Part III - Earn eligibility and become the answer · Chapter 11

Comparison, pricing and "best X" pages

If you will not answer the commercial question, someone else will.

1 min read

In this piece

Commercial prompts ask AI systems to compare and recommend. If your site does not answer those questions honestly, the answer gets built from someone else's.

Publish your pricing

When prices are hidden, assistants guess, cite old figures or quote a competitor's list article. If exact prices are not possible, publish starting points and what affects cost.

Write comparison pages you would trust

  • Compare yourself against named alternatives.
  • Say who each option suits, including when a competitor is the better choice.
  • Use a table for features and prices, with a date.
  • Keep it current. Out-of-date comparisons do lasting damage.

"Best X" pages on your own site

Self-ranking lists that place you first are increasingly treated with suspicion and rarely convince readers. A clear, fair buyer's guide earns more trust than a list you obviously won.

Alternatives and use-case pages

Pages such as "X for small charities" or "alternatives to Y" match how people prompt. Build them only where you have something real to say for that audience.

Key takeaways

  • Publish pricing or price drivers.
  • Fair comparisons beat self-ranked lists.
  • Keep comparison data dated and current.