Video
Schema markup explained for small businesses
A two-minute video on local business schema: what JSON-LD is, how it lists the cities you serve, and how to check it in Google.
Video
A two-minute video on local business schema: what JSON-LD is, how it lists the cities you serve, and how to check it in Google.
The full transcript of the video.
Hey everyone. Today I’m going to show you exactly how I set up my local business schema markup for my web design agency, Sun City Marketing, to show up better in search results in multiple cities throughout Riverside County, California. If you’re a local business owner trying to rank keywords for services in multiple cities, this video is going to show you how I added JSON-LD in WordPress, then validated it through Google.
So, here’s the situation I was facing. I run a website design and digital marketing agency based in Menifee, California. But I don’t just want to serve Menifee. I want my business to be found in search results in Murrieta, Temecula, Corona, Riverside, and eight other nearby cities. That’s where schema markup comes in, and specifically the areaServed property, which tells Google exactly which keywords and cities you serve.
Let me quickly explain what schema markup is, because this is the foundation. Schema markup is structured data that you add to your website’s header. It’s written in a format called JSON-LD.
What is JSON-LD schema? JSON-LD, JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data, is a structured data format that helps search engines like Google understand your business information better. This improves your visibility in local search results and can enhance how your business appears in search listings.
The beauty of schema markup is that it can appear in rich snippets and knowledge panels, and it helps Google determine when to show your business in local search results. For a small business owner trying to rank in multiple cities organically, this is absolutely critical. To be clear, you will need a WordPress website or be able to add the code into the header correctly.
How I implement schema on my website: I use JSON-LD embedded directly in my website code. Here’s a simplified step-by-step process.
Schema markup is code, written in JSON-LD, that tells search engines your business name, your services, and the cities you serve in a format they can read directly.
Structured data is a standardized format for providing information about a page. Google uses it to understand the content of the page, and adding it can enable search results that are more engaging to users, which Google calls rich results.
Rich results are Google’s decision; we make your business eligible and show you the proof. Local SEO schema comes with every Sun City Marketing website. For sites built elsewhere, it is sold à la carte.
We write your Local SEO schema, test it in Google’s Rich Results Test, and send you the result link, so you can see that Google reads your business correctly.
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