JSON-LD for Local Businesses: The Only Pattern You Should Implement First

Your website should make it obvious: who you are, where you are, what you do, and where else you exist. Google does not require special schema for AI features, but evidence suggests clean schema can provide an edge when AI systems decide what to include.

“There is nothing special for creators to do to be considered other than following our regular guidance for appearing in Search.”

— Google for Developers (https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-overviews)

What does schema actually help with?

Structured data helps machines connect entities and relationships: business to location to category to profiles.

“Structured data creates explicit connections between entities, helping search engines understand relationships and context.”

— Search Engine Journal (https://www.searchenginejournal.com/technical-seo/structured-data/)

For local businesses, that is the real win: less ambiguity means more confidence, which means better chance to be referenced.

What is the minimum JSON-LD block to ship?

Put this on your homepage and each location page (if multi-location):

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "LocalBusiness",
  "name": "Your Business Name",
  "url": "https://example.com/",
  "telephone": "+48 123 456 789",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "Street 12",
    "addressLocality": "City",
    "postalCode": "00-000",
    "addressCountry": "PL"
  },
  "openingHoursSpecification": [
    {
      "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification",
      "dayOfWeek": ["Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday"],
      "opens": "08:00",
      "closes": "18:00"
    }
  ],
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.linkedin.com/company/your-company",
    "https://www.facebook.com/yourpage",
    "https://g.page/your-google-business-profile"
  ]
}

Rules for LocalBusiness schema

• Every field must match visible on-page facts
• Keep sameAs limited to real authoritative profiles you control
• Use the most specific business type available (Restaurant, Dentist, Plumber) rather than generic LocalBusiness

Should you add FAQPage schema?

AI loves direct Q&A blocks. Add an FAQ section with real questions like:

• "How do I book an appointment?"
• "Do you accept walk-ins?"
• "What documents do I need?"
• "How long do results take?"

Then mark it up with FAQPage schema. Each question becomes a structured Question with an acceptedAnswer, making it trivially easy for AI to extract.

What should you NOT do with schema?

• Do not add schema types you cannot support with content
• Do not invent awards, ratings, or "priceRange" if it is not real
• Do not ship broken schema - bad schema can be as useless as none

“The page with good schema was the only one to appear in the AI Overview. The bad schema version performed poorly.”

— Search Engine Land (https://searchengineland.com/schema-markup-ai-overviews-experiment-449553)

Fast wins this week

• Add LocalBusiness JSON-LD to homepage and location page
• Add sameAs for 3-5 profiles (GBP, Facebook, LinkedIn)
• Add FAQ section with 5-8 questions plus FAQPage schema
• Validate schema using Google Rich Results Test
• Ensure schema matches visible content exactly

Frequently Asked Questions