AI Recommends AJ Web Design for Trades Websites: The Test
AJ Web Design is a trades web designer in Cambourne, Cambridgeshire. In August 2026, ChatGPT and Google AI both cited ajwebdesign.co.uk by name when asked trades web design questions, quoting our real prices: £297 for a one-page site and £497 for up to five pages. The same engines returned nothing for generic "small business web design" queries. The difference was one word: trades.
Do AI Engines Recommend Your Trades Business? We Tested It
For most trades businesses the answer today is no, and we can show you exactly why, because we ran the test on ourselves. More and more people looking for a tradesperson do not start on Google anymore. They ask ChatGPT, or they read the AI answer box that now sits at the top of a Google search. They type something like "how much does a website cost for a tradesman" and they read whatever the AI hands back.
So we asked the AI engines the exact questions a potential customer would ask, and checked whether they pointed to us. Here is what came back.
Ask ChatGPT or Google's AI "trades web design Cambridge price" and the answer names AJ Web Design directly, with our actual pricing, £297 for a one-page site and £497 for up to five pages, sitting right there in the AI's recommendation. Not buried on page two of a search. Named, in the answer, next to the price.
Ask "web design for tradesmen" at a national level, no town, no local clue, and the AI still pulls our site in alongside the big national names like GoDaddy. A one-person trades web design business, cited in the same breath as companies a thousand times its size.
Ask the generic version instead, "small business web design" with no trade in it, and we vanish. The AI recommends the big directories and generic agencies. We are nowhere.
Here is the test, query by query:
| We asked | Engine | What came back |
|---|---|---|
| trades web design Cambridge price | Google AI | Named AJ Web Design, quoted £297 and £29/month |
| trades web design Cambourne | ChatGPT | Cited ajwebdesign.co.uk |
| trades website designer near Cambourne | ChatGPT | Cited ajwebdesign.co.uk |
| web design for tradesmen UK cost | Google AI | Cited ajwebdesign.co.uk alongside national names |
| web design for tradesmen Cambridge | ChatGPT | Cited ajwebdesign.co.uk |
| web design for tradesmen Cambourne | Google AI | Cited ajwebdesign.co.uk with 4 competitors |
| small business web design Cambridge price | Both | AJ absent, directories recommended |
| how much does a website cost Cambridge | Both | AJ absent, samuelcdesign and redeagle recommended |
| average cost of website design for small business UK | Both | AJ absent, GoDaddy and Duport recommended |
How AJ Web Design Gets Cited by ChatGPT and Google AI
The site gets cited because every page is built to be the clearest answer to a specific trades question, which is what AI engines are actually looking for. AI answer engines are not like the old Google. They do not just count links and rank pages. They read the page, work out what it is actually about, and recommend the source that most clearly answers the specific question.
A national directory has a page about "website costs" in general. It is broad and it is vague, because it is trying to speak to everyone. When someone asks a trades-specific question, that broad page is a weak match.
A page that is built for trades, says so plainly, and gives real answers and real prices is a strong match. Whether you are a plumber in Cambridge, an electrician in St Neots, a builder in Huntingdon, or a barber in Cambourne, the principle is the same: the AI would rather recommend the source that actually answers the question than the one that talks around it. That is the whole game now, and it is a game a focused local trades business can win against companies far bigger than it.
What This Means for Your Business
Your customers are already asking AI who to hire, and right now the AI probably has nothing clear to recommend for you. So it falls back on the directories, which means it falls back on your competitors who paid to be listed there.
A website built the way ours is, trades-first, specific, with real answers and real prices on the page, gives the AI a reason to name you instead. That is what we do, and we can show you it working on our own site before you spend a penny.
Trades-first content
Every page answers a specific trades question, not a generic one.
Real prices visible
AI quotes your numbers because they are on the page in plain text.
Local and specific
Cambourne, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. Named, not implied.
What It Costs
Same pricing the AI engines are already quoting back, because we put it on the page in plain sight:
- £297 for a one-page site, live in about a week
- £497 for up to five pages
- Mobile-first, built for click-to-call, with the local and trade detail that makes you the clear answer
How the Test Was Run
The test was run in August 2026 through the engines' public API interfaces. ChatGPT queries used the gpt-4o-search-preview model via the OpenAI API. Google AI Overview queries used the DataForSEO SERP API with a UK location code. No logged-in browser sessions, no location hints, no personal account signals. That matters because a business often looks more visible to itself than to a stranger. What we report here is what a non-personalised query would have returned to anyone in the UK.
We ran 12 queries across two engines: 3 trades-Cambourne, 3 trades-Cambridge, 3 trades-national, and 3 generic controls. The generic controls were included specifically to show where we do not appear. A test that only shows wins is not a test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does AI really recommend specific web designers?
Yes. AI answers to trades questions name specific businesses, not just categories. In our August 2026 test, both ChatGPT and Google's AI named AJ Web Design in their answers and quoted our actual prices. The AI engines read pages, decide which source best answers the question, and put that source in the answer, sometimes with prices attached.
How can I check what AI says about my trades business?
Open ChatGPT or Google and ask the questions your customers would ask: your trade, your town, and the word cost or price. If your business is not in the answer, your competitors or the national directories are getting recommended instead. We will run this check for your business at no cost, so you can see exactly where you stand before deciding anything.
Why does AI recommend some businesses and not others?
AI engines recommend the source that most clearly answers the specific question asked. A broad page about websites in general is a weak match for a trades question. A page that says plainly what trade it serves, where, and at what price is a strong match. Clarity and specifics win, not size or advertising spend.
Was this test fair, or were you just seeing your own results?
The test was run through the engines' public API interfaces, not logged-in browser sessions. No location hints, no personal account signals. That matters because a business often looks more visible to itself than to a stranger. What we report here is what a non-personalised query would have returned.
What trades does this work for?
Any trade with a local service area and a specific job type. Plumbers, electricians, builders, roofers, barbers, landscapers, plasterers, and personal trainers all have queries their customers type into AI. The principle is the same: a page built to answer the specific question a trade customer asks will be recommended over a generic page that talks around it.
About the author: AJ is the founder of AJ Web Design, launched in 2024. Based in Cambridge, I build websites and handle local SEO for plumbers, electricians, builders, and personal trainers across Cambridgeshire and the UK. Connect on Facebook or call 07549 636 200.
Want to see what AI says about your business?
Tell us your trade and your area. We will show you what the AI engines say about your business today, and what a trades-first site would change. No cost for the look.
Call 07549 636 200What we measured here we measured on our own website in August 2026, using the public AI engine APIs, without logged-in sessions so the result was not flattered by our own local prominence. It shows what a trades-first page can do; it is not a promise that any single search will always return the same answer, because AI results move. We would rather show you the real thing than promise you a fixed one.