Local Schema Markup

Google reads your website. But it understands schema. Schema markup is structured data — code added to your pages that tells Google explicitly what your content means, not just what it says. Instead of Google inferring that you're a plumbing business in Portland based on what your homepage text implies, schema tells it directly: this is a plumbing business, located at this address, serving this area, offering these services, with these hours and this contact information.

It's the difference between Google making an educated guess about your business and Google knowing exactly what your business is.

Why Schema Matters for Local SEO

For local businesses specifically, schema does several things that matter directly for map pack rankings. It reinforces your NAP — name, address, phone number — in a format Google reads with high confidence, which strengthens your trust signals and reduces the impact of any inconsistencies elsewhere. It connects your website to your GBP in a way Google can verify programmatically, strengthening the entity association between the two. It gives Google explicit service information — what you do, where you do it, what areas you serve — that it can use to match your pages to relevant local searches. And increasingly, it feeds the AI systems that are starting to surface local business recommendations outside of traditional search.

What Schema Implementation Includes

LocalBusiness schema on homepage and GBP landing page. Service schema on every service page. Breadcrumb schema for site structure. Review schema where applicable. FAQ schema on pages with question-and-answer content. Verification and testing — schema that has errors is worse than no schema.

Schema is included in every Core 30 retainer engagement and applied to every page as it's built. It's also available as a standalone audit and implementation for existing sites.