Schema.org structured data is the closest thing to telling Google in plain English: 'I am a plumber in Dayton, Ohio, my phone is X, my hours are Y, here are my services, here's a customer review.' Google's research has shown that pages with structured data are more than 30% likely to be featured in rich results.
For local businesses, structured data is even more important in 2026 because it's what fuels both AI Overviews and LLM-driven citations. Aggarwal et al.'s 2024 GEO research found that pages with rich, structured content were cited 40%+ more often by generative engines than equivalent unstructured pages.
The schemas every local business should deploy
LocalBusiness — the base schema. Use the most specific subtype available: Plumber, ElectricalContractor, Dentist, etc. Include name, address (PostalAddress), telephone, geo coordinates, openingHoursSpecification, priceRange, and image.
Service — one per service you offer. Includes name, description, areaServed, provider (links back to the LocalBusiness), and offers.
Review and AggregateRating — never fabricate these (Google penalizes), but if you have genuine reviews, mark them up.
FAQPage — for any FAQ section. Cited disproportionately often by AI Overviews and helps win the People Also Ask box.
BreadcrumbList — small but useful. Improves how URLs display in search results.
How to deploy without breaking things
Use JSON-LD format, placed in the <head> of each page. Google explicitly prefers JSON-LD over microdata or RDFa.
Validate with Google's Rich Results Test before pushing live. Schema.org Validator is the second tool of choice for catching anything Google's tester misses.
Don't duplicate or contradict. Two schemas claiming different hours on the same page is worse than no schema at all.
Keep it accurate. Schema is a signal of trust; if Google catches you fudging fields, the entire site loses credibility.
Measuring the impact
Search Console's Enhancements report shows which schemas are valid and which have errors. Rich result impressions in Search Console are a direct proxy for whether structured data is paying off.
Expect lift in 4-12 weeks. Schema impact is rarely instant; Google needs to re-crawl and trust the markup.