In this guide · 8 sections
- 01What structured data does, and what it doesn't
- 02The markup worth adding for a small business
- 03LocalBusiness markup: the properties that matter
- 04What Google stopped showing: FAQ results and others
- 05What not to mark up
- 06How to add and test structured data
- 07Do it yourself or get help?
- 08Frequently asked questions
Short answer
For most small businesses, add LocalBusiness (or a specific subtype such as Dentist or Restaurant) with name, address, phone, hours and URL, plus Organization details such as logo. Add Product, Event or Course markup only if you have those pages. FAQ rich results no longer appear in Google Search.
What structured data does, and what it doesn't
Google's introduction to structured data explains it as a standardised format for describing a page, which Google can use to show rich results such as star ratings, event dates or product prices. It is mostly written as JSON-LD, a short script in the page code that visitors don't see.
Structured data does not make a weak page rank. It helps Google understand facts it might otherwise have to guess, and makes some pages eligible for richer listings. Eligible is not guaranteed: Google decides whether to show a rich result at all.
For local searches, your Google Business Profile is still the main source of the details shown in Maps. Markup on your website supports it by stating the same facts in a machine-readable way. Our local SEO guide covers the profile side.
The markup worth adding for a small business
Google's search gallery lists every feature it supports. For a typical small Singapore business, these are the ones that matter:
| Type | Add it if | What it can affect |
|---|---|---|
| LocalBusiness (or subtype) | You have premises or a service area customers contact | Business details Google may show, such as hours and contact |
| Organization | Always, usually on the home page | Which logo Google uses and how it identifies your business |
| Breadcrumb | Your site has more than two levels | The page path shown in search results |
| Product and merchant listing | You sell products online with prices | Price, availability and shipping details in results |
| Event | You run public events with dates | Event listings in search |
| Course list | You list courses (training providers, schools) | Course listings |
Most website builders and SEO plugins add Organization and Breadcrumb markup automatically. Shopify themes usually add Product markup. Check what is already there before adding more, because duplicate and conflicting blocks are a common mistake.
LocalBusiness markup: the properties that matter
Google's local business documentation lists name and address as required, and tells you to use the most specific subtype available, such as Dentist, Restaurant, HealthClub or Electrician. LocalBusiness is a subtype of Organization, so Organization fields such as logo also apply.
LocalBusiness properties checklist
If you have several branches, give each its own page and its own LocalBusiness block with that branch's address and hours, rather than listing every branch on the home page.
What Google stopped showing: FAQ results and others
Google has been trimming rich results it no longer finds useful. Its Search Central changelog recorded a deprecation notice on 8 May 2026 saying the FAQ rich result would no longer appear in Google Search from 7 May 2026, and later removed the FAQ documentation entirely.
The lesson: treat structured data as a way to describe genuine content accurately, not as a ranking trick. Features come and go; accurate details about your business stay useful.
What not to mark up
Google's structured data policies say markup must describe content visible to readers of the page, and must not be irrelevant or misleading, such as fake reviews. Breaking these rules can lead to a manual action that removes rich results from your site.
- Your own review stars on your own site. Google's review snippet guidelines only support LocalBusiness and Organization reviews for sites that collect reviews about other businesses. Reviews you mark up about yourself are self-serving and not shown.
- Details that aren't on the page, such as hours or prices that appear only in the code.
- Fake or copied reviews. Apart from Google's rules, CCS acted against 45 businesses over fake reviews in September 2026.
- A different business name or address from your Business Profile and signage.
- Services you don't offer, added as extra types to appear in more searches.
How to add and test structured data
You don't need to write code by hand for most sites. The order below works for WordPress, Shopify, Wix and custom sites alike.
Check what's already there
Run your home page and a key service page through Google's Rich Results Test and note which types it finds.
Use your platform's built-in settings first
SEO plugins and site builders usually have a business details screen that outputs LocalBusiness and Organization markup. Fill it in completely.
Add custom JSON-LD only where needed
For a specific subtype, several branches or opening hours the plugin can't express, add a JSON-LD block to the relevant page.
Test before publishing
Paste the code or URL into the Rich Results Test. Fix critical errors; consider fixing warnings.
Watch Search Console
After publishing, Search Console's enhancement reports show errors Google finds while crawling. Check them after site changes.
Search engines and AI assistants also read your visible content, so plain, accurate pages matter more than markup. Our guide to visibility in AI search and Google AI Overviews covers that side.
Do it yourself or get help?
If your site runs on WordPress with an SEO plugin, or on Shopify or Wix, filling in the business details screen and testing it takes an hour. Get help if the tests show errors you can't trace, if several plugins are outputting conflicting markup, or if you have multiple branches. If pages aren't appearing in Google at all, markup won't fix that; see our guide to a website not showing on Google.
Our Speed & SEO Fix (S$390) audits and cleans up your structured data, adds correct LocalBusiness and Organization markup, removes conflicting blocks, and fixes the speed and title issues that usually matter more.
Frequently asked questions
Not directly. Structured data helps Google understand facts about your page and can make it eligible for rich results such as product prices or event dates, which may improve how your listing looks. It does not make a weak or irrelevant page rank higher, and Google decides whether to show rich results at all.
Not for Google search appearance. Google's Search Central changelog says FAQ rich results stopped appearing in Google Search from 7 May 2026, and Google later removed the FAQ documentation. Existing FAQ markup does no harm, but adding it will not produce FAQ results in Google.
Generally no. Google's review snippet guidelines only support reviews of a local business or organisation on sites that collect reviews about other businesses. Reviews about your own business marked up on your own website are treated as self-serving and are not shown as stars.
Google lists name and address as required. In practice also include the most specific business type, telephone, website URL and opening hours, all matching what appears on the page and on your Google Business Profile. Test it with Google's Rich Results Test.
Enter a page URL into Google's Rich Results Test. It shows which structured data types it found, whether the page is eligible for rich results, and any errors or warnings. Search Console's enhancement reports also show issues across your whole site after Google crawls it.