Structured data for local businesses, plainly explained

Structured data is a short, hidden label on your website that tells Google your business facts in a format a computer can read without guessing: your name, address, phone, hours and what kind of business you are. The version for local businesses is called LocalBusiness schema. It helps Google read your site accurately, it is worth having, and many website builders add a basic version for you. It is not a shortcut to the top of the results, and it matters less than your Google Business Profile.

What structured data is, in plain words

When a person reads your contact page, they understand that "Mon-Fri 8-5" means your opening hours and "(555) 555-0123" is your phone. A computer reading the same page has to guess. It usually guesses right, but not always, especially when the page is busy or the details are spread around.

Structured data removes the guessing. It is a small block of text in the code of your page, invisible to visitors, that says in effect:

This is a business called "Hillside Bakery".
It is a bakery.
Its address is 12 Main Street, Hillsboro, Oregon.
Its phone is this number.
It opens at 7 and closes at 3, Tuesday to Saturday.
Its website is this address, and its logo is this picture.

The labels come from a shared vocabulary called Schema.org, which Google, Bing, Apple and others agreed on. That is why you hear it called "schema" or "schema markup". The most common format for it is called JSON-LD, which you do not need to understand to use, any more than you need to understand a barcode to scan one.

What LocalBusiness schema can include

For a small business, the useful facts are:

Name exactly as on your sign and your Google profile.
Type of business. Schema.org has many specific types under LocalBusiness, such as Plumber, Dentist, Bakery, AutoRepair, HairSalon, Attorney, RoofingContractor. Use the most specific one that fits.
Address, split into street, town, state and ZIP.
Phone number.
Website address and logo.
Opening hours, including different hours on different days.
Area served, for businesses that go to the customer.
Location on the map (latitude and longitude), optional.
Price range, a rough indicator, optional.
Links to your profiles on Facebook, Yelp and similar, optional.

Every fact in the structured data must match what visitors can see on the page. If the hidden label says you open at 7 but the page says 8, you have created a contradiction, not fixed one.

What it can do, and what it cannot

Structured data helps Google be sure about your details. Google can use it to understand which business a page belongs to, to connect your website with your other listings, and in some cases to show extra details in search results.

What it will not do:

It will not move you ahead of competitors on its own. Nobody can promise a ranking, and Google does not guarantee that structured data leads to anything shown in results.
It does not replace your Google Business Profile. The map results and the business panel on the right of Google come mainly from your profile, not your website code. Keep your profile complete first. Your Google Business Profile and website explains how they connect.
It does not get you review stars from your own testimonials. Google stopped showing star ratings in results for reviews a business publishes about itself on its own site. Anyone who sells you schema "for stars in Google" on your local business is out of date.
FAQ boxes in results are now shown only for a small group of authoritative sites, such as government and health sources. Adding FAQ markup to a plumbing site is harmless but rarely shows anything.

So think of structured data as tidy paperwork. It removes a source of error. It does not win the contest.

Does your site already have it?

Quite possibly. Many tools add basic structured data automatically:

Wix and Squarespace add some business information when you fill in your business details in the site settings. Check that those settings are complete: business name, address, phone, hours.
Shopify adds data mainly for products and the store itself.
WordPress usually needs a plugin. Popular SEO plugins add basic organization or local business data once you fill in their settings screens. Some themes add their own, which can clash with the plugin.
Custom-built or older sites often have none.

The way to know for sure is to test.

How to test it with Google's free tool

Go to Google's Rich Results Test.
Paste the address of your home page or contact page and click "Test URL".
Wait for it to fetch your page. It shows which kinds of structured data it found.
Look for "Local business" or "Organization" in the list. Click it to see the details Google read: name, address, phone, hours.
Check every detail against your real ones. A wrong phone number or an old address is the most common problem.
Note any warnings or errors. Warnings usually mean an optional field is missing. Errors mean something is broken.

If the tool finds nothing for your business, your site has no LocalBusiness data, or it is on a different page than the one you tested. Try the home page and the contact page.

For a more general check of all the Schema.org labels, there is also a Schema Markup Validator run by Schema.org itself. The Rich Results Test is the one that shows what Google cares about.

How to add it if you have none

You have three options, from easiest to hardest:

Use your builder's or plugin's business settings. Fill in every field: business type, name, address, phone, hours, logo. This is the safest route for most owners.
Ask whoever looks after your site to add LocalBusiness structured data to the home page or contact page. It is a small job for anyone who builds websites. Give them your exact details in writing.
Write it yourself. Google's developer documentation at developers.google.com has examples for local businesses. You copy the example, change the details and paste it into your site's code. Only do this if your builder lets you add code to the page header, and test it right after.

Put it on one page, usually the home page, for a business with one location. A business with several locations should have one page per location, each with its own details.

Common mistakes

Several plugins all adding their own version, with different details. Use one.
Stuffing keywords into the business name in the structured data, such as "Hillside Bakery Best Cakes Portland". Use your real name.
Listing towns as addresses when you only serve them. Your address is where you are. Towns you go to belong under area served.
Marking up details that are not on the page, such as hours you never show to visitors.
Leaving an old address after a move. Moving your business and updating Google lists everything to change.

What to do this week

Run your home page and contact page through the Rich Results Test.
Check every detail it found against your real name, address, phone and hours.
If you use a builder, open its business information settings and complete every field.
If you use WordPress, check that only one plugin or theme is adding business data.
Write a reminder to test again after any change to your details.

If your site is old enough that nobody can reach its code, you can see your site rebuilt first, with your business details set up properly from the start.