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Business Info Code Explained

How to speak AI's language without learning to code

What is it?

Imagine you're at a networking event and someone asks "What do you do?" You could ramble for five minutes, or you could hand them a business card with everything organized: name, address, phone, services, hours.

Schema markup is like a standardized business card for the internet - except instead of paper, it's code. And instead of humans reading it, AI systems read it to instantly understand who you are, what you offer, and how to reach you.

The technical term is JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data), and it's written in a format called Schema.org. For local businesses, the most important type is LocalBusiness schema.

Why it matters for your business

Without schema markup, AI has to guess what your business does based on your website text. With schema markup, you're explicitly telling AI: "I'm a plumber in Austin, here's my address, here are my hours, here's my phone number."

The difference is night and day. AI systems prioritize websites with structured data because it's more reliable. They don't have to interpret or infer - they can just read the facts you've provided in a standardized format.

Real example: A dental practice in Seattle had their services listed as paragraph text on their website. AI rarely mentioned their specific offerings (teeth whitening, implants, etc.).

They added LocalBusiness schema with a "services offered" field. Within three weeks, AI started citing specific services when answering questions like "Who does dental implants in Seattle?" Citation rate for service-specific queries went from 6% to 47%.

The technical details (for the curious)

Here's what LocalBusiness schema looks like behind the scenes. This code lives in the HTML of your website, invisible to visitors but perfectly readable to AI:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "LocalBusiness",
  "name": "Joe's Plumbing",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "123 Main St",
    "addressLocality": "Austin",
    "addressRegion": "TX",
    "postalCode": "78701"
  },
  "telephone": "+1-512-555-0100",
  "openingHours": "Mo-Fr 08:00-17:00",
  "priceRange": "$$"
}
</script>

Let's decode this:

  • @context and @type tell AI this is a LocalBusiness entry
  • name is your business name (exactly as customers know it)
  • address is broken into standardized fields AI can parse
  • telephone includes country code for clarity
  • openingHours uses a standard format (Mo-Fr = Monday-Friday)
  • priceRange gives AI a sense of your pricing ($ to $$$$)

You can also add fields like:

  • image - Your logo or storefront photo
  • aggregateRating - Your average star rating
  • geo - Exact latitude/longitude coordinates
  • url - Your website URL
  • sameAs - Links to your social media profiles

The beauty is that most modern website builders (WordPress, Wix, Squarespace) have plugins that generate this code automatically. You just fill out a form, and the plugin writes the JSON-LD for you.

Do you need to know how to code?

Nope. If you use WordPress, plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math handle schema markup with a simple form. If you use Squarespace or Wix, they have built-in schema tools. Even if you have a custom website, your developer can add this in 10 minutes.

The important part is knowing it exists and asking whoever manages your website to add it.

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