Build log
"How much should I charge?" is the question I keep coming back to, and I should be upfront: I haven't charged anyone yet. My two rank and rent sites, medfordseptic.com and roanoketreeremoval.com, went live on 10 Oct 2026. Both now have a call-tracking number, but no logged calls yet. There are 0 renters and revenue is $0. So this isn't a "what I earn" post. It's how I plan to set a price once there are calls to price, and every number below that isn't from a cited source is example data.
The three ways to charge
- Flat monthly rent. One business gets every call and form lead from the site for a fixed fee. It's simple to invoice and easy for the renter to budget. The risk sits with the renter in a slow month and with me in a busy one.
- Pay per lead (or per call). The business pays for each qualified call or form, usually with a minimum call length and a dispute window. It's fairer when volume is unproven, but it means you need call tracking and a written definition of "qualified".
- Revenue share. You take a percentage of the jobs that came from the site. On paper it lines up incentives best. In practice you have to trust the business's job records, or get access to them, and that's the weak spot.
For a first renter, I'd lean toward pay per call or a short flat rent with a trial. A revenue share would need trust I haven't built with anyone yet.
What sets the price: lead value
Whatever model you pick, the ceiling is what the calls are worth to the business. My calculator uses one formula for that:
Lead value per month = calls per month × close rate × average job value
That's revenue to the business before their costs, not profit. Then:
Rent = 10% to 25% of lead value
The 10–25% is my assumption, not a benchmark. It's a share I think a small operator could agree to while keeping most of the value. I haven't tested it with a real renter. Change it in the calculator if you disagree.
Call volume matters most, because it multiplies everything else. A site that gets no calls is worth $0 to a renter no matter how good the trade is. That's why my kit's rule is no renter outreach until there are Search Console impressions or logged calls.
Worked example 1: flat monthly rent (example data)
Example data: 20 calls a month, 30% close rate, $400 average job.
- Lead value: 20 × 30% × $400 = $2,400 a month
- Rent at 10%: $240 a month
- Rent at 25%: $600 a month
These match the calculator's default inputs, so you can check them there.
Worked example 2: a smaller, higher-value trade (example data)
Example data: 8 calls a month, 25% close rate, $1,500 average job.
- Lead value: 8 × 25% × $1,500 = $3,000 a month
- Rent at 10%: $300 a month
- Rent at 25%: $750 a month
Fewer calls, higher rent. The job value carries it. It also means one bad month (two calls instead of eight) hurts the renter more, so I'd expect more pushback on a flat fee here.
Worked example 3: turning rent into a price per call (example data)
If a renter wants to pay per call, I'd divide the rent range by the expected calls. Using example 1's data: $240 ÷ 20 = $12 per call, up to $600 ÷ 20 = $30 per call. In my kit's pay-per-lead template a call only counts if it connects, lasts at least 90 seconds (an editable field), comes from a new caller ID, and is about the service in the service area. Unbilled short calls mean the real per-call price should sit a bit above that simple division.
Worked example 4: revenue share (example data)
Using example 1's data, 20 calls × 30% close = 6 booked jobs × $400 = $2,400 of job revenue. A 10% share would be $240 and a 25% share $600: the same range as the flat rent. The maths is the same; the difference is who carries the risk and how you check the numbers. With a revenue share, you only know the jobs if the business tells you.
A sanity check against published ranges
I compare my estimate with published rent bands before I quote anything. Two I checked on 12 Oct 2026, both for plumbing sites:
- TheRomanSEO lists plumbing at $400 to $900 a month: theromanseo.com/blog/rank-and-rent-pricing-guide
- LocusPilot lists plumbing at $550 to $1,600 a month: locuspilot.com/blog/rank-and-rent-complete-guide
Both are vendors that sell rank and rent services or software, so treat these as their published figures, not independent data. If my example-data estimate lands far outside bands like these, I recheck my inputs first.
What I'd write down before quoting
- The calls I can actually show from the call log, not what I hope for
- The close rate and job value I assumed, and where they came from (ideally from the business)
- The rent share I picked and why
- An "EST" label on the price until a renter accepts it
Where this leaves me
- Sites live: 2 rank-and-rent, 54 pages each (live sitemaps, 12 Oct 2026)
- Search Console impressions and clicks: none recorded yet
- Renters: 0. Revenue: $0.
For what goes in the contract once a price is agreed, see my rank and rent client agreement checklist.