Technical SEO
LocalBusiness Structured Data: What to Include
LocalBusiness markup describes your business details clearly. It complements your Business Profile, not replaces it.
Google’s LocalBusiness documentation says the markup can tell Google about business hours, departments and other details, in the context of knowledge panels and local results. Required properties are the business name and address.
Recommended properties include opening hours, telephone, URL, geo coordinates, departments, price range and images.
Short answer: Add LocalBusiness structured data (using the most specific subtype, such as Plumber or Dentist) on your home or location page with the required name and address, plus recommended properties: telephone, url, openingHoursSpecification, geo, image and priceRange where relevant. Keep details identical to your Business Profile and visible page content. Don’t add aggregateRating for reviews about your own business; Google says that’s only for sites reviewing other businesses.
Key Takeaways
- Required: name and address.
- Recommended: hours, phone, URL, geo, image, departments.
- Use the most specific business type.
- Match your Business Profile and visible page.
- No self-serving review ratings.
Example (JSON-LD)
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Plumber","name":"Example Plumbing","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"123 Main St","addressLocality":"Austin","addressRegion":"TX","postalCode":"78701","addressCountry":"US"},"telephone":"+1-512-555-0100","url":"https://example.com/","openingHoursSpecification":[{"@type":"OpeningHoursSpecification","dayOfWeek":["Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday"],"opens":"08:00","closes":"18:00"}]}
Replace with your real details; the values shown are placeholders.
Rules to follow
- Mark up details shown on the page.
- One location per page; multi-location sites mark up each location page.
- Departments with different hours can be nested.
- Follow review rules (review snippets).
- Test with the Rich Results Test (testing).
Service-area businesses
If you hide your address on Business Profile, think carefully about publishing it in markup. Keep the website consistent with how you present the business (service-area businesses).
Adding it
WordPress SEO plugins such as Rank Math can output LocalBusiness markup from settings (WordPress SEO checklist). On other platforms, add JSON-LD in the page head.
Frequently asked questions
Does LocalBusiness markup improve map rankings?
Google describes it as a way to provide business details; local rankings mainly depend on relevance, distance and prominence.
Can I add review stars to my LocalBusiness markup?
Not for reviews about your own business. Google says those are self-serving.
Which type should I use?
The most specific schema.org LocalBusiness subtype that fits, such as Dentist or Electrician.
Want your local details consistent everywhere?
We align your website, structured data and Business Profile so every system sees the same business.
Sources
- Google Search Central: Local business structured data
- Google Search Central: Review snippet structured data
- Google Search Central: General structured data guidelines
Last reviewed October 14, 2026.
