If you’re serious about improving your local SEO, you’ve probably heard the term “schema markup.” But if you’re not yet familiar with how it works or why it matters, you’re missing out on a crucial tool that can help your business rank higher in local searches. Schema tags, or structured data, help search engines like Google understand the content on your website more clearly. This is particularly important for local SEO, as it helps Google interpret your location, services, and relevance in a given area.
In this post, we’ll walk you through the schema tags that can significantly improve your local SEO and ensure Google picks up on your most important local signals. These tags aren’t just technical jargon—they’re actionable steps that can make your website more visible to customers searching in your area.
Let’s dive into how schema tags help Google read local SEO clues and improve your search rankings.
What is Schema Markup?
Schema markup is a type of code added to your website that helps search engines understand the context of your content. It doesn’t affect how your site looks to visitors, but it provides valuable information to search engines, which then use that data to display rich snippets, knowledge graphs, and local search results.
For local SEO, schema tags are crucial because they provide Google with detailed information about your business’s name, address, phone number (NAP), reviews, hours of operation, and more. This helps your business appear in local search results and boosts your chances of showing up in the local map pack, which is prime real estate for local businesses.
Why Schema Markup Matters for Local SEO
Google is always looking for ways to deliver the most relevant and useful results to users, especially for location-based searches. Local SEO focuses on increasing your visibility in a specific area, and schema markup plays a huge role in helping Google understand your business’s relevance to that area.
Without schema markup, Google may have to guess the context of your content. With it, Google can quickly and accurately determine the most important aspects of your business and present them to users in a clear and structured way. Essentially, schema tells Google exactly what to prioritize when presenting your site in search results.
Now that we’ve covered the basics of schema markup, let’s look at the specific schema tags you should implement to improve your local SEO.
Essential Schema Tags for Local SEO
1. LocalBusiness Schema
The LocalBusiness schema is one of the most important schema tags for local SEO. It helps Google understand that your website represents a business and, more specifically, a business that serves a particular location.
What it does:
- Signals to Google that your website represents a business with a physical location.
- Provides essential business details, including your NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number), website, and hours of operation.
- Informs Google about your business’s industry, such as whether you’re a restaurant, store, service provider, or healthcare provider.
Actionable tip:
Make sure you include the following fields in your LocalBusiness schema:
- Business name
- Address, city, state, and postal code
- Phone number
- Business category (e.g., restaurant, plumber, lawyer)
- Operating hours
- URL of your website
This is the foundation of local SEO schema and helps Google understand who you are and where you’re located.
2. Organization Schema
While the LocalBusiness schema is focused on physical location, the Organization schema is more about your business as a whole. This schema is useful for larger businesses or those with multiple locations. It helps Google know that your business is a legitimate, verified organization.
What it does:
- Adds an extra layer of legitimacy to your business in the eyes of Google.
- Provides details such as your business’s logo, social media profiles, and official name.
Actionable tip:
Include the following in your Organization schema:
- Your business’s official name
- Your logo (in image format)
- URLs for social media profiles (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn)
- Your business’s primary contact email
While LocalBusiness schema focuses on specific locations, Organization schema is useful for companies with a broader reach or multiple locations.
3. PostalAddress Schema
The PostalAddress schema is specifically used to mark up the address of your business. Since NAP consistency is a major ranking factor in local SEO, ensuring Google understands your address is crucial.
What it does:
- Provides a structured format for your business address, so Google knows your exact location.
- Helps prevent any confusion around your address, especially if you have a complex address (e.g., suite numbers or PO boxes).
Actionable tip:
Make sure to include the following:
- Street address
- City
- State
- Postal code
- Country
Having your address marked up properly ensures that Google knows exactly where your business is located, which helps with local ranking.
4. Review Schema (AggregateRating)
Customer reviews are a huge part of local SEO. When your business receives positive reviews, it signals to Google that you’re trusted in your community. The Review schema, also known as Aggregate Rating, helps Google display star ratings in the search results, which can increase click-through rates.
What it does:
- Displays your average rating as a star rating in search results.
- Includes the total number of reviews, giving potential customers more confidence in your business.
Actionable tip:
Implement the Aggregate Rating schema for product or service pages that collect reviews. Here’s what you’ll want to include:
- Average rating (e.g., 4.5 out of 5)
- Total number of ratings
- Rating value (if applicable)
These star ratings can make your business stand out in the search results, leading to higher engagement and better local rankings.
5. OpeningHours Schema
Local businesses have specific hours of operation, and Opening Hours schema tells Google exactly when your business is open and closed.
What it does:
- Helps Google display your business hours in the search results.
- Allows potential customers to quickly see when you’re available.
Actionable tip:
Make sure you’re marking up your business hours properly. Use the following format:
- Monday to Sunday (or specific days)
- Open and close times for each day
If your business has special hours for holidays or seasonal changes, you can use the Special Opening Hours Specification schema to mark those changes clearly.
6. GeoCoordinates Schema
The GeoCoordinates schema tells Google your exact geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude). This is especially important if your business serves a specific area and you want to be ranked for location-based searches in your city or neighborhood.
What it does:
- Helps Google pinpoint your business’s location for highly localized searches.
- Provides more precision in ranking your business for area-based queries.
Actionable tip:
If you want to implement this schema, you’ll need to get the latitude and longitude coordinates for your business location (you can use tools like Google Maps to find this). Add it to your schema like so:
- Latitude
- Longitude
Adding geo-coordinates can enhance your business’s local relevancy and help Google rank your business more effectively in the right geographic area.
Why You Should Implement Schema Tags Now
Schema tags are an essential part of local SEO that many businesses overlook. By adding schema markup to your website, you can improve the accuracy with which Google reads and interprets your site’s content. This, in turn, can lead to improved rankings in local search results and better visibility for potential customers.
But adding schema markup can be tricky if you don’t have the technical expertise or resources to handle it on your own. That’s where Local SEO Packages come in. Many SEO agencies offer packages specifically designed to optimize local businesses for search engines. These packages typically include schema implementation as part of their offerings, saving you time and ensuring your website is properly optimized for local SEO.
Conclusion
Schema markup is a game-changer when it comes to local SEO. By using schema tags such as LocalBusiness, PostalAddress, AggregateRating, and OpeningHours, you help Google understand the most important details about your business, making it easier for your company to rank in local search results.
Implementing these schema tags can improve your visibility, increase click-through rates, and ultimately drive more customers to your business. If you’re not familiar with how to implement schema on your site, consider reaching out to an expert or investing in Local SEO Packages to ensure everything is set up correctly.
Don’t let your competitors get ahead of you in local search—start adding schema tags to your website today and watch your local SEO soar.
