What schema markup is, in plain English
Schema markup is a machine-readable data card for your business that lives invisibly in your website's code: name, address, phone, hours, and coordinates written in a standardized format (Schema.org's LocalBusiness type, wrapped as JSON-LD) that Google, Bing, and AI assistants can read without guessing. Visitors never see it. The engines read it and use it to confirm what your visible pages and your Google Business Profile already say, which is exactly why all three have to agree.
The payoff: eligibility for rich results (hours, ratings, and details shown right in the listing), stronger map pack signals, and answers AI tools can cite with confidence. Our Florida Local Search Index found only 25.8% of audited Brevard County businesses had any structured data, while 74.4% of top-ranked Florida businesses measured in 2026 use it. It went from nice-to-have to table stakes, and most local competitors still have not done it.
