How to Write Service Pages That Actually Rank

84% of homeowners use Google to find a contractor. They type something like “AC repair Phoenix” or “emergency plumber near me” and hire someone from the first page of results. The top 3 results capture 68% of clicks. Everyone below that splits the remaining 32%.

Your service pages are the pages that show up for those searches. Not your homepage. Not your about page. The page specifically about AC repair, or drain cleaning, or roof replacement. If that page is thin, generic, or poorly structured, you’re handing those clicks to the competitor who wrote a better one.

Why most contractor service pages fail

Pull up the average contractor’s service page and you’ll find 100-200 words of generic copy. “We offer professional plumbing services for residential and commercial customers. Our team of experienced plumbers provides quality workmanship at competitive prices. Contact us today for a free estimate.”

That paragraph could describe any plumber in any city. Google knows it, and Google buries it.

Search engines rank pages based on relevance, depth, and authority. A 150-word page with no location specifics, no unique content, and no structured data tells Google nothing about why your page should outrank the competitor who wrote 1,200 words about emergency drain cleaning in a specific city.

Service pages with 700+ words rank significantly better than thin pages. That doesn’t mean padding your content with filler. It means covering the topic thoroughly enough that a homeowner gets their questions answered without leaving your site.

The anatomy of a service page that ranks

Start with the right keyword target

Every service page should target a specific keyword phrase. Not “plumbing” but “drain cleaning services Dallas.” Not “HVAC” but “AC installation Scottsdale AZ.”

Pages targeting “service + city” convert 2-3x better than generic pages because the search intent is stronger. Someone searching “plumber Dallas” is looking to hire. Someone searching “plumbing” might be researching a career change.

Build a list of every service you offer, paired with every city you serve. Each combination is a potential page. Drain cleaning + Dallas. Water heater installation + Plano. Slab leak repair + Fort Worth. You don’t need to build all of them at once, but you should know the full list and prioritize by search volume and competition.

Our guide on long-tail keywords for contractors walks through how to find the specific search terms homeowners use.

Nail the H1 and first 100 words

Your H1 heading is the most important on-page SEO element. It should include your primary keyword naturally.

Good: “Drain Cleaning Services in Dallas, TX”

Bad: “Our Services”

The first 100 words of your page carry outsized weight with search engines. Front-load your primary keyword and location within the opening paragraph. Don’t bury the topic under a generic introduction.

Opening that works: “Dallas homeowners dealing with slow drains, backed-up sewer lines, or recurring clogs call us because we show up the same day with the equipment to fix it. We’ve cleared thousands of drains across the Dallas-Fort Worth area since 2009.”

Opening that doesn’t work: “Welcome to our plumbing company. We are a full-service plumbing provider committed to delivering exceptional customer service. Read on to learn about our drain cleaning services.”

The first version names the service, the city, common problems, and a credibility marker within two sentences. The second version says nothing useful in three sentences.

Structure with H2s that match search intent

Homeowners searching for a service have specific questions. Your H2 headings should answer those questions directly.

For a drain cleaning page, effective H2s include: “How Much Does Drain Cleaning Cost in [City],” “Signs You Need Professional Drain Cleaning,” “Our Drain Cleaning Process,” “Emergency Drain Cleaning,” and “Drain Cleaning vs. Sewer Line Repair.”

Each H2 targets a related search query. Someone searching “drain cleaning cost Dallas” might land directly on that section. Google sometimes pulls H2s into featured snippets, giving you prime visibility.

Avoid vague H2s like “Why Choose Us” or “Our Commitment.” These don’t match anything homeowners search for and waste prime real estate on your page.

Write content that answers real questions

Talk to your office staff or CSRs. What do homeowners ask when they call? Those questions are exactly what your service page should answer.

Common questions for almost any service include how much it costs (even a range helps), how long the job takes, what the process looks like from start to finish, whether you offer warranties, and what signs indicate they need this service.

A homeowner reading your drain cleaning page should finish it knowing what to expect if they call you. They should understand the typical cost range, the timeline, and what happens during the service. This depth does two things: it ranks better because Google rewards comprehensive content, and it converts better because informed homeowners are more confident picking up the phone.

Separate residential from commercial

If you serve both residential and commercial customers, don’t mash them onto the same page. A homeowner with a clogged kitchen drain doesn’t care about your commercial grease trap cleaning capabilities. A property manager doesn’t want to scroll past residential content to find commercial pricing.

Separate pages for residential and commercial services improve relevance for both audiences and let you target different keyword sets. “Residential drain cleaning Dallas” and “commercial drain cleaning Dallas” are different searches with different intent.

The residential page can focus on common household problems, typical costs for homeowners, and your process for working in someone’s home. The commercial page can focus on maintenance contracts, after-hours availability, and compliance requirements.

Add location-specific content

Generic service descriptions rank for generic searches, which is to say they barely rank at all. Location-specific content signals to Google that your page is relevant for searches in a particular area.

Reference local specifics wherever natural. Common issues in the area (hard water, expansive soil, aging infrastructure), neighborhoods you serve, local building codes or permit requirements, and water quality data all demonstrate genuine local expertise.

“Dallas homes built before 1980 often have cast iron drain pipes that corrode from the inside. We use camera inspections to assess pipe condition before recommending repair or replacement.”

That sentence is impossible to fake and impossible to copy-paste across 20 city pages. It proves you work in Dallas and understand the specific challenges homeowners face there.

Our service area pages template provides a complete framework for building location-specific content that ranks without getting flagged as duplicate.

Include schema markup

Schema markup is structured data you add to your page’s code that tells search engines exactly what your page is about. For service pages, LocalBusiness and Service schema help Google understand your business name, address, service area, services offered, and review ratings.

Schema doesn’t directly boost rankings, but it makes your listing richer in search results. A search result showing your star rating, price range, and availability gets more clicks than a plain blue link.

As AI-powered search becomes more prevalent, schema becomes even more important. AI systems like Google’s AI Overviews and ChatGPT rely heavily on structured data to understand and recommend businesses. Pages with proper schema markup are more likely to be cited in AI-generated answers.

Common mistakes that kill rankings

One page for all services

A single “Services” page listing everything you do tells Google nothing about any individual service. You rank for none of them instead of ranking for all of them.

Every major service deserves its own page. An HVAC contractor should have separate pages for AC repair, AC installation, heating repair, furnace installation, duct cleaning, and maintenance agreements. Each page targets different keywords and captures different search intent.

Duplicate content across locations

If you serve 10 cities and create 10 identical service pages with only the city name swapped, Google will pick one to rank and ignore the rest. We covered this in depth in our content that ranks guide.

Each location page needs genuinely unique content. Reference local landmarks, neighborhoods, housing stock, and specific challenges. This takes more work but produces pages that actually rank across your entire service territory.

Ignoring mobile

60%+ of home service searches happen on mobile. A service page that looks great on desktop but requires pinching and scrolling on a phone loses more than half its potential visitors before they read a word.

Test every service page on your phone. Can you read the text without zooming? Can you tap the phone number to call? Can you fill out the form with your thumb? If any answer is no, fix it before worrying about anything else.

No clear call-to-action

Every service page should end with a specific next step. Not “Contact Us” but “Schedule Your Drain Cleaning Today” or “Get a Free AC Repair Estimate.” Match the CTA to the service on the page.

Include your phone number (clickable), a short form, and your business hours. Some contractors add a secondary CTA like “Not sure what’s wrong? Call us for a free diagnosis” for visitors who aren’t ready to book but might convert with a softer ask.

The ranking timeline

Service pages don’t rank overnight. A new page on a new website might take 3-6 months to start showing up for competitive keywords. A new page on an established site with existing authority can rank within weeks for less competitive terms.

The factors that accelerate ranking include your site’s existing domain authority, the quality and depth of your content, internal links from other pages on your site pointing to the service page, external links from directories, citations, and other websites, your Google Business Profile linking to your website, and consistent review generation.

Understanding the local SEO ranking factors for 2026 helps you prioritize what to work on first.

Publish your service pages and then improve them over time. Add a section answering a new question homeowners ask. Update pricing annually. Add photos from recent jobs. Google rewards pages that are maintained and updated over pages that are published and forgotten.

Measuring what works

After publishing, track three metrics for each service page.

Search impressions in Google Search Console show whether Google is finding and displaying your page. If impressions are zero after 60 days, something is wrong with indexing or keyword targeting.

Click-through rate shows whether your search listing is compelling enough to earn clicks. Below 3% means your title tag or meta description needs work.

Conversion rate on the page itself tells you whether the content and CTA are working. If people land on the page but don’t call or fill out a form, the page needs stronger trust signals, clearer pricing, or a more prominent call-to-action.

A well-written service page targeting “AC repair [your city]” should generate consistent traffic and leads for years with minimal maintenance. It’s one of the highest-ROI marketing investments a contractor can make, and the industry-specific strategies on our site can help you tailor the approach to your trade.