Does Schema Replace Conventional NAP in local SEO?
-
Hello Everyone,
My question is in regards to Schema and whether the it replaces the need for the conventional structured data NAP configuration. Because you have the ability to specifically call out variables (such as Name, URL, Address, Phone number ect.) is it still necessary to keep the NAP form-factor that has historically been required for local SEO?
Logically it makes sense that schema would allow someone to reverse this order and still achieve the same result, however I have yet to find any conclusive evidence of this being the case.
Thanks, and I look forward to what the community has to say on this matter.
-
Marcus...that should'a been "...the ever DEPENDABLE Phil Rozek..."
-
No.
Schema and NAP are two distinct things, while schema can markup NAP elements, NAP as it is used in Local is more about ensuring you are using the same N, A, and P everywhere. The order of it is irrelevant; people are just accustomed to seeing it as Name, Address, Phone in that order.
If you only use schema on a web page to tell people where your business is, I am not sure they will find it easily. Will search engines find it? Yes.
I hope this clarifies a bit for you.
-
Im completely with Lesley here. That's exactly how I would do it. Give him a beer!
-
Hey Todd
You really don't get to decide this as it is the third party sites that will make up the lions share of your NAP data out there and whether they decide to use schema or not is up to them. When it comes to your own site it is nice and it has benefits but I would not bust a gut over it.
I would worry about NAP consistency and having well optimised citations (for users that is) in all the important general purpose, local and vertical directories long before I started to worry about schema.
That said, we use schema for the NAP on our clients sites as it is kind of easy after all.
This is a good article by the ever dependant Phil Rozek:
Cheers
Marcus
-
When I can I keep both, I try to keep the normal structure and mark it up with schema mark up. I am almost positive that technically you can include organizational data without it being visible on the site, but I generally think it is a good practice to keep it visible even if it is not for SEO. Think about how a meta description is, they basically hold no SEO value any more, but the value they hold is to get people to click through the SERP's to your site. Having the normal NAP structure holds the value of people trusting your business. Also, things can change, I do not want to be caught with my pants down if Google decides that organizational data needs to be displayed on the page and hidden data is no longer allowed.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
How to Get 1st Page Google Rankings for a Local Company?
Hi guys, I'm owning a London removal company - Mega Removals and wants to achieve 1st page rankings on Google UK for keywords like: "removals London", "removal company London", "house removals London" but have no success so far. I need professional advice on how to do it. Should I hire an SEO or should focus on content? I will be very grateful for your help.
Local Website Optimization | | nanton1 -
City Pages for Local SEO
Hey Mozzers, I have a local SEO question for you. I am working with a medical professional to SEO their site. I know that when creating city pages, you want to try and make each page as strong as you can, showcasing testimonials from people who live in those towns, for instance. Since my client is in the medical profession, i was going to include a list of parks from that town and say something about how, "we want to encourage good health, etc." However, i began to wonder whether i should just create one, large resource for the surrounding towns having to do with parks, dog parks, and athletic activities and link to it in the top nav. thoughts? Nails
Local Website Optimization | | matt.nails0 -
Can I block blexhn30.webmeup.com. Or does it have anything to do with my Moz Local
I am getting alot of hits from blexhn30.webmeup.com. My web host says it could be a web service. Is this part of moz local activity? Otherwise I want to block it. Have you seen this before??
Local Website Optimization | | stephenfishman0 -
Duplicate Schema within webpage
I'm implementing schema across a few Wordpress sites. Most (probably all) WP sites use widgets for their footer, which offer their own editable HTML. Is it damaging (or helpful) to implement the exact same markup in the footer and a specific page, like for instance, a locations page that has the address and contact info (which are also in the footer)?
Local Website Optimization | | ReunionMarketing0 -
Can I use a state's slang term for local search?
Have a business located in Indianapolis, Indiana. The business name will be BusinessName Indy. The URL will be BusinessName-Indy.com Since I am using Indy instead of Indianapolis or Indiana, is Google's algorithm smart enough to match up local results to my site?
Local Website Optimization | | StevenPeavey1 -
General SEO Help
Hi Everyone, **Website: **www.helppestcontrol.com I've been working on a wordpress based website for the past few months now. This is a new website that we designed for an existing company that decided to rebrand. The previous website had little to no traffic.. so we've basically started for scratch. I've followed SEO guides and have completed many of the basics. We started using MOZ just under a month ago and have made a ton of changes based upon those suggestions. With all of this being said, we have seen some slight improvements in traffic, but nothing truly noticeable. In fact, 90% of our traffic is coming from a Facebook PPC campaign. I think the main struggle is that the company has such a wide operating based (a ton of very small towns and cities). We created an optimize page for each one (same content, just switched out the keywords).. in hopes of driving traffic. Is this the correct approach? Or should be optimize for general terms such as "Bed Bug Removal" versus "Bed Bug Removal Barrie"? I was hoping that the community could take a look at the website (maybe run it through a few tests) and give me some more suggestions. I would really appreciate any feedback. Thank you!
Local Website Optimization | | Timrhendry0 -
Local Rank riddle
Here is a very odd scenario which to me makes very little sense. How can a site rank on Page #1 of Google for let's say "Boston party planner" yet on Page#2 for "party planner Boston"?? Would love some insight on this one. thanks, Chris
Local Website Optimization | | Sundance_Kidd0 -
How to rank in Local Google Without physical address and phone number?
Can We Rank Well in Local Google without Physical address and Phone Number??? If Yes. How??
Local Website Optimization | | Dan_Brown10