LocalBusiness schema for India — using GSTIN as identifier

Quick frame: LocalBusiness schema is the on-site anchor for your Google knowledge panel and local-pack eligibility. Indian SMBs can use schema.org's identifier property to expose GSTIN — an India-specific trust signal that complements Google Business Profile.

Pick the most specific sub-type

Schema.org has dozens of LocalBusiness sub-types: Restaurant, MedicalClinic, Dentist, HairSalon, AutoRepair, Hotel, Store, RealEstateAgent, and many more. The more specific your @type, the more accurately Google understands your business and the better your local-pack eligibility.

Default to the generic LocalBusiness only when none of the sub-types fits. Use the LocalBusiness schema generator — the picker covers the most common Indian SMB types.

Address must match Google Business Profile

The most common error: address differs subtly between schema, Google Business Profile, and Indiamart / Justdial listings. Google uses NAP (Name, Address, Phone) consistency as a primary local-ranking signal. Even small differences (Plot 12 vs Plot No. 12) fragment the entity.

Set a canonical NAP record internally, then mirror it across:

• LocalBusiness schema (this).
• Google Business Profile.
• Bing Places.
• Justdial, Sulekha and other citation directories.

GSTIN as identifier

Schema.org allows custom identifiers via the PropertyValue type. We use it to expose GSTIN cleanly:

"identifier": {
  "@type": "PropertyValue",
  "propertyID": "GSTIN",
  "value": "27ABCDE1234F1Z5"
}

This is an India-specific trust signal that complements the Google Business Profile knowledge panel and helps disambiguate businesses with similar names.

Operational details

• Phone in E.164: +91-22-XXXXXXXX for cross-platform consistency.
• State code in addressRegion: use ISO codes (MH, KA, TN, DL).
• PIN code in postalCode: always 6 digits.
• openingHours: Mo-Fr 09:30-18:00, Sa 10:00-14:00 format.

Layer with Organization

Place Organization schema site-wide too. The two reinforce each other — Organization for the parent entity, LocalBusiness for the physical-location context. For the full Indian SEO stack, the Organization schema best practices for Indian sites post pairs.

FAQ

Q. What if I have multiple branches? A. Emit one LocalBusiness schema per branch, on the relevant location page. Link them via a parent Organization with branchOf relationships if needed.

Q. Does Google verify the GSTIN? A. Not directly via schema. But the GSTIN matching your Companies House / MCA filing helps the broader entity-recognition graph.

Q. Should I include geo coordinates? A. Yes — latitude and longitude under geo. Helps Maps integration and disambiguates locations with similar addresses.