{"id":1031,"slug":"schema-markup-for-contractor-sites-2026-google-guidance","title":"Schema markup for contractor sites (2026 Google guidance): GeneralContractor / HomeAndConstructionBusiness / LocalBusiness, Service per service-line, Review + AggregateRating, Person for principals, FAQPage on service pages, Project (Article subtype) on case studies","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","claude-code","candid-team"],"topics":["seo-content","schema-org","ai-citation","agency-methodology","lead-gen-directories","homestars"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** As of 2026 Google guidance, contractor websites should deploy the following schema.org markup:\n\n- **`GeneralContractor` / `HomeAndConstructionBusiness` / `LocalBusiness`** — the primary business-entity schema. Pick the most specific applicable type.\n- **`Service` schema per service line** — kitchen renovation, basement finishing, custom home, etc.\n- **`Review` and `AggregateRating`** — subject to Google's authenticity requirements (reviews must be first-party, not third-party-collected).\n- **`Person` schema for principals** — with `sameAs` links to LinkedIn for E-E-A-T credentialing; pair with `hasCredential` for Gold Seal / P.Eng. / PMP (see [[rule-gold-seal-use-schema-org-person-hascredential]]).\n- **`FAQPage` schema on service pages** — surfaces in AI Overviews and zero-click features.\n- **`Project` (Article subtype) schema on case studies** — with `datePublished`, `address`, `image`, photographer credit where applicable.\n\n**Sources:** schema.org; Google Search Central.\n**Confidence:** Verified for the schema types; Industry-consensus for the contractor-vertical adoption recommendations.\n\n## Documented adoption rate in the contractor vertical\n\nBased on HTTP Archive structured-data tracking, **contractor sites lag the broader local-business average by roughly 15 percentage points** in schema adoption.\n\n**Confidence:** Directional — HTTP Archive 2024/2025 structured-data chapter; not vertical-isolated.\n\n**This is the live frontier in 2026:** AI-Overview and AI-summary visibility is correlated with schema deployment. With **45% of consumers now using ChatGPT/AI for local recommendations** ([[brightlocal-lcrs-2026-six-review-sources-45pct-ai-recommendations]]), schema-rich pages are increasingly the ones that get cited. **Schema-rich content gets cited; HomeStars profile pages do not.**\n\n## Cross-references to parallel schema rules\n\n- [[rule-gold-seal-use-schema-org-person-hascredential]] — Person + hasCredential for individual credentials\n- [[rule-hba-affiliations-page-with-year-joined-and-schema]] — Organization + memberOf for HBA affiliations\n- [[contractor-owned-trust-signal-stack-vs-homestars-rental-comparison]] — the trust-signal stack the schema markup surfaces\n\nFor a Tier-2 Ontario ICI GC client, the **complete schema build-out** is roughly:\n\n1. `Organization` (root, in layout)\n2. `LocalBusiness` / `GeneralContractor` per office location\n3. `Service` per service-line page\n4. `Person` + `hasCredential` per team-bio\n5. `FAQPage` per service page\n6. `Article` (Project subtype) per case study\n7. `BreadcrumbList` site-wide\n8. `Organization` + `memberOf` for HBA affiliations on the `/affiliations` page\n\nThis is the same discipline executed on the B&J marketing site ([[client-bjf-schema-deployment-verified-v2]]) — different vertical, same pattern.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"rule-gold-seal-use-schema-org-person-hascredential","title":"Rule (Tier-2 ICI GC sites): use schema.org Person + hasCredential + EducationalOccupationalCredential markup so Gold Seal credentials surface in Google knowledge panels and AI overviews","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"rule-hba-affiliations-page-with-year-joined-and-schema","title":"Rule (Ontario builder/renovator sites): build a dedicated /affiliations or /memberships page listing each HBA with a one-sentence description AND year joined, marked up with Organization schema + memberOf properties","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"brightlocal-lcrs-2026-six-review-sources-45pct-ai-recommendations","title":"BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (n=1,002 US adults via SurveyMonkey): average of 6 review sources used; 97% read reviews online; 45% use ChatGPT/AI for local recommendations (up from 6% in 2025)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-homestars-platform-critique","title":"Research brief: HomeStars / Angi — the case against directory dependence, with the owned-trust-signal alternative for Ontario contractors (May 24, 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-05-24T17:04:39.753Z","updated_at":"2026-05-24T17:04:39.753Z"}