Free Local Schema Resource — 10-Part Series

Your Local Clients Are Invisible in the Map Pack. Schema Is Why — and How to Fix It.

Schema-specific guidance for local business agency clients — LocalBusiness types, NAP consistency, service area markup, GBP alignment, and multi-location architecture. One implementation topic per episode.

10 Schema Topics Covered|Free to Access|Built for Agencies
Start with Episode 1 → Book a Free Strategy Call
About This Series

What the Series Covers

Local business schema is one of the most consistently under-implemented and incorrectly implemented areas in agency SEO. Most local business websites have some form of LocalBusiness schema — but wrong subtype, mismatched NAP, missing sameAs links, or hours that don't match GBP. Each of these errors reduces the entity confidence that drives local pack rankings.

This free 10-part series covers every major local schema implementation topic — from foundational LocalBusiness structure to service area businesses, multi-location architecture, department schema, and GBP alignment. One topic per episode, with exact implementation steps your team can follow on every local client.

Target Audience

Built for Agencies Serving Local Business Clients

Agency Owners

Build a repeatable local schema service offering. This series gives you the process and templates to deliver consistent, high-quality schema implementation across your entire local business client portfolio.

Local SEO Specialists

Master every local schema implementation scenario — from single-location service businesses to multi-location franchise chains with department-level schema complexity.

Freelancers

Deliver complete, correctly structured local schema on every project. Each episode is a standalone implementation guide — reference it when you need it, don't memorize it.

Developers

Understand exactly what local schema fields mean, which are required versus recommended, and how to validate your implementation before it goes live — so schema is correct from day one.

Complete Implementation Playbook

All 10 Episodes

Click any episode to open the full implementation guide. Check off episodes as you complete them to track your progress.

Your Study Progress: 0 of 10 completed
Episode 1 Cover
01
Critical
Schema Foundation

LocalBusiness Schema Foundations

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

The foundational LocalBusiness schema block declares the business entity to Google — name, address, phone, URL, hours, coordinates...

Homepage and Contact page | Rich Results Test > LocalBusiness

Key Fix Preview: The telephone field must match GBP exactly — format and all.

Open Episode 1 →
Episode 2 Cover
02
High
Schema Subtype

Choosing the Right LocalBusiness Schema Subtype

The difference between LocalBusiness and Dentist matters more than you think.

Schema.org has 100+ LocalBusiness subtypes organized in a hierarchy. Using a specific subtype (Dentist, Restaurant, LegalService, ...

schema.org/LocalBusiness > subtype hierarchy | Rich Results Test > @type field

Key Fix Preview: When no exact subtype exists, combine LocalBusiness with ProfessionalService.

Open Episode 2 →
Episode 3 Cover
03
Critical
NAP Consistency

NAP Consistency and Schema Alignment

Your name, address, and phone number is an entity signal — and it must be identical everywhere.

NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone — the three core entity identifiers for a local business. When NAP is consistent across the we...

Business schema on website | GBP | All directory listings | Social profiles

Key Fix Preview: Create a one-page NAP Standard document for every local client.

Open Episode 3 →
Episode 4 Cover
04
High
Service Area Schema

Service Area Business Schema

Schema for businesses that serve customers at their location rather than a fixed address.

Service area businesses (SABs) — plumbers, electricians, cleaning services, lawn care companies — operate from a home base or offi...

LocalBusiness schema on homepage | areaServed property

Key Fix Preview: GBP service area and schema areaServed must tell the same story.

Open Episode 4 →
Episode 5 Cover
05
High
Hours Schema

Opening Hours and Special Hours Schema

Communicating operating hours in structured format — including holidays and special events.

The openingHoursSpecification property allows businesses to communicate exact operating hours to Google in structured, machine-rea...

LocalBusiness schema openingHoursSpecification | Google Business Profile hours

Key Fix Preview: Update schema hours simultaneously with every GBP hours change.

Open Episode 5 →
Episode 6 Cover
06
Critical
Multi-Location Schema

Multi-Location Schema Architecture

Building schema for businesses with multiple locations without creating entity confusion.

For businesses with multiple locations — franchise chains, multi-city service providers, practices with multiple offices — each lo...

Individual location pages | LocalBusiness schema per location

Key Fix Preview: One schema instance per location, on that location's dedicated page. No exceptions.

Open Episode 6 →
Episode 7 Cover
07
Medium-High
Department Schema

Department and Subdepartment Schema

Schema for businesses where different departments have different hours and contacts.

The Department property within LocalBusiness schema allows businesses with distinct operational departments — a hospital with emer...

Hospital, university, large retail schema | Department property in LocalBusiness

Key Fix Preview: Department schema is especially high-value for hospitals and medical practices.

Open Episode 7 →
Episode 8 Cover
08
Critical
GBP Alignment

Google Business Profile and Schema Alignment

Making your website schema and GBP tell the exact same story.

Google Business Profile (GBP) and website LocalBusiness schema are the two most authoritative entity declarations for a local busi...

GBP Dashboard | LocalBusiness schema on website | sameAs array

Key Fix Preview: Google automatically edits GBP listings — build a quarterly audit into every retainer.

Open Episode 8 →
Episode 9 Cover
09
High
Review Schema

Review Schema and Local Trust Signals

Connecting your local business reviews to schema for maximum trust signal impact.

For local businesses, review schema within the LocalBusiness entity communicates aggregate rating and individual reviews to Google...

LocalBusiness schema AggregateRating | Individual Review schema

Key Fix Preview: A static testimonials page is the most sustainable review schema foundation.

Open Episode 9 →
Episode 10 Cover
10
High Opportunity
Agency Process

Local Schema Audit Workflow for Agencies

A repeatable local schema audit process for every new local business client.

A complete, repeatable local schema audit workflow that agencies can use for every new local business client — covering LocalBusin...

Client onboarding workflow | Schema audit checklist | GBP dashboard | Rich Results Test

Key Fix Preview: The schema template library is the highest-leverage agency investment in local schema quality.

Open Episode 10 →
About Harper Media Group

Why We Built This Series

At Harper Media Group, we implement local schema for agency clients across dozens of industries and business types. The same errors appear constantly: generic LocalBusiness @type when a specific subtype exists, NAP that doesn't match GBP character-for-character, missing sameAs links, and multi-location sites with all addresses in a single schema block.

Correct local schema implementation is one of the highest-ROI technical SEO deliverables for local business clients. This series codifies the implementation process we use internally — so your team can deliver the same quality without the learning curve.

What Harper Media Group Delivers

  • Local Schema Implementation & Audits
  • NAP Consistency & Citation Management
  • Google Business Profile Alignment
  • Multi-Location Schema Architecture
  • White-Label Technical SEO Audits
  • Structured Data & Rich Results Optimization
  • AI Search & Generative Engine Optimization

All delivered under your agency brand.