Schema markup for small businesses: copy-paste examples

Schema markup (structured data) is a short block of code on your website that states your business facts in a format machines read without guessing: name, type of business, address, phone, opening hours. For a small business, one LocalBusiness block on the homepage covers most of the value. It won't make AI recommend you on its own, but it removes doubt about who you are and keeps your details consistent.

Key takeaways

• Start with one LocalBusiness block (or a more specific type, such as Dentist or BicycleStore) on your homepage.
• Only mark up facts that are also visible on the page. Never add made-up ratings or reviews.
• FAQ markup no longer shows dropdowns in Google (that ended in May 2026), but Google still uses it to understand your page. The FAQ text itself is what AI assistants quote.
• Most website builders and SEO plugins can add it without coding. Check the result with Google's Rich Results Test.

Why does structured data matter for AI?

When ChatGPT or Gemini reads your site, it has to work out from the text which business this is, where it is and what it does. Structured data says it outright, in a standard vocabulary (schema.org) that search engines share. That helps in three ways: your name, address and phone are unambiguous, they match what Google Business Profile and directories say, and search engines can connect your website to your other profiles through the sameAs links.

The one block every local business should have

Here's an example for a bike repair shop in Kaunas. Replace every value with your own, delete lines you don't have, and choose the most specific type that fits (schema.org lists types such as Dentist, AutoRepair, HairSalon, Restaurant, Store or BicycleStore; if none fits, use LocalBusiness).

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "BicycleStore",
  "name": "Dviračių remontas",
  "url": "https://www.example.lt/",
  "telephone": "+370 600 00000",
  "email": "info@example.lt",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "Laisvės al. 1",
    "addressLocality": "Kaunas",
    "postalCode": "44001",
    "addressCountry": "LT"
  },
  "openingHoursSpecification": [{
    "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification",
    "dayOfWeek": ["Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday"],
    "opens": "09:00",
    "closes": "18:00"
  }],
  "areaServed": "Kaunas",
  "priceRange": "€€",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.facebook.com/your-page",
    "https://rekvizitai.vz.lt/imone/your-company/"
  ]
}
</script>

• name: exactly the name you use everywhere else (website, Google, Facebook).
• telephone and address: the same format as on your Google Business Profile.
• openingHoursSpecification: add one block per group of days with the same hours.
• sameAs: links to your real profiles elsewhere. This is how machines tie them together.
• Online-only business? Use Organization instead of LocalBusiness and leave out the address and opening hours.

Should you add FAQ markup?

In May 2026 Google stopped showing FAQ dropdowns in its results for all websites, so FAQ markup won't win you extra space any more. Google says it still reads the markup to understand pages, so it doesn't hurt to keep or add it. What matters more is the FAQ itself: real questions customers ask, each answered in the first sentence. That's the text AI assistants can quote. If you add markup, it looks like this:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "FAQPage",
  "mainEntity": [{
    "@type": "Question",
    "name": "How long does a bike service take?",
    "acceptedAnswer": {
      "@type": "Answer",
      "text": "Most services are done the same day if you bring the bike before 12:00."
    }
  }]
}
</script>

How to add it without coding

• WordPress: SEO plugins such as Rank Math (Local SEO module) or Yoast (with its Local SEO add-on) generate LocalBusiness markup from a form.
• Other website builders: look for "structured data", "schema" or "custom code in the head" in the site settings and paste the block there.
• Have a web developer? Send them this article and your filled-in details. It's usually a 15-minute job.

How to check it works

Paste your page address into Google's Rich Results Test or the Schema Markup Validator (validator.schema.org). Both show what they found and flag errors. Then open your page, choose "View page source" and search for "application/ld+json" to make sure the block is in the HTML itself: some AI crawlers don't run JavaScript, so markup added only by scripts may not be seen.

Common mistakes

• Marking up details that aren't on the page, or that differ from it (an old phone number, different opening hours).
• Adding star ratings about your own business. Google doesn't show self-written review stars for businesses, and fake ones break its rules.
• Using a different business name in the markup than everywhere else.
• Copying a template and leaving its example values in place.

Check what AI sees

Every RecoPulse report checks whether your homepage has business markup and, where it's missing, gives you a ready-made block filled in with the facts from your own website. Start with the free check to see what ChatGPT says about you today.