Service pages are dedicated site pages focusing on a specific service, practice area, or treatment a business offers. Service pages have commercial intent, unlike general webpages like a homepage, about page, or contact page.
Most businesses should be able to split their different services into unique pages. Service pages define what you offer, what makes you unique, and why your business is best suited for the job.
Service pages are great sales collateral for your business since they better explain each service. A service page should help you rank well for high-intent website traffic if created and optimized for SEO correctly. Let’s explore why service pages are so valuable:
Table of Contents
- 1 Service Pages High Commercial and Local Intent
- 2 Difference Between Service Pages and Product and Location PagesÂ
- 3 Google Loves a Strong Site StructureÂ
- 4 Service Pages Should Serve as Strong Sales Collateral
- 5 What to Include on Service PagesÂ
- 6 When Creating a Service Page Doesn’t Make Sense
- 7 Service Page vs. Location Page
- 8 In Closing
Service Pages High Commercial and Local Intent
Service pages have a very high commercial intent. When someone searches for a specific service, such as “teeth whitening” or “transmission repair,” they are further down the sales funnel and already considering purchasing, as opposed to someone in the research phase searching, “Does teeth whitening last for a long time.” The difference between commercial vs. informational intent is whether someone is researching (informational) vs. ready to purchase (commercial).Â
46% of all searches on Google include local intent [source]. Service pages often have strong local intent. If you are a local business, like a dentist, someone would likely be searching for “Teeth Whitening Columbus.” When you combine local and commercial intent, your likelihood of converting is very high!Â
Example of Strong Commercial/Local Intent
One of our clients is a local dental practice in Grandview, Ohio (a suburb of Columbus). We created dedicated service pages targeting treatments like “teeth whitening,” “dental implants,” “Invisalign,” and “sedation dentistry.” These service-focused pages convert well because visitors have shown commercial combined with local intent.Â
Example of our client ranking well for the query, “Teeth Whitening in Grandview.”
Below is the service page someone lands on for teeth whitening. The content on the page aligns with the search intent.
Difference Between Service Pages and Product and Location PagesÂ
A product page is when you’re selling a product on your website, and someone can purchase a product directly from this page. The intent is powerful on a product page, like a service page. The difference is the eCommerce element. On a service page, someone must contact your company for more information.Â
A location page showcases localized information such as the address, phone number, email, hours of operation, etc. Imagine if your dental practice has multiple locations and you must schedule a follow-up appointment. You will find the location page on their site to get in contact. A service page has more detailed information on each specific service.
Google Loves a Strong Site StructureÂ
Google values a strong website structure. They are looking at how the menu and headers are structured. They like seeing when people click on internal links and navigate to many pages on your site. When you list out each of your services individually, this makes for a very clean hierarchy.Â
For example, our agency has service-specific pages for SEO, Web Design, Social Media, Email Marketing, etc. This makes it easy for anyone navigating our site to select the service(s) they are interested in. Also, many people are only interested in one of our services so it’s important to have that specific service page to meet their needs.Â
Service Pages Should Serve as Strong Sales Collateral
Your service pages should serve as strong sales collateral, giving the site visitor more confidence in utilizing your business for a specific service. Â
Many people list all their services on their homepage, and that’s it. This is a mistake as it can be hard to find where this information is located, and there’s limited information about each service. All of your services should be listed as unique, individual pages.
Suppose a prospective client calls your business for more detailed information on a specific service. In that case, you should be able to send them the link to this specific service page, which has excellent information and will improve your likelihood of turning them into customers.Â
What to Include on Service PagesÂ
Great service pages give prospective customers a good idea of what they can expect if they move forward with your company. The service page is likely lackluster if a phone call is needed to explain each service better. You can build a service page into strong sales collateral by including the following information.Â
- Unique information about your serviceÂ
- What differentiates your company from competitors?Â
- What is your process?Â
- What is your pricing?Â
- What makes you an expert in your specific field?Â
- What can customers expect when working with you?Â
- What are frequently asked questions customers have?Â
- Valuable KeywordsÂ
- We discussed that many service pages have strong local intent, so it’s important to incorporate localized keywords onto your service pages. Returning to the earlier example, we would optimize the page for “Columbus Teeth Whitening,” not just “Teeth Whitening.”Â
- In addition to optimizing for local keywords, you should optimize for the service-specific keyword. For example, someone doesn’t just search for an SEO company. They may seek an SEO agency or Search Engine Optimization firm. Adding service keywords can help improve rank.Â
- Reviews & Success StoriesÂ
- Showcasing reviews and details about a successful job go a long way to convey trust. Â
- Photos
- If you are a landscaping company, include photos of jobs you’ve done for irrigation and drain repair. Strong visuals help turn visitors into customers.Â
- Team membersÂ
- Prospects want to see the people they’ll be working with. It adds a human element to your company. List out the team members who are experts in each service working on the project.Â
- 500+ WordsÂ
- There should be a minimum of 500 words on a service page. You shouldn’t have any issues hitting this word count by following the steps above.Â
When Creating a Service Page Doesn’t Make Sense
If you only have one service that you offer, in many instances it makes sense to optimize your homepage for that particular service, rather than creating a separate page. Your homepage has the highest authority on your site, which will improve your chances of ranking for your service.Â
For example, we have a client that has a laundromat in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. Rather than create a page for laundromat service, we included all of the necessary information on the homepage.Â
Keep in mind that on the homepage, if you offer services, you should try to rank for the descriptor of your business. For example, if you’re a Columbus Dentist, the homepage should be optimized for “Columbus Dentist” and then your service pages will be optimized for keywords like “teeth whitening Columbus,” “dentures Columbus,” etc.
Service Page vs. Location Page
It sounds simple in theory that a service page describes a particular service and a location page highlights the location of your business. There can be a little bit of muddied water between the two. There’s been a rampant trend within SEO of building out many location pages with the intent of ranking for the main service in different suburbs, cities, etc. even if the business doesn’t have a physical location in that area. Businesses are building out these pages because they service these areas and therefore want to rank in them.Â
We wrote a detailed blog on location pages that goes into this topic in more depth.Â
In Closing
- Service pages have strong commercial and local intent, meaning there’s a high likelihood of turning these visitors into customers.Â
- Service pages should serve as sales collateral for your business, showcasing your expertise in the different areas of your business.Â
- Service pages should be unique with their own URL, as Google likes this hierarchy.Â
- Include great information on your service page to help turn prospective visitors into customers.Â
- Service pages aren’t always the right answer, if there’s an opportunity to optimize your homepage.
Contact The Media Captain today if you have any questions about implementing service pages or need help with your website’s SEO.Â
