Schema markup is structured data, written in a standard format defined by schema.org, added to a website's code to explicitly tell search engines what a piece of content represents - a business, a review, a FAQ, a product - rather than leaving them to infer it from plain text. For local businesses, LocalBusiness, FAQPage, and Review schema are the highest-value types, since they directly support local ranking, featured snippets, and rich results.
Schema markup is structured code added to your website that tells Google exactly what your content means, not just what it says. Most Christchurch business websites don't have any at all, which leaves search engines guessing at details schema would state explicitly.
What schema markup actually is
Schema markup follows a standard vocabulary defined at schema.org, a specification backed jointly by Google, Microsoft, and other major search engines. Rather than relying on a search engine to correctly infer that a block of text is a business address or a customer review, schema states it directly in a machine-readable format embedded in the page's code.
Why it matters beyond just rankings
Schema doesn't directly boost rankings on its own, but it removes ambiguity. A page with LocalBusiness schema clearly states the business name, address, phone number, and hours in a format Google can read with certainty, rather than having to extract it from prose that might be phrased differently from page to page. That certainty supports eligibility for rich results, map pack accuracy, and increasingly, how confidently AI tools cite the business at all.
The highest-value schema types for a local business
LocalBusiness or ProfessionalService schema - the foundational type covering name, address, phone, hours, and service area.
FAQPage schema - marking up genuine question-and-answer content, which supports featured snippet and "People Also Ask" eligibility.
Review or AggregateRating schema - though since a 2019 Google policy change, self-hosted review schema on a business's own site is generally no longer eligible for visible star rich-snippets, even though it still helps AI tools and Google itself understand the rating data.
BreadcrumbList schema - helping both search engines and users understand where a page sits within the site's structure.
How to check it's working
Google's Rich Results Test checks any live URL and reports exactly what structured data it detects and whether it validates correctly. This is worth running after any schema change, since a small syntax error can mean the markup is silently ignored entirely.
Want your Christchurch website's schema properly set up and validated? Our SEO audits cover structured data as standard, or start with a free SEO review to see what's currently missing.
