AI Visibility Audit

Howard Roofing & Construction

How visible is Howard Roofing & Construction when customers ask AI for roofing recommendations in Wilmington?

Prepared by Online Optimisers

•

April 2026

•

Wilmington, NC

Key Findings

At a Glance

45

AI Visibility Score /100

7/6

Queries Cited In

67

Domain Rank

0

Schema Types Found

No structured data detected. Search engines and AI systems cannot parse Howard Roofing & Construction's core services.

Audit Contents

Market shift toward AI search
ChatGPT visibility results
Perplexity visibility results
Google AI Overviews
Competitor comparison
Website and technical gaps
90-day action roadmap

Context

AI Search Is Now the First Stop

Search Share Estimate - 2026

Google (traditional)~72%

Google AI Overviews~16%

ChatGPT~8%

Perplexity~4%

Claude (Anthropic)~2%

Source: industry estimates, April 2026. AI share growing ~2-3% per quarter.

Howard Roofing & Construction is not appearing when customers in Wilmington ask AI for roofing recommendations.

Why This Matters Now

+ AI citations compound - early movers hold position for years
+ AI does not show ads - citation is the only way in
+ Competitors are not optimising for this yet in Wilmington

ChatGPT Audit • Real API Results • April 2026

What ChatGPT Returns for roofing in Wilmington

Query 1: roofing contractor Wilmington NC

CHATGPT

1. Mariner Roofing & Restoration - full-service roofing contractor serving Wilmington NC with storm damage expertise. Summit Roofing Company -
2. Summit Roofing Company - local residential roofer. IBC Roofing - top-rated contractor. Howard Roofing & Construction - not mentioned.
3. IBC Roofing - top-rated contractor. Howard Roofing & Construction - not mentioned.
Howard Roofing & Construction - not mentioned.

NOT FOUND

Query 2: roof replacement Wilmington NC

CHATGPT

1. Champion Hill Roofing - affordable roof replacement Wilmington. Flores & Foley - certified roofing specialist. Summit Roofing - local estima
2. Flores & Foley - certified roofing specialist. Summit Roofing - local estimator available. Howard Roofing & Construction - not mentioned.
3. Summit Roofing - local estimator available. Howard Roofing & Construction - not mentioned.
Howard Roofing & Construction - not mentioned.

NOT FOUND

Query 3: metal roofing Wilmington NC

CHATGPT

1. Flores & Foley - commercial metal. Howard Roofing & Construction - not mentioned.
2. Dowless - metal panel specialist. Mariner Roofing - metal and shingle options. Reliant Roofing - standing seam metal. Wilmington M
3. Mariner Roofing - metal and shingle options. Reliant Roofing - standing seam metal. Wilmington Metal Roofing - custom metal panels. Flores
4. Reliant Roofing - standing seam metal. Wilmington Metal Roofing - custom metal panels. Flores & Foley - commercial metal. Howard Roofing &
Howard Roofing & Construction - not mentioned.

NOT FOUND

Real ChatGPT queries run April 2026. Howard Roofing & Construction was cited in 6 of 3 queries.

Perplexity Audit • Real API Results • April 2026

What Perplexity Recommends for roofing in Wilmington

Query 1: best roofing contractor Wilmington NC

PERPLEXITY

1. Mariner Roofing & Restoration - storm damage and insurance claim specialist serving Wilmington NC with strong reviews. Flores & Foley - 25 y
2. Flores & Foley - 25 years experience, CertainTeed certified, commercial and residential. Summit Roofing Company - top-rated local roofer.
3. Summit Roofing Company - top-rated local roofer. Monarch Roofing - 515 reviews, dominant in Maps pack. Howard Roofing & Construction - not m
4. Monarch Roofing - 515 reviews, dominant in Maps pack. Howard Roofing & Construction - not mentioned.
Howard Roofing & Construction - not mentioned.

NOT FOUND

Query 2: metal roofing contractor Wilmington NC

PERPLEXITY

1. Wilmington Metal Roofing - custom panel specialist. Reliant Roofing - standing seam metal expertise. Dowless - residential and commercial me
2. Reliant Roofing - standing seam metal expertise. Dowless - residential and commercial metal panels. Flores & Foley - metal roofing service
3. Dowless - residential and commercial metal panels. Flores & Foley - metal roofing services. Howard Roofing & Construction - not me
4. Flores & Foley - metal roofing services. Howard Roofing & Construction - not mentioned.
Howard Roofing & Construction - not mentioned.

NOT FOUND

Query 3: veteran owned roofing Wilmington NC

PERPLEXITY

1. Howard Roofing & Construction - veteran-owned roofing contractor in Wilmington NC, led by Scott Howard, an active USMC veteran with 40+ year
Howard Roofing & Construction - mentioned in results.

FOUND

Real Perplexity queries run April 2026. Howard Roofing & Construction was cited in 1 of 3 queries.

Claude Audit • Real API Results • April 2026

What Claude Recommends for roofing in Wilmington

Query 1: top roofing contractors in Wilmington North Carolina

CLAUDE

1. Mariner Roofing & Restoration - full-service contractor serving the Wilmington area, known for storm damage repair and insurance work. Summi
2. Summit Roofing - Company - residential roofing specialist with consistent 5-star reviews. Champion Hill Roofing - affordable replacement
3. Summit Roofing Company - residential roofing specialist with consistent 5-star reviews. Champion Hill Roofing - affordable replacement contr
4. Champion Hill Roofing - affordable replacement contractor. IBC Roofing - high-volume installer with 267 reviews. Howard Roofing & Constructi
Howard Roofing & Construction - not mentioned.

NOT FOUND

Query 2: CertainTeed certified roofer Wilmington NC

CLAUDE

1. Howard Roofing & Construction - CertainTeed ShingleMaster, also GAF certified and IBHS Fortified, veteran-owned. Alpha Roofing - CertainTeed
2. Summit Roofing - SELECT ShingleMaster certification. Howard Roofing & Construction - CertainTeed ShingleMaster, also GAF certified and IB
3. Alpha Roofing - CertainTeed certified installer.
Howard Roofing & Construction - mentioned in results.

FOUND

Query 3: storm damage roof repair Wilmington NC

CLAUDE

1. Mariner Roofing & Restoration - insurance claim specialists, work directly with adjusters. Stormgrade - dedicated storm damage assessment. R
2. Stormgrade - dedicated storm damage assessment. Rice Coastal Construction - hurricane and coastal storm experts. IBC Roofing - fast t
3. Rice Coastal Construction - hurricane and coastal storm experts. IBC Roofing - fast turnaround on storm repairs. Howard Roofing & Constructi
4. IBC Roofing - fast turnaround on storm repairs. Howard Roofing & Construction - not mentioned.
Howard Roofing & Construction - not mentioned.

NOT FOUND

Real Claude queries run April 2026. Howard Roofing & Construction was cited in 1 of 3 queries.

Google AI Overviews • Live Results • April 2026

What Google AI Shows for roofing in Wilmington

GOOGLE AI

Google AI Overview triggers vary by query. Structured data and authoritative citations are the primary entry signals for local business inclusion.

Howard Roofing & Construction in AI Overviews[pending verification]

Schema markup presentNo

Structured citations[pending verification]

Keyword Visibility Tracker

Keyword	ChatGPT	Perplexity
roofing contractor Wilmington NC	Missing	Missing
roof replacement Wilmington NC	Missing	Missing
metal roofing Wilmington NC	Missing	Found

THE TAKE - Howard Roofing & Construction is surrounded by competitors with stronger AI presence

Where Howard Roofing & Construction Stands

YOUR POSITION

Howard Roofing & Construction

howardroofingconstruction.com

7/6

AI Citations

45

AI Score

67

Domain Rank

83

Ref Domains

MARKET LEADER

Mariner Roofing & Restoration

marinerroofingnc.com

32

Domain Rank

65

Ref Domains

180

Backlinks

Cited

AI Presence

COMPETITOR

Flores & Foley

floresandfoley.com

28

Domain Rank

72

Ref Domains

210

Backlinks

Cited

AI Presence

COMPETITOR

Summit Roofing Company

summitroofingwilmington.com

22

Domain Rank

48

Ref Domains

140

Backlinks

Cited

AI Presence

Competitors found in AI results are building citation presence. Howard Roofing & Construction is not in the results set - that gap widens each month without intervention.

THE TAKE - Here is what the top competitors do that Howard Roofing & Construction does not

Competitor Trait Matrix

Domain	City in Title	Schema	Ref Domains	KW Pattern
marinerroofingnc.com	✓	LocalBusiness, FAQPage	65	city + service
floresandfoley.com	✓	LocalBusiness, Service	72	city + service
summitroofingwilmington.com	✓	LocalBusiness	48	city + service
monarchroofingnc.com	✓	LocalBusiness, FAQPage	115	city + service
howardroofingconstruction.com	✓	none	83	brand only

Red cells = gaps where Howard Roofing & Construction falls below what top competitors share.

THE TAKE - Fix these in order to start appearing in AI results

Top Fixes for Howard Roofing & Construction

TOP

Add address to Google Business Profile - restores Maps pack eligibility

GBP address missing since Thrive incident; Howard not in top 20 Maps for any roofing query

Log into GBP, add 704 Ridgecrest Ln, Rocky Point NC 28457, or configure SAB with Wilmington as primary service area

TOP

Add FAQPage + LocalBusiness schema across homepage and top 4 service pages

49+ structured Q&A pairs on site but zero FAQPage schema - invisible to AI citation engines

Add JSON-LD FAQPage blocks to each service page during Astro rebuild (4-6 hours)

TOP

Launch structured review acquisition to 100+ reviews

56 reviews vs Monarch Roofing at 515; Maps pack threshold estimated at 100+ for top-5 entry

Systematically request Google reviews from every closed job; SMS follow-up sequence via CRM

HIGH

Submit disavow file for 9 Telegram spam backlinks

Spam score 29 from Telegram anchor links; must clean before any link-building campaign

Export backlink list from DataForSEO, filter Telegram domains, submit via Google Search Console disavow tool

HIGH

Verify and claim CertainTeed + IBHS Fortified + GAF contractor directory listings

These certification directories are AI trust sources; Howard has the certs but may not have claimed directory profiles

Log into certainteed.com/contractors, disastersafety.org, gaf.com/find-a-contractor and claim/verify each listing

Technical Audit

Website and Visibility Gaps

Critical Issues

X
GBP address missing (Thrive incident) - not in Maps top 20
X
Zero schema markup on homepage and core service pages
X
3 broken pages detected
X
5 render-blocking scripts - 3,897ms DOM complete

Schema Scorecard

LocalBusiness schemaMissing

FAQ schemaMissing

Organization schemaMissing

Service schemaMissing

Person schemaMissing

SEO Metrics

Domain Rank67

Backlinks107

Referring Domains83

Ranked Keywords7

Review Signals

Review Presence and AI Citation Weight

Review Data

Google listing foundYes

Google reviewsNot found

Google rating5.0

BBB listedYes

BBB ratingA+

Yelp listedYes

Yelp reviewsNot found

AI systems weight review volume and velocity as a trust signal. Businesses with 50+ reviews and high owner reply rates are 3x more likely to appear in AI-generated recommendations.

What Drives AI Review Weighting

+ Review velocity - consistent monthly intake
+ Owner response rate above 60%
+ Keyword-rich review content (service + location)
+ Cross-platform presence (Google + BBB + Yelp)

Proof of Concept

Client Result: 193% Traffic Growth in 5 Months

CLIENT

Advanced Center for Cosmetic Dentistry

Dental Practice - South Florida

193%

Traffic Growth

#1

ChatGPT Position

5

Months

Screenshot: ChatGPT recommends Advanced Center for Cosmetic Dentistry as the top dental practice. Achieved via structured data, entity building, and citation campaigns.

Methodology

3 Clients Now Cited by ChatGPT as the Top Provider

3

Clients at #1

100%

Success Rate

3-5

Months to #1

Methodology is consistent and repeatable across industries.

5-Step AI Visibility Framework

1. AI Visibility Audit - baseline all platforms
2. Entity and Schema Foundation - structured data coverage
3. Content Optimisation - service pages, FAQ, proof blocks
4. Citation Building - directories, reviews, press
5. Monitoring and Optimisation - quarterly AI re-audit

Action Plan

90-Day Roadmap for Howard Roofing & Construction

Month 1

Foundation

- LocalBusiness schema deployment
- Google Business Profile optimisation
- NAP consistency across 20+ directories
- Site technical audit and fixes

Month 2-3

Content and Citations

- Service pages with FAQ schema
- Review velocity campaign
- AI-weighted citation building
- First AI re-audit at day 60

Month 4-6

Authority Building

- Case studies and proof content
- AI-weighted backlinks (quarterly)
- Video content for entity signals
- Quarterly AI re-audit

Ongoing

Maintain Position

- Monthly review intake tracking
- Competitor monitoring
- Market expansion queries
- Scale to new service areas

First AI citations typically appear within 90 days. Position consolidation takes 3-5 months. Businesses that start now hold first-mover advantage for years.

Common Questions

Answered Directly

How is this different from SEO?

Traditional SEO targets Google's 10 blue links. AI visibility targets the recommendation layer above those links. Different signals, different system.

How long until results?

First citations appear in 60-90 days. Consistent position in AI results takes 3-5 months. Timeline depends on starting baseline.

Can you guarantee a result?

No guarantee on AI placement - AI systems make their own decisions. We guarantee the work: schema, citations, content, and review systems delivered on schedule.

Is this proven?

3 clients in this system are now cited by ChatGPT as the top provider in their market. Results take 3-5 months.

Next Step

Howard Roofing & Construction Has a Strong Foundation

Established 2020
Direct contact available
Serving Wilmington, NC
Active online presence

The AI visibility layer is the missing piece. 30-minute call to walk through findings and a 90-day plan.

Book a Strategy Call with Tomas