Structured data: tell Google and AI exactly what your business is
Structured data is a small block of machine-readable JSON in your page that states plain facts: we are a restaurant, here is our address, these are our hours.
Humans never see it. Google, Bing and — increasingly — AI assistants read it to answer questions about you with confidence instead of guesswork.
Why it costs you customers
It makes you eligible for richer search results (hours, ratings, prices in the listing itself).
As more people ask ChatGPT-style assistants 'where should I eat in Byron tonight?', the businesses whose facts are machine-readable are the easiest for those systems to recommend accurately.
It is also one of the few SEO levers with a clear right answer — either the facts are stated or they are not.
Check it in 30 seconds
Paste your URL into Google's Rich Results Test — it lists any structured data it finds.
Our free check flags pages with none at all.
How to fix it
A single JSON-LD script of type LocalBusiness (or Restaurant / HairSalon / LodgingBusiness — pick the specific one) with name, address, phone, url, openingHours and geo. Google's documentation has copy-paste templates.
Squarespace and Wix generate basic LocalBusiness schema from your business info settings — fill those in completely. WordPress: Yoast/RankMath output it once you set the site type and location.
Only mark up facts that appear on the page. Fake ratings or wrong hours in schema can earn manual penalties — worse than none.
Do hours first. "Open now" is one of the highest-intent filters in local search and maps; a business whose hours are machine-readable everywhere (site schema + Google Business Profile, matching) never loses the customer standing outside at 4:55pm wondering.