JSON-LD object

Google recommends JSON-LD when practical. Put a script with type application/ld+json in the page. Start with @context set to https://schema.org and @type set to your chosen business type. Add the properties the page can support.

• —name: the same public business name shown on the page.
• —address: a PostalAddress with current address parts when applicable.
• —telephone: the location's current customer contact number.
• —url: the canonical location or business page.
• —image: a representative image that visitors can access.
• —openingHoursSpecification: current days and opening times.
• —priceRange: a truthful visible summary when it helps customers.

Google's required and recommended properties can change by feature. Check the current LocalBusiness documentation while you implement. Do not copy an old template without reviewing the current page and policy.

4. Model hours, departments, and multiple locations carefully

Use openingHoursSpecification for regular hours and documented validFrom or validThrough values for seasonal changes. Follow Google's examples for overnight hours and late closing times. Keep holiday exceptions current where the supported model allows them.

A department can use its own type, name, phone, and hours when customers treat it as a distinct unit. A separate location should use its own page and entity. Do not merge different addresses into one PostalAddress.

5. Connect consistent identifiers

Use the page's canonical URL as its stable public reference. Add sameAs links only for official profiles that represent the same business entity. Do not use sameAs for reviews, news articles, or unrelated directory category pages.

Keep the marked name, address, phone, and URL consistent with visible website details. Also correct the profiles that customers rely on. Consistency reduces ambiguity, but it does not prove quality or guarantee visibility.

6. Validate syntax, eligibility, and page truth

Use Google's Rich Results Test for supported Google features. Use Schema.org's validator for the broader vocabulary. A clean syntax result is only the first check. Review the rendered page and compare every marked property with what a visitor can see.

7. Understand the AI visibility limit

Local business schema can help systems interpret explicit facts. Google says structured data should match visible content and does not guarantee a search appearance. No primary source in this guide promises an answer-engine citation from schema alone.

Keep the page useful without markup. Explain the services, area, constraints, proof, and next step in readable text. If you need a wider local and AI discovery review, see Tin GEO for small businesses.

Common local business schema mistakes

• —Marking facts that do not appear on the public page.
• —Using one address object for several different locations.
• —Choosing an inaccurate subtype to target a keyword.
• —Leaving holiday hours or closed locations unchanged.
• —Adding reviews or ratings that the business collected itself.
• —Assuming valid markup guarantees a rich result or AI mention.

Primary sources and validators