Blog · Jun 17, 2026
Why FAQ is the easiest score to raise
Most sites start from nothing on FAQ, which makes it the cheapest fix to start with. Here is how to do it in about three hours.
Key takeaways
- 81.4% of sites scored exactly 40 on FAQ, the score for "nothing detected."
- In our scoring, no FAQ costs 10 points and a strong one adds up to 10, so it's one of the largest single swings available.
- It's one page: about three hours to write, publish and re-scan.
Why FAQ is the best place to start
Forty is the floor on our FAQ check. It's what a site gets when we find no question-and-answer content, and 8,440 of 10,369 scored sites (81.4%) sit there. For these sites, FAQ isn't a weakness to polish. It's something not yet built, which is why the first step pays off most.
In our current scoring, a site with no FAQ loses 10 points, a basic FAQ removes that penalty, and a strong one adds up to 10. Most other fixes, such as structure and metadata, need page-by-page work. An FAQ is one page. Performance already averages 99, so there is little left to gain there. Our data on how sites score is in 81% of sites score 40 or below on FAQ.
The 3-hour playbook
- Collect questions (30 minutes). Ask yourself and your staff what customers ask before buying, and write down 10. Use their phrasing: "How much for a deep clean?" beats "pricing inquiries." Your inbox and voicemails will show the repeat questions.
- Answer briefly (1 hour). Two to four sentences each, with specifics: prices or ranges, timeframes, service areas, guarantees. "It depends" is fine only if you say what it depends on.
- Publish one page (30 minutes). Put it at
yoursite.com/faq, each question as a heading with the answer directly beneath it. Link it from your footer and contact page. - Add the machine-readable layer (ask your web person). FAQPage structured data (a small JSON-LD block) labels the questions and answers so machines don't have to infer them.
- Re-scan and check the FAQ line in your report.
If you're stuck, start with these five
- How much does it cost, or how is pricing structured?
- What areas do you serve?
- How do I book, and do I need an appointment?
- What are your hours?
- How do I contact you?
Five real questions beat none, and you can add more later.
What good looks like
Weak: "Q: What are your prices? A: Contact us for a quote!" There's no usable fact.
Strong: "Q: How much does a standard house cleaning cost? A: $140-$220 for homes under 2,000 sq ft in the Pittsburgh area. Deep cleans start at $280." That gives three quotable facts in two sentences.
Test each answer: could an assistant quote this directly to a customer? If it's vague, rewrite it with a number, a place or a condition.
Common objections
- "Our pricing is complicated." Say so, specifically: "Pricing depends on square footage, condition and frequency. Most weekly clients pay $120-$180 per visit." A range is more useful than silence.
- "Competitors will see our prices." They probably know them already. Publishing a range also tells serious buyers what to expect. It's your call.
- "We don't have time." It's about three hours, once, and you can grow the page as customers ask new questions.
Start here
If your report shows a long list of findings, start with the crawler-access check, then add an FAQ. It matches how people prompt assistants, and 81% of the sites in our study haven't done it.
About this data: 10,369 small business sites scored in October 2026. FAQ scoring: no FAQ (score 40 or below) subtracts 10 points; a strong FAQ (above 70) adds 10.