We checked 178 small business websites from the first page of Google. Here is what they miss

01How we checked

We searched Google for typical local queries, such as a dental clinic in Dubai, a plumber in London, a hair salon in Berlin, a family lawyer in Sydney or a vet in Vienna, and took the websites of the businesses themselves, skipping directories, media and review sites. That gave 178 websites in 24 cities and 15 niches.

Each home page was opened the way a phone browser opens it. We checked what a visitor sees and what a search engine or an AI assistant can read: a mobile layout, HTTPS, a title and description, a tap-to-call link, links to WhatsApp or Telegram, a contact form, prices or a link to a price page, and the robots.txt rules for AI crawlers.

This is a snapshot of first-page results, not a random sample of all businesses. Sites that already rank well are usually in better shape than average, so the real picture is likely worse.

The anonymized data behind this study is open: 178 rows, one per website, without names or addresses. Download the CSV. You may reuse it with a link to this page (CC BY 4.0). An archived copy with a DOI is on Zenodo.

02The basics are almost solved

On the first page of Google an unsafe or non-mobile site is now rare. Competing there is no longer about these basics. It is about what happens after the click.

03Half of the sites hide their prices

48% of the sites show no prices on the home page and have no visible link to a price page. A visitor who wants to know "how much" has to call or write, and many simply go back to the search results and open the next site that does show a price.

Prices were most often missing in professional services: only 1 of 7 family law firms and 4 of 10 accounting firms showed any price or a price link, and none of the 7 veterinary clinics did. Beauty salons and cleaning companies were the most open: 80% and more showed prices.

A price "from" or a range is enough. It filters out clients who are not a fit and gives the rest a reason to write.

04Half have no messenger button

52% of the sites have no link to WhatsApp or Telegram. Only 45% link to WhatsApp and 8% to Telegram. 11% have neither a tap-to-call link nor a messenger link, so on a phone the visitor has to copy the number by hand.

The difference between niches is large. Dental clinics were the leaders: 22 of 23 had a messenger link. Not one of the 7 law firms and 7 vet clinics did, and only 1 of 10 accounting firms. Yet many clients today would rather send a short message than call.

05Some sites block AI assistants

12 of 157 sites (8%) tell AI crawlers such as GPTBot, ClaudeBot or Google-Extended not to read them, often through a ready-made setting of a website builder or security plugin. Another 14 sites returned an access error to our automated check, which means automated visitors, including some AI services, may also be turned away.

Six of the ten accounting firms in the sample blocked AI crawlers. When someone asks ChatGPT or Gemini to recommend an accountant in Miami, such a firm gives the assistant less to work with. More on how AI assistants choose businesses: how to get recommended by ChatGPT.

06What to check on your own site today

1. 01Show prices, at least "from" or a range, or a clear link to a price page.
2. 02Add a WhatsApp or Telegram button visible on a phone without scrolling.
3. 03Make the phone number a tap-to-call link.
4. 04Open your robots.txt and check that you do not block the AI assistants your clients use.
5. 05Check what happens after the message: who replies and how fast.

Most of these fixes take hours, not weeks. At Veilvex improvements to an existing site start at $200; for a new site see the website page, and for visibility in AI answers the GEO page. To check your site, write to us.

07Frequently asked questions