What LocalBusiness schema is

LocalBusiness schema is structured data — code added to your website's HTML — that identifies your business to machine readers: search engines, AI tools, and knowledge graph systems. It is written in JSON-LD format and is invisible to human visitors.

It is the foundation of local AI visibility. Without it, AI systems must infer what your business is from unstructured text — a slower, less reliable process that often results in incorrect or incomplete entity profiles.

Use the most specific type available

LocalBusiness is a parent type. Schema.org has hundreds of specific subtypes. Always use the most specific one that accurately describes your business:

Trades: Plumber, Electrician, RoofingContractor, HVACBusiness, GeneralContractor
Healthcare: Dentist, Physician, Optician, Physiotherapist, VeterinaryCare
Hospitality: Restaurant, FoodEstablishment, LodgingBusiness, Hotel, BedAndBreakfast
Professional: LegalService, AccountingService, FinancialService, InsuranceAgency
Retail: Store, BookStore, ClothingStore, AutoDealer, FurnitureStore
Beauty / Fitness: HairSalon, BeautySalon, NailSalon, SportsActivityLocation, ExerciseGym

The essential fields

1
@type — your specific business type. The single most important field. Use the most specific schema.org subtype available.
2
name — your exact business trading name. Must be identical to Google Business Profile and all directory listings. This is your primary entity identifier.
3
address — structured using PostalAddress with streetAddress, addressLocality, addressRegion, postalCode, and addressCountry fields. Not a single text string.
4
telephone — your primary contact number in E.164 format or standard UK format. Must match what's listed on Google Business Profile.
5
url — your canonical website URL. This anchors your entity to your website domain.
6
openingHoursSpecification — structured opening hours. Critical for queries like "dentist open on Saturday" or "24-hour gym near me".
7
areaServed — the geographic areas your business serves. Directly enables AI to answer location-specific queries with your business. Use town, city, or region names.
8
hasCredential — your professional registrations, accreditations, and memberships. Gas Safe, GDC, NICEIC, SRA, ICAEW — whatever applies to your business. This is disproportionately valuable and routinely missed.

Common mistakes to avoid

Using the generic parent type

Using @type: "LocalBusiness" when Plumber or Dentist is available. Specific types are significantly more effective for both AI visibility and rich result eligibility.

Mismatched business name

The name field must exactly match your name on Google Business Profile, Companies House, and your primary directories. Even minor variations ("The Plumbing Co" vs "The Plumbing Co Ltd") reduce entity confidence.

Missing areaServed

Without this field, AI systems cannot reliably connect your business to location-specific queries. It is one of the most commonly missing fields and one of the most valuable for local AI visibility.

Questions about LocalBusiness schema

What is LocalBusiness schema?
+
LocalBusiness schema is structured data markup that tells search engines and AI systems what your business is, where it is located, what it does, when it's open, and how to contact it. It is placed in your website's HTML as JSON-LD code, invisible to human visitors but machine-readable by AI systems.
Should I use LocalBusiness or a more specific type?
+
Always use the most specific type available for your business. Schema.org has subtypes for hundreds of business categories — Plumber, Dentist, Restaurant, HairSalon, LegalService, and many more. Using a specific type is significantly more effective than the generic LocalBusiness type for AI visibility.
What is the most important field in LocalBusiness schema?
+
The combination matters, but name, address, telephone, url, openingHours, areaServed, and the correct @type are the foundation. The hasCredential field is disproportionately valuable for businesses with professional registrations — it is a strong AI trust signal that most competitors miss.