Local SEO Keywords
Local SEO keywords are search terms or phrases that are specifically targeted toward a local audience.
Is your business misunderstood or underrepresented in the SERPs (search engine result pages)? Then you need to take advantage of local schema markup to communicate your business information to the search engines and your customers.
This leads to better SERP placement, getting featured in rich results, higher clickthrough rates, more traffic, and ultimately additional sales. Local schema markup is a vital asset that any local business needs to include in its SEO toolkit.
Continue reading to learn the basics of adding local schema markup, troubleshooting problems, and using it to help your business. You’ll see that it’s a must-have feature for any business looking to beat the competition.
What is Local Schema Markup?
Local schema markup is a type of structured data markup code that you can add to your business website. This helps search engines identify the nature of your business and the products or services you’re selling.
As defined by Google, structured data is “a standardized format for providing information about a page and classifying the page content.” Therefore, you’ll help Google create accurate snippets of information about your business in the search result pages.
Schema Markup was created by Google, Yahoo, and Bing, and it refers to Schema.org. It’s a coding language, but you don’t need to be a programmer to understand the basics. Later on in the article, we’ll share the basics of how to add local business schema.
Benefits of Local Schema Markup
Is your local business SEO struggling to get any traction in your market? Then local schema markup can help put your business on the map. Here are the top benefits of local schema markup you shouldn’t overlook:
Rich results: Well-executed schema markup increases the chances of enhancing your search engine visibility with rich results. This includes FAQ’s, breadcrumbs, videos, ratings, and reviews. They can provide key information about your business such as location, opening hours, and contact details.
Increase click-through rate: Your click-through rate in the SERPs will skyrocket because of the higher visibility. This means more traffic to your website and ultimately additional sales.
Improve customer experience: Your customers can find relevant information about your business more easily. Therefore, customers will have an easier time finding your business and deciding if it’s the right match for them.
No experience required: You don’t need a coding degree or advanced knowledge of how local schema markup works to use the feature. Anyone can add local schema markup to their business website to improve their local SEO.
How to Add Local Business Schema?
You’ll need to visit “https://schema.org/LocalBusiness” to begin adding your local business schema. Here’s the step-by-step process for your convenience:
- Niche: Choose the niche category for your business. When you can’t find a relevant category for your business, you can use “Local Business” or “Organization.”
- About page: If you haven’t done so already, create an About page and then add a unique “AboutPage” schema entry with the same information. Make sure to update both the website page and schema when making changes.
- Preview the code: Use the Google’s Rich Results Test to preview your code and ensure there are no errors. This tool will help you figure out if there are any problems with the code and you can preview your rich results.
- Add code to website: You can now add the local schema markup directly to the HTML code of your website. Consider simplifying the process by using a schema app or plugin.
- Test: Use Google’s Search Console to figure out if there are problems with your local business schema markup and if you can make any improvements.
It’s important that you add local business schema without errors to get the best results. Therefore, you’ll need to analyze the search results to ensure your business information is displayed correctly. For example, you can pay attention to your star review ratings and if the correct business details are displayed.
You can also turn to Hike SEO if you’re having trouble implementing your local schema markup. We're happy to help optimize the code so it’s error-free and highlights your business in the SERPs in the best possible light.
What Information You Can Add With Local Business Schema
Local business schema allows you to add a comprehensive amount of information that customers will find useful. Here’s a summary of the information you can start adding:
Type: The business category for your company.
Image: The URL of an image that represents your business such as a logo.
Name: The full name of your business.
Logo: Your business logo.
Description: A description of what your business is about.
Opening hours: The time of the day and week that your business is open.
URL: The full website URL.
Geo: Geographic coordinates of the business, including longitude and latitude.
Contact point: Information for how customers can contact your business, such as phone numbers and emails.
Address: Physical location of your business, including the postal address.
Local Schema Markup FAQs
Will Local Schema Markup Increase Traffic and Sales?
Local schema markup has the potential to increase SERP visibility, which can have a positive impact on your small business SEO strategy. It also ensures that you’re not at a disadvantage against competitors who are using structured data to show off their business.
Does it cost Money to Use Local Schema Markup?
Adding local schema markup is free. There is no cost for adding the code to the HTML of your website. However, you may want to use third-party tools or plugins, which can cost you money. It depends on the route you take when adding the schema markup.
Does Local Schema Markup Help With SEO?
Yes, local schema markup helps with SEO because it provides additional context and information. This helps search engines better understand what your business is about, which it can then highlight in a variety of rich results.
Hike SEO
We hope you now understand the value of local schema markup and its ability to get you more traffic and sales. However, this is just one cog of the overall SEO machinery, and there are many more that you need to address to beat the competition.
As a business owner, you may have limited time and an endless number of tasks to complete. Does this sound like you? Then simplify your business website SEO with Hike SEO. Our SEO software is made for small business websites, and all you need is just a few hours per month to elevate your business website toward the top of the SERP ranking.
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