Most trade websites have a page called "Services" with a list of bullet points: boilers, bathrooms, central heating, general plumbing. It’s tidy, it’s quick to write, and it does very little. The customer looking for a new boiler in Ossett learns nothing they didn’t already guess, and Google has little reason to show that page to them.
A good service page is different. It’s written for one type of job, it answers the questions a customer has before they pick up the phone, and it quietly puts off the enquiries you don’t want. Here’s what to put on one, section by section.
"A service page should do the first five minutes of the phone call for you. If it answers what a customer would ask you, the people who ring are already halfway to booking."
1. One page for each main service
Start with structure. Each type of work you want more of deserves its own page. A heating engineer might have separate pages for boiler installation, boiler servicing and repairs, and landlord gas safety checks. A roofer might split out roof repairs, new roofs, chimney work, flat roofs and guttering.
Why bother? Because people search for specific jobs, and a page about one job can answer that search far better than a list. It also lets you put the right photos, reviews and prices next to the right work.
Don’t go overboard. Five to eight pages covering the work that pays your bills is better than thirty thin pages for every possible job. Combine small related jobs on one page.
2. A headline that says what and where
The top of the page should tell someone in two seconds that they’re in the right place. Something like "Boiler installation in Huddersfield and the Colne Valley" or "Chimney repairs across Calderdale". Underneath, one or two sentences on what you do and who for. Then your phone number and a button to get in touch, visible without scrolling on a phone.
Avoid vague slogans in place of a headline. "Quality you can trust" could be about anything.
3. Describe the problem in the customer’s words
People don’t search for "fascia and soffit replacement". They search for "gutter leaking", "wood rotting under the roof edge" or "birds getting into the roof". Before you describe your service, describe the problem the way the customer would.
- Signs you need this: a short list of symptoms. Damp patch on the chimney breast. Slates on the path. Boiler losing pressure. Lights tripping.
- What usually causes it: one or two sentences of plain explanation.
- What happens if you leave it: said honestly, without scaremongering.
This is where local knowledge earns its keep. A roofer covering Halifax and Hebden Bridge can talk about stone slate roofs, valley gutters on old terraces and what the Pennine weather does to pointing. That reads very differently from a generic page that could be anywhere in the country.
4. Who it’s for, who it isn’t for, and where you work
This is the section most trades leave out, and it’s one of the most useful. A sentence or two about the jobs you take on, and the ones you don’t, saves you hours of unsuitable calls.
- "We work on homes and small commercial buildings. We don’t take on new-build developments."
- "We cover Wakefield, Ossett, Horbury and Pontefract. For further afield, ring and ask."
- "Our minimum job size for landscaping is a full garden or patio. For small repairs, try a local handyman."
It feels odd to turn people away on your own website. But the calls that remain are much more likely to turn into work you want.
The areas you cover
Name the towns and districts you work in, in plain sentences rather than a long block of place names. If you have separate area pages, link to them. Our article on winning work in the next town over explains why relevance and location both matter for local search.
Resist the urge to copy the same service page twenty times with only the town name changed. Google’s spam policies list "creating substantially similar pages" made to rank for similar searches as doorway abuse, and its guidance on people-first content says pages should be made mainly to help visitors. Customers spot copy-and-paste pages too. If you write about a town, say something genuinely useful about working there.
5. What’s included, how it works and what it costs
Customers worry about the unknown. Walk them through what happens, step by step:
- How they get in touch and how quickly you’ll reply.
- Whether you visit to quote, or can give a rough idea from photos.
- What the quote includes, and what it doesn’t.
- How long the job usually takes, and how much disruption to expect.
- What you leave behind: certificates, guarantees, a clean site.
If it’s relevant, explain how you protect their home: dust sheets, skip permits, keeping the heating on overnight where possible. These small details are what people worry about at the kitchen table.
Think back to your last five enquiries for this service and write down every question the customer asked you. How much? How long? Will it be messy? Do I need to be in? Do you take card? Those questions, with honest answers, are the bones of your service page and its FAQs.
Price guidance
You don’t have to publish a price list, but saying nothing makes many people assume you’re expensive, or ring just to ask. Typical starting prices, ranges or the factors that affect the cost can all help. Our article on whether to show prices on your website goes through the options in detail, so we won’t repeat it here.
6. Proof that matches the service
General claims are easy to make and easy to ignore. Specific proof works better, and it should match the page.
Photos of this type of work
A chimney repairs page should show chimney repairs, ideally before and after, ideally local. See job photos that win work for how to get them.
Reviews that mention this service
If a customer’s Google review talks about their new boiler, put it on the boiler page. Use real reviews only, word for word, and don’t present a hand-picked few as if they were the whole picture.
Accreditations people can check
Show memberships and registrations that matter for that work, and tell people how to check them. For gas work, the HSE explains that customers can use the Gas Safe Register’s Check an Engineer service with the licence number from the engineer’s ID card. For electricians registered with NICEIC, customers can use its find a contractor search. Inviting people to check you is a strong signal of confidence.
Everything on your service pages counts as advertising. The ASA’s remit has covered businesses’ own marketing claims on their websites since 2011. Don’t claim to be "the cheapest", "number one" or "fully accredited" unless you can prove it, and only show logos for schemes you actually belong to right now.
7. A clear, easy next step
End the page, and repeat it part way down, with one obvious action:
- A phone number you can tap on a mobile, not an image of a number.
- A short form. Name, phone, postcode and a box for the job. Every extra field puts some people off.
- What happens next. "We reply to every enquiry within one working day" is reassuring, but only if it’s true.
- An option to send photos, if that helps you quote.
A made-up example
Imagine a roofer in Halifax writing a page for chimney repairs. The headline says "Chimney repairs in Halifax and across Calderdale". Below it, a short list of signs: damp on the chimney breast, crumbling pointing, leaning pots. A paragraph on stone stacks on older terraces. A line saying they don’t do new chimney builds. Three steps explaining the visit, quote and work. A rough price range and what affects it. Two before and after photos from local jobs, a genuine review that mentions a chimney, and their phone number at the top and bottom. Nothing fancy, but it answers the questions someone in King Cross or Sowerby Bridge would actually have.
Your checklist for this week
- List the five to eight services you most want enquiries for.
- Pick the most important one and write its headline: what and where.
- Write down the questions from your last five enquiries for that service.
- Add a "who it’s for" line and the areas you cover.
- Add two real photos and one relevant review.
- Check the phone number is tappable on your mobile.
A website built around your services and towns, with proper service pages written for your customers, comes as part of the Driving Sales Locally monthly plan, at £225 a month. If your current pages aren’t bringing the right calls, book a free call and Jeremy will take a look. If people are visiting but not getting in touch at all, start with why your website gets visitors but no enquiries.
Frequently asked questions
Should I have a separate page for each service?
Yes, for each main type of work you want more of. A page about one job can answer a customer’s questions and match their search far better than a list. Five to eight good pages usually beats dozens of thin ones.
How long should a service page be?
Long enough to answer the questions customers ask before they ring: what the job involves, signs they need it, who it suits, how it works, rough cost, proof and areas covered. Cut anything that doesn’t help them decide.
Should I make a copy of each service page for every town I cover?
No. Google’s spam policies treat substantially similar pages made to rank for similar searches as doorway abuse. Name your areas on the service page and only create town pages that say something genuinely useful about that town.
What’s the best call to action on a trade service page?
A phone number you can tap on a mobile, plus a short form asking only for name, phone, postcode and the job. Say what happens next and how quickly you reply, as long as it’s true.