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In 2019, almost 50% of American small businesses still didn’t have a website.
But having a website for your service-based business is only half the battle. The other half is having a website that creates leads and helps you sell.
If you’re not sure how to structure your small business website to accomplish those goals, then you’re in the right place. We’ll tell you what pages are must-haves for professional service businesses and some of the key tone and branding components you should consider.
There are a few pages that you absolutely must have if you’re in the service industry. These include a homepage, an about page, services or booking page, and a page with all of your contact information. We’ll explain each in more detail below.
A homepage is a requirement of all websites, not just service-based ones.
When users find your business by searching your brand name via Google or Google Maps, they’ll likely arrive at your homepage first. And, as they say, first impressions last the longest.
That doesn’t just mean you need attention-grabbing content. You’ll also want to add information about who you are, what you do, and why customers should choose your business over your competitors.
The “About Us” page is another standard page on most websites. This is the page where you explain who you are in far more detail. You’ll want to tell users where you came from, why you started the business, where the business is now, and your core values. If you have a mission statement, it can be neatly situated into your About Us page.
It’s also the place where you can describe what makes you an expert in your given field. Talk about your credentials and how you apply those to your service.
Services pages show off your list of services, making it clear to users what services you provide.
A page with a basic list and basic descriptions can be called a “services listing page.” Some businesses opt to stick with just this one page to describe their services.
Businesses with a lot of different services may also want “service detail pages,” separate pages for each different service.
These pages can be helpful for your SEO efforts, targeting more detailed keywords. For example, a plumbing company can have a service listing page called “Plumbing Services” and several detail pages such as “Drain Cleaning Services,” “Sewer Line Repairs,” and “Bathroom Remodeling.” When people search keywords that match specific services, your site will have a better chance of ranking with well-optimized service detail pages.
In both cases, you should include a booking feature on this page of the website, with calls to action such as “Schedule an appointment” or “Get a free quote.”
“Location pages” usually are dedicated to targeting localized keywords, such as “plumber in Atlanta,” as a local SEO tactic. Some businesses will create a whole network of location pages, covering each location or each location/service combination, such as “sewer line repair in Jacksonville,” “drain cleaning in Charlotte,” etc.
Other sites prefer to have a simple “service areas” page that lists cities and towns where the service is available. While this option is certainly less aggressive, it can be helpful to users and sends clear signals to search engines about where you do business.
You need to make it easy for your potential clients to contact you. That’s why your contact information should appear on every page of your website. But you should also make it obvious how they can do so with a separate contact page.
This page is dedicated to any and all information relevant to getting in contact with you. It will include items like your email, phone number, fax number, mailing address, and operational hours. Many sites show a map and/or pictures of the business location to help users know exactly where to go to find you.
Service providers are going to have some valuable knowledge and insight about their trade. Blog posts and resource pages are the places you can share it.
While these pages aim to help educate your audience rather than make a strong marketing pitch, they can also be extremely valuable in your marketing strategy. They broaden your reach and grow your brand awareness. For SEO, they can help the website gain traffic and authority that supports your search engine ranking ability.
Easily the most boring webpages in existence, these pages house information regarding what information the website collects and rules for interacting with the site and possibly the business as a whole. The information here could conceivably help protect your business against liability if someone took you to court.
Although hardly anyone will ever read them, believe it or not, they also have SEO impact. Search engines will see that your site is properly set up with these pages.
There’s a fine line between fitting in and standing out when it comes to service-based businesses. You might have noticed that many doctors, lawyers, real estate agents, accountants, housekeepers, and other service businesses have very similar websites. Among any particular industry or space, websites tend to share similar styles and messages.
Fitting yourself into the mold of your particular space can be a good tactic. Potential customers will expect certain messaging and design. Not following the accepted structure could hurt your online efforts.
However, you may also need to differentiate your business between yourself and your competitors. Particularly for industries where people often compare companies, you might need to communicate your unique offering. Tell users what makes you the best person for the job.
Eighty-four percent of people say that they trust online reviews as much as they trust a recommendation from a personal friend. And that figure is exactly why you need to add social proof of your results and customer satisfaction to your website.
You can add reviews on your homepage, a testimonials page, or in visual elements that exist on every page, so that users don’t have to navigate anywhere to read them. You might also consider adding relevant reviews to your services pages.
Awards and certifications also count as social proof. Think about placing those logos in headers and footers to be sure that users see them.
SEO encompasses a large number of practices that you can implement to try and boost your websites ranking on search engine results. The websites that rank in the top positions on search engine results pages (SERPs) receive many more clicks, and the drop-off is sharp after the first few results.
In terms of SEO for a service-based business, one of the most important things you’ll need to focus on is local SEO efforts. That’s because service-based businesses typically rely on local customers.
Look into general SEO, local SEO, and optimizing your Google My Business profile to give your site the best chance at attracting customers.
Entering the online world can be overwhelming, time-consuming, and full of tricky problems.
As the owner of a service-based business, you should be focusing your time and energy on providing the best possible service you can and generating those positive reviews that help you grow.
While you focus on your business, we can take charge of your digital marketing strategy to help boost your website and online presence. Get started with your free consultation.
We solve business problems, take a consultative approach to every client engagement, and find actionable solutions that will help your organization.