As you know, contractor marketing is all about getting your company found on Google. While there are literally hundreds of ranking factors that Google evaluates to determine your ranking, there is one extra step you can take to help Google understand what you have to offer. Introducing structured data, also known as schema markup.
What Is Structured Data?
By integrating specific HTML code throughout your website, you can metaphorically highlight the key details of your site for Google. In doing this, you make it easier for Google to find, but you also make your information appear more clearly on the SERPs. When someone searches for you in Google, they will be shown a rich snippet of your company, including your hours, location, average review rating, and more. These “rich snippets” of information are made possible thanks to structured data.
Why You Need It
Schema markup is an important part of contractor marketing because it helps Google find you. While Google may be pretty smart, some of the simplest information often gets misunderstood by the bots. In fact, as much as 80 percent of the data on a website is overlooked by Google. With structured data, you are explaining what each key detail is so the bots will be able to effortlessly locate your name, address, phone number, and services.
When this is done, you can be shown on the most applicable searches, and you can be sure your brand is represented consistently amongst the SERPs, your Google My Business page, and the directories online. Additionally, schema markup provides many SEO benefits that make it well worth your time:
- It increases your visibility on the SERPs, both by helping you rank higher and by making your listing more appealing.
- It improves your click-through rate. Your information is presented in a clear, concise way that makes readers want to find out more.
- It makes your company look more legitimate to searchers and improves the user experience.
How to Use Schema Markup for Your Contractor Marketing
Now that you know what schema markup is for, let’s delve into the many things you can use it for to improve your local marketing efforts:
- Business Details – Highlight your company’s contact information to make it simple to access. With structured data, your address, phone number, business hours, and more, will be shown in a rich snippet card, often right next to a map that pinpoints your physical location.
- Logo – Without specifically telling them, Google will have no idea what your official logo is. However, with schema markup, you can identify which image you want to be shown as your logo on the SERPs.
- Social Media Profiles – When you add your social media profiles to your website, and then use schema markup to identify them, Google will integrate this information into your rich snippet card.
- Reviews – You work hard to get reviews on Google, Yelp, and more, so you want to show them off. With structured data, you can make sure these reviews get shown on your search engine listing as well as on the specific sites they were originally posted on. This will help customers see right away that you can be trusted.
- Override Inaccurate Information – Sometimes Google comes across information about your company that is no longer accurate. With schema markup, you can tell Google to override this information so that only up-to-date details are shown.
As a local contractor, you need to be found by the people who live around you. By integrating structured data into your site, you can be sure that when people near you search for a contractor in your industry, you will be discovered. Not only will you show up on the results, but your information will be presented in a user-friendly way that makes it effortless for them to be in touch. At Surefire Local, we specialize in contractor marketing, and we would love to help you improve your online presence and grow your business. To learn more about how we can help, contact us now.