Writing a page for each service you offer
If you offer several distinct services, give each main one its own page. A customer who needs a water heater replaced wants to land on a page about water heaters, not scroll a long list that also covers drain cleaning and remodels. A separate page for each service also gives Google one clear page to match to each kind of search. You do not need a page for every small task, though, and a thin page is worse than none.
Why one page per service works better than one long list
Think about how people arrive. Very few type your business name. Most type the job: "brake repair near me", "gel manicure", "stump grinding", "bookkeeping for contractors". Whatever page they land on has a few seconds to say "yes, we do exactly this, here, and here is how to reach us".
A single "Services" page with twelve items cannot do that well for any of them. Each item gets two lines, and the visitor has to hunt. A page that is only about stump grinding can say what you grind, how deep, whether you haul the chips away, what the yard looks like afterwards, and show three photos of that job. That is the page that gets the call.
Google works the same way. It tries to send each search to the page that answers it best. When one page covers everything, it is a weak match for each separate job. When each service has its own page with its own heading and words, Google has a clear page to consider. Nobody can promise where that page will show up, but you give it something real to read.
Which services deserve their own page
Not every line on your price sheet needs a page. A good test is to ask three questions about each service:
- Do customers search for it by name? "Roof replacement" yes, "ridge cap adjustment" probably not.
- Can you write at least a few useful paragraphs about it? If all you can say is one sentence, it belongs on a broader page.
- Does it bring in work you want more of? Pages are where you steer people. Give your best jobs the best pages.
Services that fail the test still go on the site, grouped under a parent page. A handyman might have separate pages for drywall repair, door installation and deck repair, and one page called "Small repairs" that lists the dozens of little jobs in a tidy list. A salon might give color, cuts and extensions their own pages and keep waxing and brow shaping on one page together.
If you are unsure, start with your top three to six services. You can add more later once you see which ones people ask about. How to plan your new website's pages has a simple way to sketch the whole list before you write anything.
What to write on each service page
Every service page answers the same handful of questions a customer has before they pick up the phone. Write them in roughly this order.
A heading that names the service and the place
"Water heater repair and replacement in Dayton" says more than "Our Water Heater Solutions". Use the words a customer would say out loud.
Two or three sentences that confirm the fit
Who this is for and what you do. "We repair and replace gas and electric tank water heaters and install tankless units for homes in Dayton and nearby towns. Most replacements are done the same day."
What the job involves
Describe the visit plainly. What you check first, what the usual fixes are, roughly how long it takes, what the customer needs to do (clear the area, be home, keep pets in). This is the part most sites skip and the part that makes people trust you.
What affects the price
You do not have to list prices. You can still say what moves them: size, access, materials, whether old equipment has to be hauled away. If you do list starting prices, keep them current. Should you list prices on your website walks through the choice.
Photos of that service
Your own photos of this exact kind of job. Two good ones beat ten unrelated ones.
Questions people ask about this service
Three to five short answers, written the way you answer them on the phone. "Do I need a permit?" "Can you match my existing tile?" "Do you work on weekends?"
A clear next step
Your phone number as a tappable link, and a short form or a button to the contact page. Put it at the top and again at the bottom.
Common mistakes with service pages
Copying the same page and changing one word. If your "kitchen remodel" and "bathroom remodel" pages read the same apart from the room name, customers notice and so does Google. Each page needs details that only apply to that service.
Writing about yourself instead of the job. "We have been proud to serve the community for many years" can go on the About page. The service page is about the customer's problem.
Burying the page. A service page nobody can reach from the menu or the home page is almost invisible. Link each service from your home page and from a services overview page.
Too many pages with too little on them. Twenty pages with two sentences each look like filler. If a page would be that short, fold it into a related page. Thin pages explains why short, empty pages can hold a site back.
Making people read a wall of text. Use short paragraphs and a few subheadings so someone on a phone can find the part they care about.
How service pages fit with the rest of the site
Your home page introduces the business and points to each service. A services overview page lists every service with one or two lines and a link to its page. Each service page goes into depth and ends with the same clear way to get in touch. If you work in several towns, a service area page tells people where you go, and you can mention the main towns on each service page too.
Link between related services where it helps. A gutter cleaning page can mention gutter guards and link to that page. A tax preparation page can link to bookkeeping. Keep it natural: a link should be something the reader would plausibly want next.
If you are rewriting an existing site, keep the old page addresses working when you split one page into several. The old "services" address should still lead somewhere useful, usually the new overview page.
What to do this week
- Write down every service you offer, then circle the ones customers ask for by name. Those are your pages.
- For each circled service, list the questions you hear on the phone. That list is the outline of the page.
- Take or find two photos of each of those jobs.
- Check your current site: can someone reach each main service in one tap from the home page?
- Pick your best-earning service and write its page first, using the order above.
If your current site lumps everything onto one page and you would rather not write it all from scratch, you can see your site rebuilt with a page for each service and adjust the words from there.