How to Create a Services Page that Sells
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It goes without saying that if you offer services, you need to put them on your website.
What may be less obvious is that a simple list of services on your home page, or even on a dedicated Services page, isn’t enough.
For starters, not everyone will understand exactly what a service involves. You need to describe each one, and especially what makes your services better than your competitors’. Including these details on your Services page will encourage prospects to get in touch with you and give Google and other search engines more content to index, making it more likely that your website will be found in the first place.
Before You Create Your Services Page
Most of us find it difficult to write about our services, because we only look at them through our own eyes. Let’s face it, clients don’t really care about what we do; they care about the value we bring to the table – what’s in it for them.
As Chris Lema said in How To Write A Services Page That Works, “What we need to do is flip things from an inside-out perspective to one that is outside-in.”
Before you can develop that “outside-in” perspective, it’s essential to have a good understanding of your ideal client by developing a buyer persona. When you look at your services through the eyes of a specific individual – whether they’re real or fictitious – you can go beyond basic service descriptions to explaining how your services will solve that person’s problems.
Writing Your Service Descriptions
When you write about your business, it’s important to avoid industry jargon and terminology that’s everyday language for you but might not be familiar to your website visitors.
Instead, make a point of using the same language they would use. This will help your message to resonate with them as well as improving the chance of your site coming up in an online search.
SEO Copywriter, Heather Lloyd-Martin even suggests conducting keyword research before you name your services. To learn more about this and other SEO strategies, read her 7 Hot Tips for Writing a Top-Converting Services Page.
Services Page Checklist
In a YouTube video which is no longer online, Mai-kee Tsang, Launch Strategist, Consultant and Conversion Copywriter, offered the following tips for writing your Services page:
- Have an elevator pitch at the top of the page.
- Focus on what’s in it for them.
- Paint the picture of your process.
- Help your prospect navigate to the relevant parts of your services.
- Be transparent with your pricing.
- Have a Call-to-Action at the end of each Service description.
- Don’t give too much away. Open loop them instead.
- Have testimonials and case studies.
If you’re not comfortable with posting your prices as Tsang recommends, I encourage you to read How Publishing My Rates Has Helped My Business by Janine Adams. It just might convince you!
Putting Your Services Page Together
With the above concepts in mind, you’re ready to begin!
If you offer multiple services, you need to showcase each one, but don’t make your potential clients scroll down the page to find out whether you can help them. Here are a few ways to make it easy to see your offerings:
- place links to each section right at the top of the page, as on the Spot On Organizing website
- have an information box with a link to a full page about each service, as on the FreeYourSpace website
- use tabbed sections to maximize space and minimize scrolling, as on the Development by Design site
- use a collapsible “accordion” to maximize space and minimize scrolling, as on my Website Care Plans page
No matter how you present your information, use a combination of lists and short paragraphs rather than dense blocks of text. When gathering information online, most people prefer browsing over reading.
Next Steps
1. Review your Services page through the eyes of your ideal client.
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- Can they easily see what services you offer?
- Does it clearly explain how your service can help them to solve a problem they’re facing?
- What information is missing that they might want before they decide to contact you?
2. Schedule a telephone call or online meeting for expert help with your Services page.
If you’re joining me for the first time, I hope you’ll go back and read the previous posts in this series:
- Is your website giving you strong results? Creating an Effective Homepage or Welcome Page
- Creating an About Page that Clicks
- How to Create an Effective Contact Page
- How to Create a Captivating Blog Page
- Do you have (or need) a Privacy Policy?
I’ll be back again soon with the next instalment.
Illustration by Variant / DepositPhotos
Janet Barclay
I eliminate stress for my clients by hosting, monitoring, and maintaining their WordPress sites so they don’t have to worry about security, downtime or performance issues. When I’m away from my desk, I enjoy reading, photography, cooking, watching movies, drinking tea, and spending time with my family.
This is exactly what I’m working on right now for my site, and finding this post has been a great help! I’ll be back to read more and implement your great ideas. Thanks!
I love it when that happens! Good luck with your website!
Great post Janet. I will need to see if my “Services” page is living up to it’s potential!!
I find there is always room for improvement. Writing this series is making me painfully aware of the work I need to do on my own site!
Okay, that was super helpful. I’m taking notes on all posts in this series. I think Mai-kee is adorable. I hopped over to Youtube and followed her:) I hadn’t thought about having the brief elevator pitch on the services page, but I can see that this is a good idea. My list of changes to my site is getting longer and longer. It will be fun when I finally bite the bullet and go for it!
I agree! I wasn’t familiar with her before I came across this video during my research, but I love her ideas and the straightforward way she explains things.
Janet,
These tips are super helpful, as always. I really liked what you said about looking at your services page from the client’s point of view. The client wants to know what’s in it for them. I’ve seen some services page that really grab you and make you stop and think.
Thank you for sharing this!
I often say “there are lots of people who do what you do, but there’s only one YOU!” It’s so important to know what makes you different than others and to explain it in a way that captivates your target audience.
This is very helpful! I will be revisiting this post when I am revisiting my services pages. Thanks for sharing.
I’m glad you found it helpful, Sabrina! Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
This post has an excellent group of suggestions, Janet. Of all the pages on my website, my services page needs the most work. You’ve given me a lot to consider. I’ve done a few recent modifications to provide more emphasis on virtual organizing services, but I know there’s more to do. I’ll be working on it in the coming months and will use your suggestions as a guide.
I’m glad they will be helpful to you, Linda. The one thing about a website is that it’s ALWAYS a work-in-progress!