Local Business Structured Data: Complete Implementation Guide

Why Use LocalBusiness Schema?

• Enhance your Google knowledge panel with accurate business details including address, phone number, and opening hours.
• Improve rankings in local search results and Google Maps by providing search engines with unambiguous location data.
• Reduce friction for potential customers by surfacing key information — like whether you are currently open — directly in search results.
• Support voice search queries such as 'restaurants near me open now' by providing machine-readable opening hours and location data.
• Consolidate your business information in a single, authoritative source that search engines can trust over inconsistent third-party directories.

Required Properties

These properties are required by Google for LocalBusiness structured data to be eligible for rich results.

Recommended Properties

Adding these properties improves your chances of appearing in rich results and provides more context to search engines.

JSON-LD Example

Here is a complete LocalBusiness structured data example you can use as a starting point. Or use our LocalBusiness generator to create one automatically.

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Restaurant",
  "name": "The Olive Garden Bistro",
  "image": "https://www.olivegardenbistro.co.uk/images/storefront.jpg",
  "url": "https://www.olivegardenbistro.co.uk",
  "telephone": "+44 20 7946 0958",
  "priceRange": "££",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "42 Borough High Street",
    "addressLocality": "London",
    "addressRegion": "Greater London",
    "postalCode": "SE1 1XW",
    "addressCountry": "GB"
  },
  "geo": {
    "@type": "GeoCoordinates",
    "latitude": 51.5045,
    "longitude": -0.0915
  },
  "openingHoursSpecification": [
    {
      "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification",
      "dayOfWeek": [
        "Monday",
        "Tuesday",
        "Wednesday",
        "Thursday",
        "Friday"
      ],
      "opens": "11:00",
      "closes": "22:00"
    },
    {
      "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification",
      "dayOfWeek": [
        "Saturday",
        "Sunday"
      ],
      "opens": "10:00",
      "closes": "23:00"
    }
  ],
  "servesCuisine": "Mediterranean",
  "acceptsReservations": "True"
}
</script>

How to Implement LocalBusiness Schema

1. 1Choose the most specific @type for your business. Browse schema.org/LocalBusiness to find subtypes like Bakery, LegalService, or HairSalon that match your trade.
2. 2Add a JSON-LD script block to each location page. For single-location businesses, the homepage is appropriate; for multi-location brands, add markup to each dedicated location page.
3. 3Include the full postal address and geo coordinates. Cross-reference these with your Google Business Profile to ensure consistency.
4. 4Define your opening hours using openingHoursSpecification. Account for different hours on different days and include holiday closures where relevant.
5. 5Add contact details including telephone and url. If you accept reservations or appointments, indicate this with the appropriate properties.
6. 6Test your markup with Google's Rich Results Test and validate that your business details match across your website, Google Business Profile, and directory listings.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Using the generic LocalBusiness type when a more specific subtype exists — Google strongly prefers specific types like Pharmacy, GasStation, or BeautySalon.
• Providing an address that does not match your Google Business Profile, which creates conflicting signals and can harm local rankings.
• Omitting geo coordinates, forcing Google to geocode your address itself — this can result in inaccurate map placement.
• Listing opening hours that are outdated or do not account for bank holidays, leading to a poor user experience when customers arrive at a closed business.
• Adding LocalBusiness markup to pages that are not about a specific physical location, such as blog posts or company-wide about pages.

Testing & Validation

Before deploying your LocalBusiness structured data, validate it using these tools:

1. 1Google Rich Results Test — Paste your page URL or code snippet to check if your structured data is eligible for rich results.
2. 2Schema Markup Validator — Validates your JSON-LD syntax against the schema.org specification.
3. 3Google Search Console — After deployment, monitor the Enhancements report for any errors or warnings.

Frequently Asked Questions