Guide · Writing
How to write a service page that gets enquiries.
A service page has one job: answer the questions a customer has before they ring, in the order they ask them. Here is the structure, a worked example and the mistakes that cost enquiries.
How people read
What a visitor is asking, top to bottom
People scan rather than read. Each question below is a scroll-stop, and each needs a visible answer before the next one.
| The visitor asks | The section that answers it | If it is missing |
|---|---|---|
| Is this the service I need? | Headline and first line: the outcome and the service name | They bounce to the next result in seconds |
| Is it for someone like me, here? | “Who this is for” and the suburbs or area you cover | They assume you are not local or not for them |
| What do I actually get? | What is included, what is not, and how the job runs | They ring to ask basics, or do not ring |
| What will it cost? | A price, a starting price or a typical range with what changes it | They assume the worst and compare on price elsewhere |
| Can I trust you? | Proof next to each claim: reviews, photos, licences, years, guarantees | The claims read as marketing |
| What do I do now? | One clear action, repeated, with the phone number tappable | They mean to come back and never do |
The structure
Ten parts of a service page, in order
Not every page needs all ten, but the order matters: outcome first, business last.
- An outcome headlineLead with the result the customer wants, then the service: “Hot water back on today” beats “Hot water services”. Put the place in it if the service is local.
- One paragraph on the problem and what changesDescribe the situation the visitor is in and what it looks like once it is fixed. No history of the company here.
- Who this is for, and whereName the customer types and the suburbs or area you genuinely cover, as text. A “This is for you if…” list works well.
- What is included, and what is notShort lists. Saying what is excluded prevents the disappointed enquiry and the bad review.
- How it works, in three to five stepsFrom first contact to finished job. People book more readily when they can picture the process.
- The price, or a starting price and what changes itA number, a range or a “from” price with the two or three things that move it. Show the total including GST as prominently as any part price.
- Proof beside each claimA review next to the promise it backs up, a photo of the real job, the licence number, the years in business, the guarantee in plain words.
- Three to six FAQsThe questions you answer on the phone every week. Each one you answer here is an enquiry that arrives already half-decided.
- One call to action, repeatedCall, request a quote or book: pick one as the primary action and show it after the headline, after the price and at the end. Make the phone number tappable.
- A search title and descriptionService plus place, under about 60 characters, and a 110–155 character description that says what, where and why you. Write them last, from the page.
Worked example
A hot water repair page for a fictional Preston plumber
An outline, not finished copy. Every fact would come from the business; nothing here describes a real client.
| Section | What it would say |
|---|---|
| Headline | Hot water back on today in Preston and Melbourne’s north |
| Problem and change | No hot water this morning? Most repairs are done the same day, and if the unit is beyond repair you get a like-for-like replacement quote on the spot. |
| Who and where | Homeowners, landlords and property managers in Preston, Reservoir, Thornbury, Northcote, Coburg and Bundoora. |
| Included / not included | Included: diagnosis, repair of valves, elements, thermostats and leaks, a written report for landlords. Not included: new gas lines, solar systems. |
| How it works | 1. Call or send a photo of the unit. 2. Same-day booking with a two-hour window. 3. Fixed quote before work starts. 4. Repair, test, tidy. 5. Invoice by email. |
| Price | Call-out and diagnosis from A$X incl. GST, repairs quoted before work starts; replacement units from A$Y installed. (Real figures from the business.) |
| Proof | Licence number, years in business, a review about turning up on time placed beside the same-day promise, photos of real repairs with permission. |
| FAQs | Should I repair or replace? Do you work with my unit brand? Can my tenant let you in? Do you charge extra after hours? |
| Call to action | “Call now” with the tappable number after the headline, after the price and at the end; a short quote form as the alternative. |
| Title and description | “Hot Water Repairs Preston | Smith Plumbing” · “Same-day hot water repairs in Preston and Melbourne’s north. Licensed, fixed quotes before work starts, from A$X.” |
Mistakes
What costs service pages their enquiries
The same handful of problems on most small business sites we review.
- Starting with “we”“We are a family-owned business established in 2009” is the fourth paragraph, not the first. Start with the customer’s problem.
- One page for every serviceA single “Services” page with twelve headings ranks for nothing and answers nothing fully.
- No price and no rangeSilence on price does not stop people comparing; it makes them compare without you.
- Proof in a block at the bottomTestimonials nobody reaches. Put each one next to the claim it supports.
- Suburb lists instead of a service areaFifty suburb names in a paragraph, or fifty near-identical suburb pages, read as spam to people and to search engines.
- Three calls to actionCall, email, book, chat and download all at once means none is chosen. Pick one primary action.
- Stock photos of smiling strangersReal photos of real work, with permission, are the proof. Stock images are the absence of it.
Before you publish
A ten-minute check
Read the page on your phone and tick these off.
- The first screen says what you do, for whom, where, and how to contact you, without scrolling.
- A price, range or starting price appears somewhere on the page, with the total including GST.
- Every claim has a piece of proof within a thumb’s scroll of it.
- There is exactly one primary call to action and it appears at least three times.
- The phone number is tappable text, not an image.
- The title is the service plus the place and reads naturally; the description is 110–155 characters.
- The page links to one or two related services and to the contact page, and something links to it.
Sources
- Google Search Central — creating helpful, reliable, people-first content · checked 13 October 2026
- Google Search Central — influencing your title links in search results · checked 13 October 2026
- Nielsen Norman Group — how users read on the web · checked 13 October 2026
- ACCC — displaying prices (the total price must be shown as prominently as any part price) · checked 13 October 2026
Should I have one services page or a page for each service?
One page per service you actually want enquiries for, plus a short overview page that links to them. A page about hot water repairs can rank for and answer “hot water repairs” searches; a single page listing twelve services answers none of them well. Three to six service pages is typical for a small business.
How long should a service page be?
As long as it takes to answer the questions a customer has before they enquire, and no longer. For most trades, clinics and local services that is 400–900 words plus a price, a few photos and three to six FAQs. Padding to hit a word count makes the page worse, and search engines are not counting words.
Do I have to show prices on a service page?
No, but pages that show a price or a starting price usually get more and better enquiries, because people who cannot afford you do not ring and people who can stop worrying. If you quote per job, show a typical range or a “from” price and say what changes it. Where you show a price, Australian Consumer Law requires the total price, including GST, to be as prominent as any component.
Where do testimonials and reviews go on a service page?
Next to the claim they support, not only in a block at the bottom. A line from a customer about how fast you turned up belongs beside your “same-day” promise. Use real reviews with permission, never invented ones, and link to the Google review it came from where you can.
What should the page title and meta description say?
The title: the service and the place, in the words customers search, under about 60 characters, for example “Hot Water Repairs Preston | Smith Plumbing”. The description: one or two sentences, 110–155 characters, that say what you do, where, and one reason to choose you. Google may rewrite either, but a clear one is used more often than not.
How do I write for my suburb without stuffing suburb names everywhere?
Say where you work once in the headline or intro, once in a service-area sentence that lists the suburbs you genuinely cover, and in the title. Mention local details that matter to the job, such as the housing stock or the council’s rules. A paragraph of suburb names, or a near-identical page per suburb, reads as spam to customers and to search engines.
Do you write the service pages when you build a website?
We plan every page around this structure and write the headings, section order and FAQs with you; the facts about your service, prices and proof come from you. Websites of up to 3, 5 or 8 pages cost A$169, A$299 or A$449 once. Full copywriting from a brief can be quoted separately, and we confirm the scope in writing before any work starts.
Keep exploring
Related pages
Pages that answer the question
before the phone rings.
Tell us your services and the suburbs you cover. We plan every page around this structure and confirm the scope and total in writing before any work starts.
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