Structured data
Local business schema
Structured data is code that states plain facts about a business, like what it's called, what kind of business it is and when it's open, in a form search engines read reliably. It helps, but Google says AI answers don't need it.
Every client gets the validator output
Definition
What structured data is
Structured data is labelled information added to a web page's code so a machine can tell which text is the business name, which is the phone number and which is the opening hours. Google calls it "a standardized format for providing information about a page and classifying the page content".
The labels come from schema.org, a shared vocabulary that Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Yandex founded and that is now developed in the open through a W3C community group. Google recommends writing it as JSON-LD, a small script block that sits apart from the visible text.
Google Search Central, "Introduction to structured data markup in Google Search", last updated 2025-12-10. Schema.org, "About Schema.org" (page carries no date). Both read 2026-10-08.
Do it yourself
Check your markup in four steps
A business owner can check their own structured data with two free tools, one from Google and one from schema.org. On a small site the whole check should take roughly ten minutes.
- 01
Use Google's test
Paste your home page address into Google's Rich Results Test. It lists the markup it found and flags errors that block a rich result.
- 02
Run the Schema validator
Paste the same address into validator.schema.org. It checks the code against the full vocabulary, not only the parts Google uses.
- 03
Compare with the page
Read the name, phone, hours and address in the results. Each should be identical to what the page shows and to your Business Profile.
- 04
Recheck after changes
Themes and plugins can rewrite markup when they update. Run both tests again after any site change and save the output with the date.
Google Search Central, "Introduction to structured data markup in Google Search", last updated 2025-12-10, read 2026-10-08.
Schema and AI
What schema does for AI answers
Structured data is not a key to Google's AI features. Google's AI guide states that it "isn't required for generative AI search, and there's no special schema.org markup you need to add."
The same passage recommends keeping it anyway, because it qualifies a page for rich results in standard Google Search. Google also uses the markup it finds to learn about the people and companies a page describes. In local terms, the code repeats the same name, address and hours the page already shows.
Anyone selling a special "AI schema" is selling something Google says doesn't exist.
Google Search Central, "Google's Guide to Optimizing for Generative AI Features on Google Search", last updated 2026-07-10, and "Introduction to structured data markup in Google Search", last updated 2025-12-10. Both read 2026-10-08.
Google's rules
The rules your markup must follow
Google's structured data rules come down to one idea: the code must describe what a visitor can see on the page, and nothing else.
- Visible facts only
- Google says not to mark up information that isn't visible to the reader, "even if the information is accurate". Hours in the code must match hours on the page.
- Most specific type
- Google asks for the narrowest LocalBusiness type that fits, such as Plumber or Dentist, and accepts a list where a business does several things.
- Name and address
- Google lists name and address as required for LocalBusiness markup. A business with no public address can use Organization markup instead, which has no required fields.
- Reviews
- Google recommends rating and review markup only for sites that collect reviews of other businesses, not for a business marking up its own.
- No guarantee
- Google states that valid markup still "does not guarantee" a rich result will appear.
Google Search Central, "Introduction to structured data markup in Google Search", last updated 2025-12-10 (the "even if the information is accurate" line); "Local business (LocalBusiness) structured data", last updated 2026-09-08; "General structured data guidelines", last updated 2026-07-10; "Organization (Organization) structured data", last updated 2026-09-08. All read 2026-10-08.
Beyond your site
Schema is one copy of your facts
Structured data is one of several places a business's facts live, alongside the visible page, the Google Business Profile and directory listings. Google says it compiles Business Profile details from crawled web pages, licensed data and people who contribute facts, so markup only helps if it agrees with everything else. For a business serving Vancouver, Richmond or Surrey, that includes the service area.
How a Google Business Profile feeds AI answers. How Google AI Overviews choose which sites to link.
Google Business Profile Help, "Understand how Google sources & uses info in Business Profiles & local search results" (page carries no date), read 2026-10-08.
Our work
What we do about local business schema
AI SEO Vancouver writes, tests and maintains structured data as part of the monthly work, and every client gets the validator output.
One clean graph
A single JSON-LD block per page with stable IDs, so your business is described once and referenced everywhere else.
Matched to the page
Every marked-up fact checked against the visible text and your Business Profile before it goes live.
Tested and saved
Rich Results Test and Schema.org validator run on each changed page, with the output saved and dated in your report.
Duplicates removed
Overlapping markup from themes and plugins found and removed, so search engines see one version of your business.
Limits
What we won't promise about local business schema
Valid structured data makes a page eligible for some Google features. It doesn't make anything appear, and AI SEO Vancouver won't sell it as if it did.
- A rich result, star rating or knowledge panel. Google decides when to show them.
- A place in AI answers because of schema. Google says none is needed for its AI features.
- Review stars for your own business. Google recommends review markup only for sites that review other businesses.
Google Search Central, "General structured data guidelines", last updated 2026-07-10, and "Local business (LocalBusiness) structured data", last updated 2026-09-08. Both read 2026-10-08.
How we check
How we check local business schema, as of October 2026
For each client, AI SEO Vancouver runs both validators on every page we change and stores the results with the date and the page address. The monthly report links to them, so the claim that the markup is valid can be checked by anyone.
This site's own markup is tested the same way before launch, and the result is kept with our records. How we measure.
Last reviewed 27 October 2026
Also in AEO: Google AI Overviews · ChatGPT
Message
Ask about structured data for your business
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What happens next
- We look at your site and how it shows in Google today.
- On a short call we say whether the standard plan fits or whether you need a quote.
- If it fits, the setup month starts with a baseline you can compare against later.