There are over 800 schema types and most of them do nothing for rankings. For Australian local businesses, the five that consistently improve visibility, click-through, and AI Overview citations are LocalBusiness, Review (with care), FAQPage, Service, and BreadcrumbList. Implement these properly and ignore the rest until you have a reason not to.
Why schema matters more than it used to
Schema markup tells Google exactly what your page is about in a structured, machine-readable format. It doesn't directly improve rankings (Google has said this for years), but it does three things that quietly add up:
- •Unlocks rich results (star ratings, FAQ accordions, sitelinks) - directly improves CTR
- •Strengthens entity association - tells Google what kind of business you are
- •Increases the chance of being cited in AI Overviews and ChatGPT Search - structured content is easier for LLMs to parse
The CTR uplift from rich results alone often justifies the implementation effort. The AI search visibility is the multiplier on top.
1. LocalBusiness schema
The foundation. Add it to your homepage, contact page, and every service-area landing page. Use the most specific subtype (Plumber, Dentist, Restaurant, Locksmith - all are valid Schema.org types) rather than generic LocalBusiness.
Must-have fields:
- •name - exactly as it appears on your Google Business Profile
- •address - structured PostalAddress with streetAddress, addressLocality, addressRegion, postalCode, addressCountry
- •telephone - in international format (+61 8 ...)
- •openingHoursSpecification - structured, day-by-day
- •geo - latitude and longitude (helps when address is unusual)
- •sameAs - links to your social profiles and Google Business Profile URL
- •priceRange - $, $$, $$$ or actual range
NAP (Name, Address, Phone) must match Google Business Profile and the rest of your site exactly. Inconsistencies hurt local rankings more than missing schema does.
2. Review schema (with care)
Star ratings in search results are the highest-impact rich result for local businesses. The catch: Google's policies are strict about how reviews can be marked up. You can't mark up reviews collected by a third party (Google Reviews, Yelp) on your own site. You can only mark up reviews collected directly on your domain.
Practical implementation:
- •Collect reviews via your own form (or a widget that posts to your domain)
- •Use aggregateRating on the LocalBusiness or Service schema
- •Include itemReviewed pointing to the service or business being reviewed
- •Don't use Review schema for your homepage averaging Google reviews - this violates policy and risks a manual penalty
The compliant alternative
If you don't collect reviews on your own domain, skip Review schema entirely. Google Business Profile will surface your reviews directly in the SERP - the schema isn't needed there.
3. FAQPage schema
FAQ rich results are no longer shown for most sites (Google rolled this back in 2023), but FAQPage schema is still valuable for two reasons: it helps Google understand topical coverage, and AI Overviews lean heavily on structured Q&A content when generating answers.
Implement it on:
- •Service pages with an FAQ section answering common questions
- •Blog posts with a clearly structured FAQ block
- •Pricing or quote pages
Don't fake it - the FAQs need to be visible to users on the page, not hidden. Google ignores schema for content that isn't actually present.
4. Service schema
For each distinct service you offer, give it its own schema entry on its dedicated landing page. Service schema tells Google "this page is about this specific service offered by this specific business".
Key fields:
- •name - the specific service ("Emergency Drain Cleaning")
- •provider - reference to your LocalBusiness
- •areaServed - the geographic area you serve for this service
- •serviceType - category
- •offers - if pricing is visible
Service schema combined with strong on-page content is what gets you cited when someone asks an AI "who does X in Y suburb?".
5. BreadcrumbList schema
The simplest of the five and the most consistently rewarded by Google. Replaces the URL in search results with a breadcrumb path, which improves CTR by giving users a clearer sense of context. Works on every page with a breadcrumb component.
If your site uses Next.js or any modern framework, this should be auto-generated based on the URL hierarchy. It's a 30-minute implementation that benefits every page on the site.
What to skip
- •Article schema on every page - over-applied and adds nothing for local businesses
- •Speakable schema - not implemented widely enough by Google to bother
- •HowTo schema with "how to hire us" content - against policy, treated as promotional
- •Generic Thing or CreativeWork - vague schemas signal you don't know what your business is
Schema is one of those areas where less, done correctly, beats more done in a generic plugin-default state.
Ready to put this into practice?
Book a free 20-minute strategy call and get tailored recommendations for your business - no obligation, no sales pitch.