12 top-ranking cost article examples to inspire you to write your own

 Over the past five years, I’ve trained close to two hundred content managers how to develop their content marketing strategies. 

One of the focal points of my training is teaching people how to write blog articles that go to the first page of Google search results.  

In many cases, some of the very first articles I have these content managers write are cost articles. 

These articles help educate buyers about the various factors that impact the final cost of the products or services they’re looking to buy.

It’s important in these articles to be as helpful and transparent as possible without being too salesy. You want to educate consumers without overtly pitching them your own products and services. 

The goal is to simply explain to buyers what can drive the price of a product or service up or down. 

Building trust by talking about cost

Writing educational content is a great way to build trust and credibility with your buyers. People like buying from businesses they trust, so you don’t need to give folks the hard sell to persuade them to buy from you. You just need to be honest and helpful.

If you can prove your trustworthiness, there’s a good chance those buyers you helped educate will want to make their purchase from you.

Explaining the purpose of writing cost articles is simple enough, and most clients are eager to write one. But there’s often one big catch: how do you write a cost article?

• How do you structure your cost article?
• How long should it be?
• What should you say in the introduction?
• How do you wrap the article up?

To help my clients — and any marketer looking to address cost — I wrote an article detailing the nuances of writing cost articles. 

However, after reading the article, many clients ask me for examples of cost articles.
They want to know if I have more B2B examples of the cost of products or B2C examples of the cost of services. 

I’ve kept a running list of top-notch blog articles that I frequently share with current clients to help inspire them to write their own cost articles. But recently, I realized something: I haven’t shared these awesome examples with anyone other than my clients. 

Below you’ll find 12 cost articles written by former and current clients that you can easily find on the first page of Google. To help you better find examples relevant to your business offerings, I’ve broken the articles down into four categories:

1. B2C products
2. B2C services
3. B2B products
4. B2B services

Let’s dive in.

Examples of B2C product cost articles

How much does a recliner cost?

Most homeowners will, at some point, shop for new furniture. And of course one of the top questions they’ll have is how much each piece will cost. But how much really goes into buying a recliner? 

It turns out, there’s quite a bit. The cost of a new recliner can sway from a couple hundred bucks to a few thousand. 

Check out the article to see how they broke down all of the various factors that impact the price of a recliner.

A few things I really like about this article that keeps it popular amongst readers:

• The author breaks recliners down into categories from cheap to high-end and explain the reasons people choose products in these ranges.
• They use tons of helpful, high-quality images.
• They include a video answer at the top.

How much does a cornhole set cost? 

You might think all cornhole sets are the same. Or, maybe you’ve never even heard of cornhole. I know when I first started working with Slick Woody’s several years ago, I had never heard of it.

But, just like with recliners, not all cornhole boards are the same, and the price can range anywhere from $40 bucks on up to $400 depending on what you’re looking to get.

What I like about this article:

• It gives the price range right at the top of the article; no need to hunt for the answer. It’s in the first paragraph in bold.
• Most of the article focuses on the materials used in construction so you learn the difference in quality and how that plays into price. 
• They include a section on how to choose the right board for you.

The article is a bit older than some of the others on this list, so I do notice some formatting issues that bother me a bit, but overall it’s a great article and still holds the top spot on Google for “how much does a cornhole set cost?”

How much does a pole barn cost? 

So you might be thinking, yeah, I see how you can write these articles for small, cheaper products, but what about really expensive ones?

What if you were looking to erect an entire pole barn building on your property? That would be pretty expensive, right?

There is a lot that can influence the cost of a new building such as the type of building, site preparation, permits, labor costs, and much more.

In fact, there’s so much to it that FBi Buildings wrote a blog article on the topic (linked above) and an Ultimate Guide to Pole Barn Costs. (While the blog article gives you the top five factors that influence cost, the guide goes into much more detail.) 

Anyone reading the article, should have a pretty good idea what influences pricing. But those really wanting to learn everything about pole barn costs can check out the guide to get more granular.

What I like about the article:

• The article details the top five factors that influence cost.
• Once you get educated by the article, if you want to learn even more, you can check out the guide.
• They use a lot of helpful, relevant images.

B2C services

How much does a defamation lawsuit cost?

It’s no secret that hiring a lawyer is expensive. But how expensive does it get? It’s often difficult to find answers like that. So, it’s refreshing to work with a law firm that wants to educate people on all things law. This particular firm, Minc Law, specializes in defamation lawsuits and wrote a beast of an article on the subject that’s nearly 3,000 words. 

What I like about this article:

• It’s incredibly thorough. You feel as if every stone has been turned.
• It’s broken down into clear, easy to read sections that makes it feel shorter than it is.
• A sidebar containing jump links to major sections helps you easily navigate the article. 

How much do managed IT services cost?

Managed IT services (outsourcing IT functions to third-party providers) really seem to be on the rise. I’m seeing companies pop up all over the place offering these services. In fact, I’ve worked with several managed IT companies over the years, and for this particular question, three of my clients are on the first page of Google search results. 

And while each approached the topic of cost a bit differently, I really like this one because of its thoroughness. 

What I like about this article:

• It’s very comprehensive, clocking in at over 3,000 words.
• It tells you how much time will be required to read the article (15 minutes).
• It provides jump links to important sections.
• It uses images and tables to break up long periods of text — as well as give more context to complex topics.

How much does a sleep study cost?

This was one of the very first blog articles I ever wrote, and I’m surprised to see it still on the first page of Google. It’s slipped in rankings over the years, but it still drives tons of traffic for the website I poured so much of myself into.

Looking at the article, there’s a lot I would do differently if I approached it today. However, I included it here just to show the staying power a solid piece of content has. If you can get your article to the first page of Google, there’s a really good chance it will be there for years to come. But, I’d encourage you to keep your cost articles updated so they don’t just stay on the first page — they stay at the top.

What I like about my article: 

• It’s broken down by the types of sleep studies, which are the most relevant pricing factor.
• It covers all actual relevant costs for the  patients, from the technical fee to the physician’s fee.
• It was #1 on Google for several years and is still on the first page.

What I’d do differently:

• I wrote a follow up piece, does insurance cover sleep studies. I’d include that question in this article.
• The article is very blocky. I’d break the text up more.

B2B products

How much does an overhead crane cost?

This article comes from one of my favorite case study clients of all time, Mazzella Companies.

If you’re looking for a great example of a B2B product cost article, this is one you need to check out.

It’s thorough, it’s easy to read, and there are tons of helpful links to more content about overhead cranes.

What I like about this article:

• There’s a video at the top of the article on the exact same topic.
• It includes everything from the various crane types to where your crane will be used and what it will be used for.
• It’s got a great intro that positions the authors as experts without them selling themselves.

How much does an office task chair cost?

When we looked at La-Z-Boy Ottawa’s article on recliner costs, we saw how a B2C company can write a cost article about furniture.

Here, with Office Interiors, we can see how a similar article can be written in the B2B world. 

The only real difference between the two articles is the audience they’re writing for. La-Z-Boy writes with homeowners in mind, while Office Interiors writes for office managers and/or purchasing officers.

What I like about this article:

• There’s a video at the top of the article on the exact same topic.
• The blog layout margins mirror that of a phone so whether you’re reading on desktop or mobile, it looks the same.
• The CTA takes you to a task chair buyer’s guide.

What are the costs of value-added checking?

What an exciting topic to write about, huh? Few things can seem as boring and mundane to read as articles written about products designed for financial institutions.

But not only does this article thoroughly explain the costs of value-added checking, it does so in a fun, upbeat way.

What I like about this article:

• It includes a “reading time” at the top (9 mins).
• Lots of links to other content (and the green anchor color pops right off the page).
• For such a dry topic, the author uses humor to keep you sucked in.

B2B services

How much does inbound marketing cost?

We eat the same food that we serve to our clients. We wouldn’t tell people to write articles we wouldn’t write ourselves. 

And that’s why, when it comes to answering tough questions – like cost – we like to lead the charge.

This article was written by our very own Managing Editor, Ramona Sukhraj. Above using it as a great example of a cost article, I also wanted to give her a little shoutout for all of the times I was behind sending my article drafts her way. I hope this makes us even.

What I like about the article:

• It’s a complete answer to the question at hand.
• There are lots of helpful links to other IMPACT content as well as a ton of links to other sites that are cited as references.
• After explaining the factors that influence inbound marketing expenses, you get a cost breakdown based on how aggressive your inbound goals are.

Cost to hire a project manager for an office build-out

If you’re in the market for new office space but want to know how much it will cost to hire a project manager to build-out or renovate your new space, this article dives into everything you need to know.

Check out this article for a masterclass on how to use multimedia to simplify complex topics. There’s videos, spreadsheet tables, formulas, and images sprinkled throughout.

What I like about this article:

• There’s a video on the exact topic at the top.
• There’s a video on a closely related topic at the bottom.
• It’s loaded with helpful formulas and tables.
• The CTA leads to a guide on hiring a project manager.

How much does virtual sales training cost?

It’s not often I get to work with clients who are also keyword competitors of IMPACT’s. While this company, Aslan, isn’t an inbound marketing agency, they are a sales training agency, so there is a bit of an overlap of services. 

But I can’t pretend that I’m not proud of my clients when I see them at the top of the first page for keywords we would like to rank for ourselves.

What I like about the article:

• It’s a simple list of five factors that affect cost.
• It’s a very timely article dealing with the impact of COVID-19 on sales professionals.
• I helped a client get to the top spot ahead of IMPACT :)

Are you ready to address cost yet?

My hope is that by giving you all of these cost article examples here, and teaching you how to write a cost article in another article, I have caused you to run out of any excuses to penning your own cost article. 

If you’re an IMPACT + Pro user, I’d encourage you to check out my course, On-Page SEO & User Experience to learn all of the nuances of how to write copy for both search engines and real people.

If you’re not an IMPACT + Pro user, you can check out my free course, 6 Topics Subject Matter Experts Need to Address. This course details cost articles, along with several other important blog topics to address that will bring more traffic and prospects to your website. 

I wish you good luck writing your first cost article. If you have any further questions about writing cost articles (or any types of articles, really), don’t hesitate to shoot me an email or post a question in IMPACT +.