provider

provider · Not mentioned by Google

Appears in

• Service

What is it?

provider identifies the organization or person that delivers a service. It distinguishes the entity that performs the work from any intermediary that sells or resells the service. In a Service entity, provider answers "who actually does this?" while a separate seller field (if present) answers "who sells it?"

Why this matters for AEO

When a user asks "who provides home cleaning in Boston?" an AI answer engine looks at Service entities and reads the provider field to return the business name, location, and contact details. This field connects a service description to the real entity behind it, enabling AI systems to answer "who" questions about services with structured, verifiable data.

What the specs say

Schema.org: Organization or Person. The service provider, service operator, or service performer; the goods producer. Another party (a seller) may offer those services or goods on behalf of the provider. Domain includes Action, CreativeWork, EducationalOccupationalProgram, FinancialIncentive, Invoice, ParcelDelivery, Reservation, Service, and Trip. schema.org/provider

Google: Not mentioned. No dedicated Google structured data page exists for Service. Google does not document rich result support for this property.

How to find your value

• Business offers its own service — The business itself (Organization or LocalBusiness)
• Freelancer offers a service — The individual (Person)
• Marketplace lists third-party services — The third-party provider, not the marketplace
• Franchise location — The specific franchise location, not the parent brand

Use the entity that directly performs or delivers the service. For franchises, the local operator is typically the provider.

Format and code

Type: Organization or Person (nested object)

Organization provider:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Service",
  "serviceType": "Weekly home cleaning",
  "provider": {
    "@type": "LocalBusiness",
    "name": "ACME Home Cleaning",
    "address": {
      "@type": "PostalAddress",
      "addressLocality": "Boston",
      "addressRegion": "MA"
    },
    "telephone": "+1-617-555-0123"
  }
}

Person provider:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Service",
  "serviceType": "Tax preparation",
  "provider": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Sarah Chen, CPA",
    "url": "https://sarahchencpa.com"
  }
}

Minimal provider (name only):

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Service",
  "serviceType": "Will preparation",
  "provider": {
    "@type": "Organization",
    "name": "Notary Inc."
  }
}

At minimum, include @type and name. Adding address, telephone, and url strengthens the entity signal for local search and AI engines.

Webflow implementation

Static pages

Add the JSON-LD block in Page Settings > Custom Code > Footer Code:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Service",
  "serviceType": "Weekly home cleaning",
  "provider": {
    "@type": "LocalBusiness",
    "name": "ACME Home Cleaning",
    "telephone": "+1-617-555-0123"
  }
}
</script>

CMS template pages

If all services share the same provider, hardcode the provider object and pull only the service details from CMS:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Service",
  "serviceType": "{{wf {"path":"service-category","type":"PlainText"} }}",
  "provider": {
    "@type": "LocalBusiness",
    "name": "ACME Home Cleaning",
    "telephone": "+1-617-555-0123"
  }
}
</script>

If different services have different providers, create a Multi-Reference or Reference field linking to a "Providers" collection with name, phone, and address fields.

In Schema HQ

Construction of provider object from your organization schema data. When you publish Service markup, Schema HQ nests your organization details as the provider automatically, keeping the data consistent across all service pages. is handled automatically

Real examples

Schema.org (source):

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org/",
  "@type": "Service",
  "serviceType": "Weekly home cleaning",
  "provider": {
    "@type": "LocalBusiness",
    "name": "ACME Home Cleaning"
  },
  "areaServed": {
    "@type": "State",
    "name": "Massachusetts"
  }
}

JayHoltslander Structured-Data-JSON-LD (source):

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Service",
  "name": "Will preparation",
  "description": "A brief summary description of the service item being described.",
  "provider": {
    "@type": "Organization",
    "name": "Notary Inc."
  },
  "aggregateRating": {
    "@type": "AggregateRating",
    "ratingValue": "5",
    "reviewCount": "20"
  }
}

Related fields

• serviceType — categorizes the type of service offered
• name — the name of the specific service
• areaServed — geographic area where the service is available
• description — detailed description of the service

FAQ

What is the difference between provider and seller?

provider identifies the entity that performs or delivers the service. seller identifies the entity that markets or resells it. If a cleaning service is listed on a marketplace, the cleaning company is the provider and the marketplace is the seller. Most direct service businesses only need provider.

Should provider reference the organization's main entity or create a new one?

Use an @id reference to the organization's main entity if one exists on the same page or site. This links the Service provider to the full Organization schema, giving AI engines a complete picture. If no main entity exists, create the provider object inline with at least @type and name.

Can provider be a string instead of an object?

Technically, search engines may accept a plain string, but an object with @type and name is strongly preferred. The object format enables additional properties like address and telephone and gives AI engines a typed entity to work with rather than an ambiguous string.