Structured Data and Local Schema For Local SEO | FreelancersHub

The importance of having well-optimized SEO components on their landing pages, such as optimized title tags, and well-written content, is well-known among local SEO professionals and webmasters.

What precisely can you achieve using schema markup on your local company website?

There are various reasons why having a suitable and detailed schema applied to your website is a significant competitive advantage in organic search.

In reality, Google has said several times that schema aids search crawlers in their work by assisting them in comprehending a landing page and presenting relevant information in the SERPs. 

Recommended Structured Data For Local Business Websites?

The majority of local websites support at least some primary structured data. However, the more comprehensive and detailed structured data applied correctly, the better.

At a minimum, local business websites should include the following types of structured data:

• NAP (Name, Address, Phone number)
• Business hours
• Categories
• Payment methods
• Service areas

Including additional types of structured data, such as reviews, can also be beneficial. 

Note that structured data is not a guarantee of improved rankings in search results, but it can help search engines understand your website content better, which may lead to enhanced visibility.

How To Apply Structured Data For Local SEO?

We’ll provide you with some step-by-step instructions on how to use structured data correctly:

Select The Best Schema.org Category

Schema.org offers a variety of schema property choices that are particularly useful for local companies. 

The best schema category for a local company is the LocalBusiness schema category. 

The LocalBusiness schema category offers a wide variety of useful properties for local companies, including the name of the company, the address, the hours of operation, and more. 

This schema category is an excellent choice for local companies because it provides a lot of useful information that can help potential customers learn more about the company and make a decision about whether or not to do business with them. 

Other schema categories that might apply to a local company include the Organization schema category and the Place schema category.

However, the LocalBusiness schema category is the best choice for a local company because it offers the most specific and relevant properties for a local business.

Go For Alternatives If There is No Relevant Schema

Sometimes, it’s possible not to find any relevant schema. In this case, there are a few things you can do:

• Look for a more general category that your business falls under. For example, if your business is a pet store, you may want to use the “Pets” category.
• If there are no relevant categories for your business, you may want to consider creating a new category.
• You can also try using the “Other” category.

Ways Of Structured Data Validation

It’s critical to double-check that your structured data has been appropriately verified. If it isn’t, your landing page will not be eligible for rich results.

The easiest way to do this is to use the Google Rich Results Test. It’s a quick and straightforward way to check whether the structured data on your website is valid. 

1. Go to https://search.google.com/test/rich-results.
2. Enter the URL of the page you want to test.
3. Click Test. 

The Rich Results Test will run your URL through Google’s validator tool and let you know if your structured data is valid. 

If it isn’t, the test will tell you where the error is and how to fix it. 

It’s important to note that the Rich Results Test only tests for a specific structured data type. If you want to test for other types of structured data, you’ll need to use a different tool. 

The Google Structured Data Testing Tool is a good option. It lets you test for all structured data types, not just rich results. 

1. Go to https://search.google.com/structured-data/testing-tool.
2. Enter the URL of the page you want to test.
3. Click Run Test.

The Structured Data Testing Tool will run your URL through Google’s validator tool and let you know if your structured data is valid. 

If it isn’t, the test will tell you where the error is and how to fix it. 

Another option is to use the W3C Markup Validation Service. This tool will check your HTML code for any errors. 

1. Go to https://validator.w3.org/.
2. Enter the URL of the page you want to test.
3. Click Check.

The W3C Markup Validation Service will check your HTML code for any errors. If it finds any, it will tell you where the error is and how to fix it. 

It’s important to note that the W3C Markup Validation Service only tests for HTML code errors. It doesn’t test for structured data errors. 

Finally, you can also use the Google Search Console to test your structured data. 

1. Go to https://search.google.com/search-console.
2. Sign in with your Google account.
3. Click the website you want to test.
4. In the left sidebar, click Search Appearance.
5. In the drop-down menu, click Structured Data.
6. Click Test live URL.
7. Enter the URL of the page you want to test.
8. Click Run Test.

The Google Search Console will run your URL through Google’s validator tool and let you know if your structured data is valid. 

If it isn’t, the test will tell you where the error is and how to fix it. 

Testing your structured data is a critical part of the validation process. By double-checking that your structured information is valid, you can ensure that your landing page is eligible for rich results. 

Are Structured Data And Local Ranking Signal Related?

Over the years, there has been significant disagreement regarding whether structured data constitutes a search engine ranking indicator in and of itself. 

Some believe that it does, as it allows search engines to more easily understand the content of a given website and match it with relevant queries. Others believe that while structured data may help search engines better understand a website, it is not a direct ranking factor. 

The debate is likely to continue until there is more conclusive evidence one way or the other. However, given that structured data can help improve search engine understanding of a website, it is likely that it could indirectly impact rankings. 

Thus, while it may not be a direct ranking signal, structured data could still benefit SEO purposes.

Things To Avoid While Using Structured Data

There are a few things to avoid when using structured data:

1. Don’t use too-much structured data. It can make your content look “spammy” to search engines and result in a penalty.
2. Don’t use incorrect or irrelevant structured data. This can also result in a penalty.
3. Don’t try to “game” the system by using structured data to inflate your content’s search engine ranking artificially. This is called “cloaking” and violates Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. 

If you follow these guidelines, you should be able to use structured data without any problems.

Conclusion

Applying correctly written and relevant structured data to your local company’s website has no disadvantages.

In addition, schema.org is constantly adding additional schema attributes and more Google Search Console integration.

The majority of standard SEO tactics (meta tag optimization, bespoke copywriting, design modifications, and so on) need substantial time and visible on-page website adjustments.