With only a few seconds to tell website visitors what you do, how you can make their lives better, and what they need to do to work with you—every word counts. And, that’s especially true when it comes to the service pages on your website.
A well-designed service page serves as a virtual storefront, offering website visitors valuable insights into a service a business provides. (Typically, every service you offer needs its own webpage.)
However, creating service pages that actually convert prospects into clients goes beyond merely listing offerings. It involves strategically presenting information to convert casual website visitors into paying customers.
In this blog, we dive into the ins and outs of how to write service pages that convert so you can grab your audience’s attention, help them see that your service is the answer they’ve been looking for, and—ultimately—make sales.
The Importance of Clear Messaging
Before you can create any copy for your website, you need to create clear messaging. Clear messaging—or messaging that is easily and quickly understood—is the key to successful marketing and communication. This is because people support the businesses they understand the easiest, regardless of whether or not they have the “best” service.
And, creating clear messaging starts with writing your Marketing Guiding Statements.
As the name suggests, Marketing Guiding Statements guide the writing and messaging for all parts of your marketing, including your website copy. In fact, they often make up a majority of the wording that will be on your website, which is why it’s crucial to have your Marketing Guiding Statements written before working on your service page copy—or any web copy for that matter.
Need help developing your Marketing Guiding Statements? Take our free mini course that walks you through each element step by step!
How to Write Service Pages that Convert for Small Businesses
Story is a powerful tool, especially in marketing. In fact, people are 22 times more likely to remember your brand if you present it in a story format.
That’s why we, at Treefrog, use the StoryBrand framework to create website content, and we want to encourage you to do the same. Because, again, story is the most effective way to communicate with your audience and ultimately lead them to invest in your products or services.
With this in mind, the key to writing a high-converting service page is to tell a story. To do this, you can use the following framework:
Header
First, there’s the header. Much like on your homepage, you need to make it immediately clear what you offer. You have roughly five seconds to help your prospective customers understand how exactly you can help them, so it’s important to start your page with a clear and simple header.
For a service page, this can be as easy as writing out the name of the service your page is featuring. In fact, it should be that simple. You don’t want to be vague or abstract when it comes to your header. Otherwise, you risk losing your audience’s attention and they may not stick around.
It’s also important to include a call-to-action button in your header. (We’ll discuss call-to-action buttons more below.) This will be something that, once you’ve captured their attention, your website visitors can easily click on to do what you want them to do.
Problem/Stakes
After your header, you need to bring attention to your ideal customer’s problem and the stakes they face if they don’t solve this problem. Focus on how your customer must be struggling with said problem and the negative outcome they will face without the help of the service your page is featuring.
For example, the problem and stakes on our fractional CMO services page reads:
“Lack of effective marketing leadership prevents business growth. Your passion and dedication have driven your business forward with success, but getting to the next level requires expert marketing leadership and proven systems.”
We clearly lay out the problem our audience may be facing and the negative outcome that could occur while positioning our service as the solution.
Value Proposition
No one is going to invest in a service without understanding what it can do for them. In the value proposition section of your service page, you need to explain exactly what your customers will receive should they choose to work with you.
This section should include the details of your service and show the value of your service. You can break down what your service includes and emphasize how these features solve your ideal customer’s pain points. Even if you have a lot of information, try and keep things as simple as possible so you don’t overwhelm your potential customers.
You can present this in a variety of ways. We often use a bulleted list. But, regardless of how you choose to display this information, it should clearly show the value of working with you and how you can solve your ideal client’s most challenging problems.
Guide
As you market your small business, you always want to position your ideal client as the hero and your business as their guide. With this in mind, you need to show your potential clients how you will support and lead them to a solution to their problem—without bragging.
To do this, you have to empathize with your customers and show them that you have the authority and experience to help them find the solution to their problem using your service.
This section needs to hit on important pain points that show your true understanding of the audience’s perspective and position you as an experienced guide that can help them solve their problem.
Testimonials
The testimonials section is where you’ll build authority that will help your potential customers trust that your service is an effective means to solve their problem.
Choose a few great testimonials or reviews that showcase what is most important to your ideal customer.
For example, if a great customer experience is really important to your ideal client, be sure to include at least one testimonial that emphasizes the ease of the buying process. If quick delivery is high on your ideal client’s priority list, find a customer testimonial that highlights how quickly they received the service.
Pricing
Another item you should include in your service page is pricing. Sharing your prices isn't just about the numbers; it's also an opportunity to communicate the value that you provide. When customers see the price alongside your offerings, they can better understand the worth of what you're offering—and whether or not they can afford your services.
Plus, customers appreciate transparency. When pricing information is missing, it can raise suspicions about hidden costs or unfair pricing practices. This lack of transparency may deter potential customers from reaching out.
Now, adding your prices on your service page can be a little complicated for some small businesses—specifically those with customized services. With that in mind, there are a few ways you can share your prices:
- Starting Price: Ideal for businesses with add-on options, displaying a minimum fee helps potential clients pre-qualify themselves.
- Price Range: Effective for showing the minimum to maximum investment prospective customers can expect. This usually doesn’t work well for businesses with wide price disparities.
- Average Price: Listing what customers typically spend offers clarity while allowing some flexibility.
- Exact Prices: For businesses with specific pricing for each product or service, detailing precise information avoids surprises.
When deciding on a pricing strategy, consider your business model and target audience. Each approach has its advantages and is suited to different types of businesses. Ultimately, including pricing on your service page not only fosters transparency but also builds trust and increases the likelihood of inquiries from potential customers.
Plan
Your service page then needs to include a three-step plan that helps your audience understand how easy it is to receive the product or service.
Why do we use three steps? The brain simply likes steps of three.
So, while there might be a million things happening behind the scenes, giving prospective customers a three-step plan to follow makes the process seem less daunting and will result in you earning more leads.
Explanatory Paragraph
After detailing how they can work with you, you can go more in-depth on why they should. Writing a longer explanation about why people should do business with you is a great addition to a service page, especially for your more interested prospects.
This section can be around 400 words, but it should always focus on the needs and pain points of your prospects and how your product or service can help them.
Regardless of which kind of lead generator you choose to utilize, opt-ins play a crucial role in not only attracting subscribers but also building your marketing flywheel. The flywheel marketing method is the marketing strategy we’ve found to be the most effective for small businesses.
For a detailed breakdown of the flywheel marketing strategy and a deeper exploration of crafting impactful opt-ins for the growth of your small business, don't miss out on our complimentary guide that breaks down the exact marketing strategy we use to help small businesses grow!
Lead Generator
Ideally, your next section will be lead-generating content you can direct your audience to. This type of content, for example, could include an informational download or a discount on the page’s service. Regardless of what it is, it should be a means for you to capture perspectives’ email addresses.
If your website visitors aren’t ready to purchase from you immediately, having a lead generator (also often referred to as an “opt-in”) will allow you to collect prospects’ contact information, enter them into your sales funnel, and keep the conversation going.
Call to Action Buttons
If you want your page to have a high conversion rate, it’s crucial that you have call-to-action buttons throughout your service pages. These buttons need to clearly lead your audience to the action you want them to take—in this case, to purchase your service.
Ensure your call-to-action (CTA) is clear and concise, with no more than four words. These should be as simple and direct as “Buy Now” or “Schedule a Consultation.” When building your website or working with a designer, emphasize placing your CTA on buttons and using consistent colors to make them stand out. Each button should link directly to a page where site visitors can take action corresponding to the CTA.
For instance, if your CTA prompts users to "Schedule a Consultation," ensure the button directs them to a page where they can schedule such a call. Keeping your CTA simple and effective enhances user experience and encourages action.
Regardless of what it is, be sure to use the same call-to-action throughout the entire page.
You want to make it as easy as possible for your ideal customer to work with you. If every button gives your website visitors a different instruction and takes them to a different web page, you’ll only confuse and lose them. It’s also beneficial to have this call-to-action in the upper right-hand corner of your website so they always have immediate access to the action you want them to take.
If you would like to see an example of how to use CTA buttons throughout your service pages, check out our flywheel marketing service page.
Including these elements on your service pages is proven to be effective in increasing conversion rates. We use this exact format to build websites for our clients and have seen its effectiveness. Likewise, StoryBrand has used this framework to help thousands of businesses big and small.
Even so, these aren’t the only things you may need for your service pages. You may need to include other pieces to meet your ideal client’s needs—such as a gallery section so prospects can easily see examples of your work. Don’t add more information than needed so you don’t overwhelm your prospects, but do feel free to make additions or adjustments to ensure your website serves your ideal client well.
Small businesses deserve to have a marketing strategy and partner that works as hard as they do.
Treefrog Marketing is a marketing agency for small businesses located in Lafayette, Indiana that builds effective marketing strategies and systems that help small business leaders take their companies to the next level. We specialize in marketing leadership, strategic marketing and advertising, digital marketing, graphic design, web design, social media, SEO, and more. For more information, please visit our website. You can also connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
