Local business schema is a small block of code that tells Google exactly who you are, where you are and when you’re open, and adding it properly takes most owners an afternoon. It won’t fix a weak website on its own, but it does remove guesswork for search engines. Here’s how to do it step by step, whether your shop’s in Southport or you run a van out of Nerang.
What local business schema actually does
Schema is structured data: a standard vocabulary (from schema.org) that labels the facts on your page so a machine can read them without interpreting your design. Your homepage might say “Open seven days” in a nice font. Schema says the same thing in a format Google doesn’t have to guess at.
The LocalBusiness type is the one most small businesses need. It covers your business name, address, phone number, opening hours, the area you serve, your website and links to your social profiles.
Here’s the honest bit. Schema helps Google understand and trust your details, and it can make your listing eligible for richer search features. It isn’t a ranking switch. Think of it as tidying the paperwork so nothing gets lost, not as a shortcut past good content and a solid Google Business Profile.
Choose the most specific business type
LocalBusiness is the parent type, and it has dozens of more specific children. A plumber can use Plumber. A cafe can use CafeOrCoffeeShop. A dental clinic can use Dentist. A real estate office can use RealEstateAgent. Picking the most specific one gives Google a clearer signal than the generic parent.
Browse the list on schema.org and pick the closest match. If nothing fits exactly, go up one level (HomeAndConstructionBusiness, for example, for a lot of trades) rather than choosing something that’s only sort of right. Don’t stack five types to cover every service you offer. One accurate type beats a pile of hopeful ones.
Gather details that match your profile
Before you write a single line, open your Google Business Profile and copy the details straight from it. Your name, address, phone number and hours in the schema should match the profile and the visible text on your site character for character. If the profile says “Shop 4, 12 Example Street” and your footer says “4/12 Example St”, pick one version and use it everywhere.
Have these ready:
- Business name, exactly as it appears on your signage and profile
- Street address, suburb, state and postcode (or your service area if you don’t have a shopfront)
- Main phone number in a consistent format
- Opening hours for each day, including any days you’re closed
- Your website address and the URL of your logo
- Links to your active social profiles
- A short, factual description of what you do
Service area businesses deserve a special mention. If you’re a mobile mechanic or a pool cleaner who works from home, you probably hide your address on your Business Profile. Do the same in your schema: leave the street address out and use the areaServed property to list the suburbs or region you cover, like Robina, Varsity Lakes and Burleigh Heads. Publishing a home address in code while hiding it on your profile sends mixed signals.
Write the JSON-LD markup
Google recommends JSON-LD, which is a script block that sits in the page code and doesn’t affect how the page looks. You don’t need to be a developer to put one together. Free schema generators will build it from a form, or you can ask whoever looks after your site. What matters is that you know which properties to fill in.
| Property | What goes in it | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| @type | Your specific business type | Use the most specific match |
| name | Your trading name | Match your signage exactly |
| address | Street, suburb, state, postcode | Leave out if you hide it on your profile |
| areaServed | Suburbs or regions you cover | Useful for mobile businesses |
| telephone | Main business number | Same format as your site |
| openingHoursSpecification | Days and hours | Update when hours change |
| url and logo | Homepage and logo file | Use full web addresses |
| sameAs | Social and directory profiles | Only profiles you keep active |
Only mark up what’s true and visible to customers. Don’t add review stars you’ve written yourself, and don’t list services or suburbs that don’t appear anywhere on the site. Google treats misleading structured data as spam, and it can ignore your markup entirely if it spots a mismatch.
Add it to the right page
For a business with one location, the LocalBusiness markup usually belongs on the homepage or the contact page, not on every page of the site. Pick the page that best represents the business as a whole and put it there.
Got more than one location, say a clinic in Robina and another in Helensvale? Give each location its own page with its own address and hours, and add a separate block of local business schema to each one. That way every location has a clear, matching set of details.
How you add the code depends on your site. On WordPress, many SEO plugins have a local business section where you fill in the fields and the plugin writes the code. If you’d rather paste your own JSON-LD, a header and footer scripts plugin or your theme’s custom code area will do the job. On hosted builders like Squarespace or Wix, look for the code injection or custom code setting for a single page. If your structure is more complicated, it’s worth getting some technical SEO help so the markup doesn’t clash with what a plugin is already outputting.
Check for duplicates first. Some themes and plugins already add basic organisation markup, and two conflicting blocks can confuse things.
Test and fix any errors
Once the code’s live, test it. Google’s Rich Results Test shows whether Google can read your structured data and flags errors or warnings. The Schema Markup Validator on schema.org checks the code against the full vocabulary, which is handy for types Google doesn’t show as rich results.
- Paste your page URL into the Rich Results Test and run it.
- Fix anything marked as an error, such as a missing required field or a typo in a property name.
- Review warnings and fill in optional fields where you have accurate information.
- Run the Schema Markup Validator to confirm the type and properties are recognised.
- Check that the name, address, phone and hours in the result match your profile.
After that, keep an eye on Search Console. If Google finds problems with your structured data later, it’ll usually show them in the enhancements or rich results reports. Don’t expect anything to change in search results overnight. Google needs to recrawl the page, and even then it decides for itself what to show.
Keep local business schema up to date
This is where most sites slip. You change your hours for winter, add a public holiday closure, or move from Mudgeeraba to a bigger space in Nerang, and the profile gets updated but the schema doesn’t. Now Google’s looking at two different stories.
Add the schema to whatever checklist you already use when details change. Any time you update your Business Profile, update your site footer, your contact page and your local business schema at the same time. If a plugin manages the markup, updating the plugin settings is usually enough. If someone hand-coded it, make sure you know where it lives.
It’s also worth retesting after a site rebuild or a theme change, because that’s when schema quietly disappears. A five-minute check with the Rich Results Test after any big change will catch it.
Schema is one part of a bigger picture. A complete Business Profile, useful service pages and steady reviews all do more of the heavy lifting, and an SEO agency Gold Coast businesses trust should be looking at all of it together, not selling markup on its own.
Wrapping up
Adding local business schema is a tidy, low-risk job: pick the most specific type, copy your details straight from your Business Profile, put the JSON-LD on the right page, test it and keep it updated whenever anything changes. It won’t carry your local visibility by itself, but it makes sure Google isn’t guessing about the basics.
If you only do one thing this week, run your homepage through the Rich Results Test and see what Google can already read. You might find you’ve got markup you didn’t know about, or none at all.
