Local SEO: Business Information and Local Schema

Local SEO features help your business appear in local search results and map listings. This guide covers configuring business information, LocalBusiness schema markup, opening hours, and related settings.

Enable Local SEO

Local SEO is disabled by default. Enable it to activate schema generation and local SEO features.

To enable:

1. Go to SEOvault AI > Local SEO
2. Check Enable Local SEO
3. Click Save Local SEO Settings

This enables:

• LocalBusiness schema markup
• Geo meta tags
• Local SEO shortcodes
• KML sitemap generation

Business information

Configure your business details for schema markup and local search.

Business type

Select the most specific business type for your business. The plugin offers a hierarchical list of Schema.org LocalBusiness subtypes:

Categories include:

• Store (Auto Parts, Bike, Book, Clothing, Computer, Electronics, Florist, Furniture, Grocery, Hardware, Jewelry, Liquor, Mobile Phone, Music, Office Equipment, Outlet, Pawn Shop, Pet, Shoe, Sporting Goods, Tire, Toy, Wholesale, Men’s/Women’s Clothing)
• Food Establishment (Bakery, Bar or Pub, Brewery, Cafe or Coffee Shop, Fast Food Restaurant, Ice Cream Shop, Restaurant, Winery)
• Health and Beauty Business (Beauty Salon, Day Spa, Hair Salon, Health Club, Nail Salon, Tattoo Parlor)
• Medical Business (Dentist, Dermatology, Diet & Nutrition, Emergency Service, General Practice, Medical Clinic, Optician, Pharmacy, Physician, Veterinary Care)
• Home and Construction Business (Electrician, General Contractor, House Painter, Locksmith, Moving Company, Plumber, Roofing Contractor)
• Automotive Business (Auto Body Shop, Auto Dealer, Auto Rental, Auto Repair, Auto Wash, Gas Station, Motorcycle Dealer, Motorcycle Repair)
• Lodging Business (Bed and Breakfast, Hostel, Hotel, Motel, Resort)
• Entertainment Business (Amusement Park, Art Gallery, Casino, Comedy Club, Movie Theater, Night Club, Tourist Attraction, Tourist Information Center)
• Education Business (College or University, Elementary School, High School, Middle School, Preschool, Private School, Public School, School)
• Financial Service (Accounting Service, Automated Teller, Bank or Credit Union, Insurance Agency)
• Legal Service (Attorney, Notary)
• Professional Service (Accounting Service, Architectural Services, Engineering Service, Legal Service, Notary, Printing Service)
• Other types (Real Estate Agent, Travel Agency, Child Care, Dry Cleaning or Laundry, Event Venue, Fitness Center, Internet Cafe, Library, Museum, Park, Place of Worship, Playground, RV Park, Shopping Center, Sports Activity Location, Stadium or Arena, Taxi Service, Television Station, Tourist Attraction, Zoo)

To configure:

1. Go to SEOvault AI > Local SEO > Business Info
2. Select your business type from the dropdown
3. Click Save Local SEO Settings

Contact information

Required fields:

• Business Name — Your official business name
• Street Address — Primary street address
• City — City or locality
• State / Province — State, province, or region
• Postal Code — ZIP or postal code
• Country — Country from dropdown list
• Phone — Primary phone number

Optional fields:

• Address Line 2 — Suite, unit, or additional address line
• Secondary Phone — Additional phone number
• Fax — Fax number
• Email — Business email address
• Website URL — Business website URL

To configure:

1. Go to SEOvault AI > Local SEO > Business Info
2. Fill in the contact information fields
3. Click Save Local SEO Settings

Location coordinates

Geographic coordinates help search engines pinpoint your location on maps.

To find your coordinates:

1. Search for your address on Google Maps
2. Right-click on your location
3. Select the coordinates from the popup

To configure:

1. Go to SEOvault AI > Local SEO > Business Info
2. Enter Latitude (e.g., 40.7128)
3. Enter Longitude (e.g., -74.0060)
4. Click Save Local SEO Settings

Additional business details

Optional fields:

• Price Range — Price range indicator (e.g., $$, $$$)
• Area Served — Geographic area you serve
• Currencies Accepted — Accepted currencies
• Payment Accepted — Payment methods

To configure:

1. Go to SEOvault AI > Local SEO > Business Info
2. Fill in additional details as needed
3. Click Save Local SEO Settings

Opening hours

Configure your business hours for schema markup and display on your site.

24/7 operation

If your business is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:

1. Go to SEOvault AI > Local SEO > Opening Hours
2. Check 24/7 Open
3. Click Save Local SEO Settings

Regular hours

For businesses with standard operating hours:

1. Go to SEOvault AI > Local SEO > Opening Hours
2. For each day of the week, set:
   • First Open — Opening time
   • First Close — Closing time
3. Click Save Local SEO Settings

Split hours

If your business has multiple time slots per day (e.g., morning and afternoon):

1. Go to SEOvault AI > Local SEO > Opening Hours
2. Check Multiple Time Slots
3. For each day, set:
   • First Open and First Close — First time slot
   • Second Open and Second Close — Second time slot
4. Click Save Local SEO Settings

Per-day 24-hour override

For specific days with 24-hour operation:

1. Go to SEOvault AI > Local SEO > Opening Hours
2. Check the 24h checkbox for the specific day
3. Click Save Local SEO Settings

Hide opening hours

If you don’t want to display opening hours on your site:

1. Go to SEOvault AI > Local SEO > Opening Hours
2. Check Hide Opening Hours
3. Click Save Local SEO Settings

Maps and store locator

Configure Google Maps integration for map shortcodes and store locator functionality.

Google Maps API key

Required for map shortcodes and store locator features.

To get an API key:

1. Go to Google Cloud Console
2. Create a project or select an existing one
3. Enable the Maps JavaScript API
4. Create an API key with appropriate restrictions
5. Copy the API key

To configure:

1. Go to SEOvault AI > Local SEO > Maps & Store Locator
2. Paste your Google Maps API key
3. Click Save Local SEO Settings

Unit system

Choose the unit system for distance calculations:

• Metric (km) — Use kilometers
• Imperial (miles) — Use miles

To configure:

1. Go to SEOvault AI > Local SEO > Maps & Store Locator
2. Select your preferred unit system
3. Click Save Local SEO Settings

Store locator settings

Configure the maximum number of results for store locator searches:

1. Go to SEOvault AI > Local SEO > Maps & Store Locator
2. Set Store Locator: Max Results (1-100)
3. Click Save Local SEO Settings

KML sitemap

The plugin automatically generates a KML sitemap for your locations. The sitemap URL is displayed on the Maps & Store Locator tab.

KML sitemaps help search engines understand your location data for local search results.

Schema markup

The plugin automatically generates LocalBusiness schema markup based on your settings.

Schema includes:

• @type — LocalBusiness and specific business type
• @id — Schema identifier
• name — Business name
• url — Website URL
• address — PostalAddress with full address details
• geo — GeoCoordinates with latitude and longitude
• telephone — Phone number(s)
• email — Email address
• faxNumber — Fax number (if configured)
• image — Business logo (if configured)
• logo — Business logo (if configured)
• priceRange — Price range (if configured)
• currenciesAccepted — Accepted currencies (if configured)
• paymentAccepted — Payment methods (if configured)
• areaServed — Area served (if configured)
• vatID — VAT ID (if configured)
• taxID — Tax ID (if configured)
• contactPoint — Contact information (if configured)
• openingHoursSpecification — Opening hours (if configured)

Test your schema

Use the Google Rich Results Test to verify your LocalBusiness schema is correctly implemented.

Multiple locations

For businesses with multiple locations, the plugin supports location-specific schema through a custom post type.

Location post type

When you have multiple locations:

1. Create individual location posts
2. Configure business information for each location
3. The plugin generates schema for each location page
4. The homepage uses the primary location schema

Set primary location

1. Go to your location posts
2. Mark one location as primary
3. The homepage will use this location’s schema

Import and export

Import or export your Local SEO settings for backup or migration.

To export:

1. Go to SEOvault AI > Local SEO > Import / Export
2. Click Export Settings
3. Save the JSON file

To import:

1. Go to SEOvault AI > Local SEO > Import / Export
2. Select a JSON file
3. Click Import Settings
4. Review and confirm the import

Best practices

NAP consistency

Keep your Name, Address, and Phone (NAP) consistent across:

• Your website
• Google Business Profile
• Other local directories (Yelp, Yellow Pages, etc.)
• Social media profiles

Inconsistent NAP data confuses search engines and hurts local rankings.

Complete your profile

Fill in as many fields as possible:

• Complete address information
• Phone number
• Business hours
• Business type
• Geographic coordinates
• Website URL

Verify your listing

Verify your business on Google Business Profile to improve local search visibility and trust.

Monitor performance

Use Google Search Console to monitor:

• Local search impressions
• Click-through rates
• Position in local pack results

Troubleshooting

Schema not appearing

If LocalBusiness schema is not appearing on your site:

1. Verify Local SEO is enabled
2. Check that business information is complete
3. Ensure the business type is selected
4. Test with the Rich Results Test
5. Check for conflicts with other SEO plugins

Incorrect coordinates

If your map pin is in the wrong location:

1. Verify latitude and longitude values
2. Use Google Maps to find correct coordinates
3. Ensure positive/negative signs are correct
4. Latitude: -90 to 90
5. Longitude: -180 to 180

Opening hours not displaying

If opening hours are not appearing:

1. Verify opening hours are configured
2. Check that “Hide Opening Hours” is not checked
3. Ensure time format is correct (HH:MM)
4. Clear your cache if using a caching plugin

Related docs

• Schema Validation and Testing
• Recommended Settings for Local Business Sites