LocalBusiness Foundation

LocalBusiness
Schema Foundations

Building the entity declaration that everything else in local SEO depends on.

Where to find it: Homepage and Contact page | Rich Results Test > LocalBusiness

What It Is

The foundational LocalBusiness schema block declares the business entity to Google — name, address, phone, URL, hours, coordinates, logo, and sameAs links. This is the most important schema type for any local business client because it forms the entity foundation that local pack rankings, Knowledge Panel appearances, and AI citation eligibility are built on. Key fields include @type (specific subtype), name, url, telephone, address (PostalAddress), openingHoursSpecification, geo (GeoCoordinates), image, logo, priceRange, and sameAs (an array of all authoritative profiles).

Why It Matters

Without a complete, correctly structured LocalBusiness schema, Google must infer the business entity from unstructured data on the page and external signals. Explicit structured data dramatically improves Google's entity confidence — which directly affects local pack rankings, Knowledge Panel accuracy, and whether the business is cited in AI-generated search responses. For local clients, this schema is the single highest-value technical SEO implementation on the site.

Root Diagnostics

Common Causes

Understanding why this failure occurs is the first step to fixing it permanently.

Incomplete Entity Declaration

LocalBusiness schema missing critical fields like geo coordinates, sameAs links, or openingHoursSpecification — giving Google an incomplete picture of the business entity.

Wrong Address Format

PostalAddress fields populated incorrectly or with a format that doesn't match the Google Business Profile — breaking entity matching between the two most authoritative signals.

Missing sameAs Array

No sameAs links connecting the schema entity to GBP, Yelp, and social profiles — leaving Google unable to confidently merge signals from multiple authoritative sources.

Generic @type Usage

Using the parent LocalBusiness @type instead of the most specific applicable subtype — reducing the categorization precision that helps Google understand what the business does.

Interactive Standard Operating Procedure

The Fix Blueprint (Interactive SOP)

Check off each step to monitor your implementation progress live!

Implementation Progress: 0% Completed (0/7)

1. Pull Exact NAP from GBP

Log into Google Business Profile and copy the exact business name, address, and phone number. The schema must match these character-for-character — including spacing, punctuation, and abbreviation style.

2. Select the Most Specific LocalBusiness Subtype

Browse schema.org/LocalBusiness to identify the full subtype hierarchy for this business category. Choose the most specific applicable subtype — Dentist, not HealthAndBeautyBusiness. Set @type as an array: ['Dentist', 'LocalBusiness'].

3. Build the Complete PostalAddress Block

Populate all PostalAddress sub-fields: streetAddress, addressLocality (city), addressRegion (state/province), postalCode, and addressCountry. Every sub-field must match GBP exactly.

4. Add openingHoursSpecification for Each Day

Build an array of openingHoursSpecification objects — one per day-shift combination. Use full day names (Monday, not Mon), 24-hour time format (09:00, 17:00), and create two objects for split shifts.

5. Add Geo Coordinates

Get the exact latitude and longitude from Google Maps for the business location. Add as a GeoCoordinates object: { '@type': 'GeoCoordinates', 'latitude': 40.7128, 'longitude': -74.0060 }.

6. Build the sameAs Array

Compile every authoritative profile URL: GBP profile URL, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Yelp, Apple Maps, Bing Places, Twitter/X, and any industry-specific directories. Add all as a sameAs array.

7. Validate With Rich Results Test

Paste the complete schema into Google's Rich Results Test (search.google.com/test/rich-results). Fix every error before deploying. Warnings are acceptable; errors indicate fields Google cannot parse.

Tools

Google Rich Results Test
Free | Validates LocalBusiness schema and shows exactly which fields Google can read — essential before every deployment
Google Business Profile
Free | The authoritative source for canonical NAP data — always pull schema values from GBP, not from the website
schema.org/LocalBusiness
Free | The complete subtype hierarchy reference — use to identify the most specific applicable @type for each business

Time to Fix

1–2 hours

Schema Build

30–60 minutes

Validation & Deploy

Pro Tip

The telephone field must match GBP exactly — format and all.

telephone: '+1-555-123-4567' is different from telephone: '(555) 123-4567' from Google's entity matching perspective. Use the exact format that appears on the GBP — including whether there are spaces, dashes, or parentheses. Entity matching is string-level, not semantic-level. Even a single formatting difference reduces Google's confidence that the schema entity and the GBP listing refer to the same business.

Ep 2: Choosing the Right LocalBusiness Schem...

LocalBusinessSchema Foundations