Price is the most searched-for and least published piece of information on small business websites. Buyers look for it first. Most sites do not have it. The gap is filled by the buyer's assumption, which is rarely favourable.
What actually happens when there is no price
The common belief is that hiding price gets you the conversation, and in the conversation you can demonstrate value. That works for the people who call. The question is how many do not.
- Some assume you are expensive and leave for a competitor who published.
- Some cannot be bothered. Comparing three businesses when one shows a price and two require a phone call is not a hard decision.
- Some phone anyway and are out of range, costing you an hour and them a disappointment.
- Some are ready to buy today and go to whoever made it easiest.
The visitors you keep by hiding price are the ones willing to phone a stranger to ask. That is a real group, and it is smaller than the group you lose.
Four formats that work
1. A fixed price
'Launch One-Page: $300.' Best where scope is genuinely definable. It converts extremely well because it removes all uncertainty, and it forces you to define your scope precisely — which is valuable in itself.
2. A range with what moves it
'Most kitchen refits are $8,000–$14,000. Cabinet quality and whether plumbing moves are what usually decide where you land.' The second sentence does the real work: it lets the reader place themselves in the range and it pre-empts the surprise later.
3. A starting price
'Bathroom renovations from $12,000.' Honest, sets a floor, filters out anyone with a $4,000 budget. Only use a genuine starting price — a 'from' number nobody has ever actually paid produces an angry conversation at quoting stage.
4. Worked examples
The strongest option for complex work. Describe three real jobs with what was involved and what each cost. Readers are good at recognising which one resembles their situation, and it demonstrates competence at the same time.
| Example job | What was involved | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Single-storey bungalow, Chatham | Eavestroughs cleared, downspouts flushed, photos | $210 |
| Two-storey with rear addition, Blenheim | Both levels, guard removal and refit, two hours | $385 |
| Farm outbuilding, rural Tilbury | Height access, heavy debris, half day | $640 |
How to publish prices safely
- 01Date the pricing'Prices current as of August 2026.' Removes any obligation to honour a number a visitor found via a cached page a year later.
- 02Say what is included and what is notThe exclusions matter as much as the number. A price without a scope is the beginning of a dispute rather than the end of a question.
- 03State what changes itAccess, height, distance, materials, condition. This is genuinely useful information and it makes the number credible.
- 04Use 'from' honestlyOnly where somebody has actually paid that amount for a real job.
- 05Review it twice a yearDiarise it. Out-of-date pricing is worse than none, because it converts an interested buyer into a disappointed one at the worst possible moment.
The search advantage nobody mentions
'How much does X cost' is among the highest-volume commercial queries in almost every trade. If your page is the one that answers it, you capture a searcher at the exact moment they are deciding whether to proceed.
In a small market this is often uncontested. Competitors publish 'contact us for a quote'; the one page in the county that says what it actually costs takes the query and the enquiry with it.
When not to publish
- Genuinely bespoke, high-value work where every project differs by an order of magnitude. Even then, publish a minimum project size.
- Where price is contractually confidential, such as negotiated commercial rates.
- Where you are mid-repositioning and the current price is about to change. Publish once it settles.
Notice that 'my competitors will see it' is not on the list. Your competitors already know what you charge — they have quoted against you for years. The only person kept in the dark by hidden pricing is the customer.
Common questions
- Will publishing my prices scare customers away?
- It will deter the ones who were never going to buy at your price, which saves everyone time. Buyers who can afford you are reassured rather than deterred, because uncertainty is what actually causes people to leave.
- What if my competitors undercut me once they see my prices?
- They already know your pricing from quoting against you. What publishing does is let you frame the number with the scope, the process and the reasons — which is a better position than having a customer compare two bare numbers on the phone.
- How do I price when every job is different?
- Publish a range with the factors that move it, a starting price, or three worked examples of real jobs. All three are honest, all three help the buyer place themselves, and all three beat silence.
- Should I show prices on my Google Business Profile too?
- Yes, where relevant. The Products and Services sections both accept prices, and they appear directly in your profile — often to people who never reach your website at all.