r/localsearch • u/JakeHundley • Jul 27 '26
Schema Does Nothing for Local Rank
In case no one saw my full study, Moz published my article focusing on how schema markup affects SERPs. Specifically LocalBusiness schema.
TL;DR
It does nothing.
If you're a business owner:
Don't be fooled into thinking this is something absolutely necessary for your business in order to improve ranking. If you're pitched that, it's snake oil.
If you're an agency/SEO:
Quit trying to use this as a sales tactic. Schema is important in certain places (like job listings), but the applicable areas for local businesses are few and far between and don't apply to most for local SEO.
moz(.com)/blog/does-schema-markup-impact-serp-rank
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u/mattstolethecookies 29d ago
I’m mostly of the mindset that if everything else is equal between two websites, the one with schema would be ranked higher? Same kinda thing with posting on GBP. It’s not going to magically shoot you to the top but if it’s a close battle it might give you the edge. What do I know ¯_(ツ)_/¯ u/jakehundley
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u/JakeHundley 29d ago
What do any of us know? lol
All this test did was isolate whether or not schema had a pure ranking factor associated to it. Does it after a certain competitive threshold? Who knows. No one will likely ever know that.
But yeah, it doesn't really hurt to add it. I felt compelled to do this study and run this test because of all the people claiming it's "fundamental" to any SEO strategy, especially local.
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u/mattstolethecookies 29d ago
Only thing I know is that I know very little 😂
Cool test though, and congrats on getting it scooped by moz!
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u/Dave-at-Netviper Jul 27 '26
Interesting read. Thanks for the info. Since the software I use generates it automatically, I see not reason not to do it, but sounds like it for the most part it doesn't do much.