What Is Schema Markup? A Guide for Local Businesses

What is schema markup?

Schema markup describes information on a page in a structured format. A local business can use it to identify its name, services, contact details, and relationships between pages. It supports clear content; it does not replace that content.

A visitor still needs to understand what you do, where you work, and how to contact you. Start there before commissioning a complicated schema setup.

What should a business owner ask for?

Ask your developer for an inventory of the types used on each page and the facts that supply them. A business name should come from a maintained business record. An article's author and dates should come from the article. A price should agree with the current offer.

See our local-business schema checklist for a practical review process.

Will schema get me a special search result?

Only supported features are eligible, and correct markup does not guarantee display. Google's structured data introduction explains the distinction between describing content and appearing as a rich result.

Do not budget for a promised percentage increase in clicks simply because schema is installed. Measure what happens to your pages.

What about FAQs and review stars?

Google retired FAQ rich results in May 2026. A useful FAQ still helps visitors, but FAQPage markup is not a way to obtain expandable Google FAQ listings. See Google's documentation updates.

A business's own reviews of itself are not eligible for Google's self-serving LocalBusiness or Organization review stars. This includes embedded third-party reviews under the policy. Read the review snippet guidance before adding rating markup.

Is special schema required for AI answers?

Google does not require special AI schema. Its AI optimization guidance emphasizes existing SEO foundations. No markup purchase can guarantee an AI citation.

How do I check the implementation?

Ask for a representative homepage, service page, and article. Compare the visible facts with the structured data. Confirm that old business names, placeholder addresses, and expired offers are absent.

Use Google's Rich Results Test for supported search features and Schema.org's validator for vocabulary and syntax. A successful test is not proof of a ranking benefit. Keep the page URL, test date, and any remaining issues in your handover notes.

If you want to see what a correct LocalBusiness block looks like for your trade, the free local business schema generator builds one in the browser and validates the required fields. For technical implementation examples, read structured data for local businesses. For the broader website work, review the webIQ package scope.