How to write a service page that ranks and converts

One service, one page

A boiler repair and a new bathroom are different searches by different people with different budgets. A page that covers both ranks well for neither and speaks to neither. The first decision is the hardest: list the distinct things people search for, and give each its own page.

Google’s own SEO starter guide puts it simply: organise the site so that each page is about one thing, with a clear title that describes it. That is the whole principle.

Above the fold: the first five seconds

The searcher arrives with a question and checks three things before reading anything: is this the service I searched for, is it in my area, and can I act on it. So the top of the page needs:

• A headline that names the service and the place, in the words the customer used. “Boiler repair in York”, not “Heating solutions”.
• One sentence on who it is for and what you do, plainly.
• A way to act: a phone number that dials, and a short form or booking link.
• One piece of proof: a rating, a registration, a photograph of real work.

Everything else can come below. But if the top of the page does not pass those three checks, nothing below it is read.

The structure that answers the questions in order

After the top of the page, the customer’s questions come in a fairly predictable order. Answer them in that order:

1. What does the service involve?What you do, step by step, in plain words. Include what the customer needs to do or provide.
2. What does it cost?A price, a starting price or an honest range with what changes it. “Call for a quote” with nothing else loses the people who are comparing.
3. How long does it take?Lead times and job length. People plan around this more than you think.
4. Why you?Not adjectives. Qualifications, years, the specific things you do that others do not, and proof of each.
5. What have you done before?Photographs of the work, named by area; reviews that mention this service; a case study if you have one.
6. What do people ask before they book?A short set of questions and honest answers. These also match the questions people type into Google.
7. What happens next?The call to action again, with what will happen when they get in touch and how quickly.

Words that match the search

Use the words customers use, once each, where they belong: in the page title, the headline, the first paragraph and a subheading or two. Then write normally. Repeating the phrase does not help, and reads badly. Google’s guidance on helpful content is explicit that pages written for people, about one thing, with real expertise behind them, are what it is trying to reward.

Include the place where it is true. A page about a service you offer across North Yorkshire should say so, and can mention the towns where you do most of the work. Do not stuff a list of twenty towns into a paragraph; nobody reads it and it looks like what it is.

Mistakes that lose the enquiry

• Praise instead of information. “Professional, reliable, high-quality” tells the customer nothing. What you do and what it costs tells them everything.
• No price at all. People comparing three firms skip the one that makes them ask.
• Stock photographs. Customers recognise them. A phone photograph of your actual work is worth more.
• A form with eight fields. Name, contact and what they need. Ask the rest when you reply.
• A phone number that is an image, or does not dial. On a phone, the number must be a link.
• The same page with the town changed. It ranks nowhere and makes the rest of the site look thin.

A checklist before you publish

• The page title names the service and, where relevant, the place.
• The headline says the same thing in the customer’s words.
• The first paragraph says who it is for and what you do.
• The phone number dials and the form takes under a minute.
• Price, timescale and process are each answered.
• There is at least one photograph of real work and one review that mentions this service.
• The page links to related services and to the area pages it applies to.
• Someone who has never heard of you could read it and know whether to call.

If you would rather a person wrote it, that is part of our SEO copywriting and web design work. If you are doing it yourself, the structure above is the whole method.