If you run a plumbing company in Orem, someone has probably told you to add schema markup to your website. Schema markup is a block of code that labels the facts on a page, such as your business name, address and hours, so Google can read them without guessing. It is not a shortcut past a weak page. Here is what it does, what it cannot do, and how to check yours.
Why Google Has to Guess, and How Schema Markup Helps
The problem starts with how Google receives a page. A person sees a finished layout. Google's crawler, the software that fetches pages, receives the raw code behind it, where your hours, town and services are plain strings of text in a header, footer or sidebar. Nothing in that code says which string is your hours. A row of weekday times makes sense to a homeowner, but software has to guess.
Structured data removes that guessing. Google's Search Central documentation calls it a standard format for giving information about a page and classifying its content. Google recommends whichever format is easiest to maintain, and says that in most cases that is JSON-LD, a short script in the page code that visitors do not see.
The labels come from a shared dictionary kept at schema.org. Each label names the kind of thing on the page, then its details: this is a business, here is its name, here are its hours. Google uses those labels to understand the page. For supported types, they can also make the page eligible for a rich result, which is a search listing with extra details added.
An Orem Scenario You Might Recognize
Picture a homeowner in Orem whose kitchen sink backs up on a Saturday morning. She grabs her phone and searches for a plumber near her. She sees a map with several plumbing businesses, then a list of websites. She opens two of them.
The first site shows no hours on the page. She cannot tell if anyone works weekends, so she goes back. The second site lists Saturday hours near the top, names drain cleaning as a service and mentions Orem by name. Behind that page, its schema markup states the same facts in code. She taps the call button there.
The visible page answered her questions. The code did not persuade her, because she did not see it. Its job was quieter: it gave Google a matching copy of the facts she read. For you as the owner, the page comes first and the code second.
The Two Types Most Plumbing Sites Use: LocalBusiness and Service
The LocalBusiness type at schema.org describes a physical business or a branch of one. Its more specific subtypes include Plumber, which sits under HomeAndConstructionBusiness next to types for electricians, HVAC companies and roofing contractors. Google's local business documentation asks you to use the most specific subtype that fits. It lists name and address as required, and suggests extras such as opening hours, telephone, website address and map coordinates.
The Service type describes one service you offer, such as drain cleaning. It can name the type of service, the provider and the area served. Google's search gallery of supported features does not list a rich result for Service markup, so it will not change how your listing looks.
A sensible setup for most plumbers is one LocalBusiness block for the company, plus Service markup on each service page.
FAQ Markup: What Changed and What Still Applies
For years, a common tip was to add FAQ markup so your questions appeared as drop-down answers under your search listing. That tip is out of date. Google's list of Search Central documentation updates says the FAQ rich result stopped appearing in Google Search starting May 7, 2026.
That does not make a questions section useless. Real questions with plain answers still help a homeowner decide whether to call, and they give Google clear text to read on the page itself.
If you keep FAQ markup in your code, the same rule applies as for every other type. Each question and answer in the code must also appear on the page, where visitors can read it. Answers that exist only in the code go against Google's guidelines.
Why Schema Markup Must Match What Visitors See
Google's general structured data guidelines say not to mark up content that is not visible to readers of the page. The markup must be a true representation of the page content. Breaking these quality rules can stop correct code from showing as a rich result, or possibly get it marked as spam.
Mismatches have a simple cause: the markup and the visible text usually live in two separate places. The text sits in the page editor, while the markup often comes from a template or a script added at launch. Edit one and the other stays the same, so the page can show new weekend hours while the code still lists the old ones.
A website design that pulls the page text and the markup from one source keeps them in step.
The same guidelines say a structured data issue can lead to a manual action, a penalty shown in Search Console's Manual Actions report. It removes the page's eligibility for rich results, though Google says it does not affect how the page ranks in web search.
What You Can Check This Week
You do not need to read code to check your schema markup. Google's Rich Results Test accepts a page address or a pasted code snippet. It shows which rich result types it found, plus any errors or warnings.
- Test two pages: Run your homepage and one service page. Note whether the tool finds a LocalBusiness item and lists any errors.
- Compare the code to the page: Read the detected name, address and hours, then look at the visible page. The two should say the same thing.
- Check each location page: Confirm each page's markup names the right town and does not repeat another page's details.
- Look in Search Console: The URL Inspection tool shows how Google sees a live page, and the rich result status reports flag markup that breaks after an update.
Mistakes to Avoid
- Marking up your own star rating: Google's local business documentation recommends the aggregate rating property only for sites that collect reviews about other businesses.
- Describing things the page does not show: Hours, services or towns that exist only in your schema markup break the visibility rule.
- Blocking the page from Google: A noindex tag tells Google to leave a page out of results, and a robots.txt file tells it which pages to skip. Google says not to block pages that carry structured data either way.
- Expecting FAQ drop-downs: That feature is gone from Google Search, so more FAQ markup will not bring it back.
- Stuffing every possible property: Google says a few complete, accurate properties matter more than many badly formed ones.
When to Bring in a Marketing Partner
A quick test is enough for a single-location shop with a simple site. Bring in help when the test shows errors you cannot trace. The same goes for a site with many service and location pages built from shared templates. It also makes sense when your hours and service list change often and the code keeps falling behind.
A redesign is another good moment for a second set of eyes, because markup is easy to lose when pages are rebuilt. Custom Marketing Solutions offers SEO for home service companies and website design, and you can see how that work applies to marketing for plumbing companies. A partner can map which pages need which markup, test them, and recheck after every update.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does schema markup help my plumbing site rank higher?
Google describes structured data as a way to understand a page and to qualify for rich results. Its local business documentation also states that Google does not promise those features will appear.
Do I need schema markup for Google's AI features in Search?
Google's guide to optimizing for its generative AI features says structured data is not required for them. It still recommends markup as part of normal SEO for rich result eligibility.
Should I remove my old FAQ markup?
It no longer changes your Google listing. Other tools that read schema.org may still use it. If you keep it, every question and answer in the code must be visible on the page.
Your Next Step With Custom Marketing Solutions
First, gather four things: your website address, a list of the services and towns your pages cover, the hours you post publicly, and a screenshot of your homepage results from the Rich Results Test. With that in hand, book a strategy call with Custom Marketing Solutions. We will walk through what your schema markup says, what your pages say, and which fixes to make first.