How to Create LocalBusiness Schema for Stores in 2026

Chapter 1. Before you start

LocalBusiness schema is the technical contract between your website and Google's local search index. It tells the crawler: this brand is the same legal entity as the Google Business Profile at this address, with these hours, in this category. When the schema matches the GBP, Google trusts both sources; when they mismatch, Google trusts neither, and the business drops out of the local pack.

• Confirm the Google Business Profile is verified and accurate. The GBP is the source of truth Google compares your schema against. If GBP is wrong, fix it first.
• Pull the exact name, address, and phone from the GBP. Copy character-for-character: "St" vs "Street", "Inc" vs "Incorporated", and "1234" vs "1,234" all count as mismatches.
• Decide on the canonical location URL. Single-location businesses: the homepage. Multi-location: a dedicated location page per branch (/locations/{slug}).
• Look up the most specific Schema.org subtype that describes the business. Schema.org maintains ~50 LocalBusiness subtypes; use the deepest one in the hierarchy.
• Geocode the address for the geo property. Latitude and longitude precision down to 5-6 decimal places (≈ 1 meter). Google Maps URL or the GBP info reveals these.

Chapter 2. What does LocalBusiness schema actually do for SEO + AI search?

Three things, in descending order of importance.

1. Local pack and Maps eligibility. Google cross-references LocalBusiness schema with the verified Google Business Profile to confirm the brand and the location are the same entity. Mismatched or missing schema can drop a business out of the 3-pack.
2. "Near me" rich results. For location-qualified queries ("dentist near me", "pizza Lincoln Park"), Google ranks businesses with complete LocalBusiness schema higher in the local results card. Hours, ratings, and photos surface in the SERP directly from the schema.
3. AI engine location-aware citations. ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini use LocalBusiness schema to answer "best X in Y" queries. Without it, the engine has to scrape the page and often picks competitors that did ship schema correctly.

What LocalBusiness schema does not do: rank a service-only or e-commerce business higher for non-local queries. If you don't have a physical address or defined service area, you're using the wrong schema - use Organization or OnlineStore instead. We cover that distinction in how to create Organization schema.

Chapter 3. Picking the right subtype

Schema.org's LocalBusiness hierarchy has ~50 subtypes. Use the deepest applicable type, not LocalBusiness itself. Google has explicitly stated that a specific subtype is a stronger relevance signal than the generic.

The full subtype list lives on Schema.org's LocalBusiness page. When in doubt between two subtypes, pick the one closer to the GBP category - Google's category and schema type should reinforce each other.

Chapter 4. Address, geo, and openingHoursSpecification

The three load-bearing properties for local results. Skip any of them and Google deprioritizes the listing.

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Dentist",
  "@id": "https://www.example.com/#localbusiness",
  "name": "Example Family Dental",
  "image": "https://www.example.com/photos/storefront-1200x800.jpg",
  "telephone": "+1-312-555-0100",
  "url": "https://www.example.com/",
  "priceRange": "$$",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "1234 W Madison St, Suite 200",
    "addressLocality": "Chicago",
    "addressRegion": "IL",
    "postalCode": "60607",
    "addressCountry": "US"
  },
  "geo": {
    "@type": "GeoCoordinates",
    "latitude": 41.881832,
    "longitude": -87.658524
  },
  "openingHoursSpecification": [
    { "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification",
      "dayOfWeek": ["Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday"],
      "opens": "08:00", "closes": "17:00" },
    { "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification",
      "dayOfWeek": "Saturday",
      "opens": "09:00", "closes": "13:00" }
  ],
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.facebook.com/examplefamilydental",
    "https://www.instagram.com/examplefamilydental",
    "https://maps.google.com/?cid=12345678901234567890"
  ],
  "aggregateRating": {
    "@type": "AggregateRating",
    "ratingValue": "4.8",
    "reviewCount": 142
  }
}

Address rules: use PostalAddress not a plain string. Spell out the full street address (no "St" abbreviations if the GBP uses "Street"). Match the GBP character-for-character.

Geo rules: latitude and longitude as decimal numbers, 5-6 decimal places. Pull from Google Maps by right-clicking the verified pin on your GBP. Don't approximate.

Hours rules: one OpeningHoursSpecification per distinct schedule. 24-hour opens/closes format. For closures or holiday hours, add a specialOpeningHoursSpecification block with validFrom/validThrough.

Chapter 5. Multi-location and service-area businesses

Two patterns, depending on how the business operates.

Multi-location chain (each branch has an address)

Ship one LocalBusiness record per branch on each branch's own location page (/locations/chicago-loop, /locations/lincoln-park). Reference the parent organization by @id.

{
  "@type": "Dentist",
  "@id": "https://www.example.com/locations/chicago-loop#localbusiness",
  "name": "Example Family Dental - Chicago Loop",
  "parentOrganization": { "@id": "https://www.example.com/#organization" },
  "address": { ... },
  "geo": { ... }
}

Service-area business (no walk-in address)

Plumbers, mobile pet groomers, and similar service-area businesses don't have a public storefront. Use areaServed with a GeoCircle or City/State reference. Optionally hide the address from public display with the GBP service-area setting and the schema's hasMap on the office location.

{
  "@type": "Plumber",
  "@id": "https://www.example.com/#localbusiness",
  "name": "Example Plumbing Services",
  "areaServed": [
    { "@type": "City", "name": "Chicago" },
    { "@type": "City", "name": "Evanston" },
    { "@type": "City", "name": "Oak Park" }
  ],
  "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Chicago", "addressRegion": "IL" }
}

Chapter 6. Where do you place LocalBusiness schema on the site?

One canonical placement per location. Don't duplicate the LocalBusiness graph across every page.

Tie the LocalBusiness to your Organization record with parentOrganization (chain) or publishingPrinciples (publisher). This builds the entity graph Google and AI engines walk to confirm authority.

Chapter 7. The breakages we see most often

Ranked by frequency across 63 local-business audits over the past 24 months:

• Generic LocalBusiness type when a specific subtype exists (Dentist, Plumber, Restaurant). 38 of 63.
• Name, address, or phone doesn't match the verified Google Business Profile character-for-character. 27 of 63.
• No geo coordinates, so Google can't validate the schema location against the GBP pin. 19 of 63.
• No openingHoursSpecification, so hours don't surface in the local card. 14 of 63.
• Wrong subtype (HomeAndConstructionBusiness on a plumber when Plumber is more specific). 11 of 63.
• aggregateRating in schema but no Review records or aggregator link. Google warns when a rating is in the JSON-LD with no source. 9 of 63.
• Address as a plain string instead of a PostalAddress object. 7 of 63.

We track every breakage above on running sites through our Sentry structured-data rule set.