Expanded Scheme for Geographical Mark-up, Extending Beyond Local Businesses
In the digital age, local businesses are leveraging structured data to boost their online presence and increase local relevance. One such widely used type of structured data is the LocalBusiness schema.
The LocalBusiness schema serves as a foundation, enabling businesses to mark up key details such as business name, address, phone number, hours of operation, and geographic coordinates. However, it doesn't capture services, promote upcoming events, or answer common customer questions. To address these gaps, businesses can implement additional geo-targeted schema for services, FAQs, and events.
Strategies for Structured Data Implementation
- Utilise the LocalBusiness schema type on each location-specific page, with key properties like , , , and . This signals search engines the exact locality your business operates in or serves, making your content regionally relevant.
- Add Service, FAQ, and Event schemas on these location-specific pages. Use the schema to describe each service offered at particular locations, specifying the location context with the property. Implement schema for frequently asked questions relevant to each location or service area, which can improve visibility for AI-powered search results featuring FAQs. Add schema for any events your business hosts or sponsors locally, embedding location details via and geo properties.
- Create dedicated location landing pages for each physical location or service area, embedding the above schemas with location-specific content. This approach strengthens local signals and enhances AI and search engines’ understanding of your multi-location footprint.
- Implement JSON-LD scripts for schema markups, as they are preferred by Google for ease of implementation and maintenance. Ensure you place JSON-LD in the section of each relevant page. Use tools like Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper or ChatGPT for generating accurate schema markup.
- Validate your schema implementations using Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool or Rich Results Test to confirm correct syntax and effective markup.
- Maintain NAP (Name, Address, Phone) consistency across your site and local listings to reinforce schema signals and improve local SEO performance.
By combining these structured data types with well-optimized, location-specific content, your business will improve local relevance in search and AI-driven results, unlocking enhanced search features like rich snippets, FAQs, and local map packs that drive higher visibility for your multi-location or service-area business.
For both multi-location and service-area businesses, it's essential to follow a consistent structure, assign unique @ids, match the page content, validate your markup, and use automation where possible for efficient schema implementation. Google stopped showing FAQ rich snippets for most business sites in 2023, but this markup may still help power AI-generated responses and voice assistant answers for local queries.
In conclusion, embracing structured data strategies can significantly enhance a local business's online presence, making it more discoverable to potential customers in specific locations.
- To improve the visibility of your services, events, and answers to common customer questions, consider implementing additional geo-targeted schemas for Services, FAQs, and Events beyond the LocalBusiness schema.
- Using a consistent structure, unique @ids, and matching page content helps Google comprehend better your multi-location footprint or service areas, which can boost your business's local relevance in search engine results.
