Structured Data Tool for Local Businesses

When someone searches for a café, plumber, dentist or gaming lounge nearby, search engines try to show the most relevant local businesses with details like opening hours, address, reviews and phone numbers. Structured data helps them understand those details. It is code added to a website that describes the business in a standard format search engines can read reliably. For local businesses, structured data can improve how they appear in search results and maps.

This updated version of our earlier guide explains structured data for local businesses and the tools that make it easy to create and test.

What structured data is

Structured data is a set of labels added to a web page that describe its content in a machine-readable way. The most widely used vocabulary is Schema.org, supported by major search engines. For a local business, structured data can describe the business name, type, address, phone number, opening hours, price range, logo, website and links to social profiles.

The recommended format today is JSON-LD, a block of code placed in the page's HTML that does not affect what visitors see.

The LocalBusiness type

Schema.org includes a LocalBusiness type and many specific subtypes, such as Restaurant, Dentist, Store and EntertainmentBusiness. Using the most specific type that fits helps search engines understand what kind of business you are. Key properties include name, address, telephone, openingHoursSpecification, geo coordinates, url and image.

Tools for creating structured data

You do not need to write JSON-LD by hand. Several tools help:

Structured data generators: online forms where you enter business details and receive ready-made JSON-LD code.
WordPress SEO plugins: Yoast, Rank Math and similar plugins add local business structured data through settings screens.
Website builders: many platforms include built-in fields for business details that generate structured data automatically.

Whichever tool you use, make sure the details match exactly what appears on your website and in your business profile listings.

Testing tools

After adding structured data, test it. Google's Rich Results Test checks whether a page is eligible for rich results and highlights errors. The Schema Markup Validator checks structured data against Schema.org definitions. Search Console reports structured data issues across your site over time. Testing catches typos, missing required fields and formatting errors.

Consistency with business listings

Structured data works best alongside consistent business listings. Your name, address and phone number should be identical on your website, your Google Business Profile, maps services and directories. Inconsistencies confuse search engines and can weaken local visibility. Structured data reinforces consistent information rather than replacing listings.

Common mistakes

Using a generic type when a specific subtype exists.
Listing opening hours that do not match reality.
Marking up reviews that are not visible on the page.
Copying structured data across pages without updating details.
Forgetting to update structured data when the business moves.

Does structured data guarantee better rankings?

Some SEO advice presents structured data as a ranking boost that will push a business to the top of local results. I think that oversells it.

Structured data helps search engines understand your business and can make your listing eligible for enhanced displays, but it is not a direct ranking factor that overrides relevance, distance and reputation. Local rankings depend heavily on your business profile, reviews, proximity to the searcher and the quality of your website. Structured data is a valuable foundation that removes ambiguity; it is not a shortcut to the top.

Beyond local businesses

Structured data is useful for many types of content: products, events, articles, recipes and FAQs. Gaming communities and online game platforms use structured data for events, tournaments and guides, helping their pages appear clearly in search. This is explored in how online game platforms use structured data in search.

A quick setup plan

Choose the most specific Schema.org business type.
Generate JSON-LD with a tool or SEO plugin.
Add it to your homepage or contact page.
Test with the Rich Results Test and Schema Validator.
Keep details consistent with your business listings.
Review and update whenever details change.

Where to place the markup

For a single-location business, the homepage or the contact page is the natural home for LocalBusiness markup, because those pages already show the name, address and phone number. Businesses with several branches should give each branch its own page with its own markup, including that branch's address, hours and phone number, rather than listing every location in one block on the homepage. Each block should describe only the location shown on that page. On WordPress, many SEO plugins let you enter this once in settings and output it automatically, while multi-location businesses often use a dedicated local SEO add-on that creates a page per branch.

Keep in mind that the markup should mirror what visitors can see. If the opening hours appear in the footer, the structured data should list the same hours. If the page shows a phone number with a country code, use the same format in the markup. Search engines compare the two, and mismatches make the data less trustworthy.

Opening hours, holidays and special hours

Opening hours are one of the details customers check most often, and one of the easiest to get wrong. Structured data supports regular weekly hours and special hours for holidays or temporary closures. Many businesses update their profile listings for a public holiday but forget the website, so the two disagree. Make updating hours part of the same routine: when the shop changes its hours, the profile listing, the visible hours on the website and the structured data all change together. Seasonal businesses, such as cafés that close for winter, should be especially careful.

Reviews and ratings

Review markup is tempting because star ratings stand out in search results, but the rules are strict. Businesses generally cannot mark up reviews of themselves on their own website to earn stars in search, and any review markup must reflect reviews that are genuinely visible on the page. Fake or selectively chosen reviews can lead to penalties. The safer path is to encourage real customers to leave reviews on your business profile, where they carry more weight with both search engines and customers anyway.

Clear information for search engines

Structured data is a simple way to describe your local business clearly to search engines. With the right tools, any business owner can add it in an afternoon. For more practical website tips, read how to add a read more button in the Shopify Debut theme, and browse our Web Tips section.