How Many Service Pages Should a Trade Website Have?

The most common mistake on trade websites is trying to rank a single homepage for everything. It mentions every service you offer, so Google does not know which search to send your way. Service pages fix this, but it raises an obvious question: how many do you actually need?

One Page Per Service

The rule is simple. Every distinct service you want to be found for gets its own page. If you are a plumber who does boiler repairs, bathroom installations, powerflushing and leak detection, that is four services and four pages.

Each page targets one specific search. Your boiler repair page is what shows up when someone searches "boiler repair Hull". Your bathroom installation page is what shows up for "bathroom fitter Hull". One page cannot do both jobs well.

What Each Page Should Contain

A service page is not a paragraph with a contact form. To actually rank and convert, it needs:

• A clear heading that matches what people search for
• A short explanation of the service and who it is for
• The areas you cover for that specific service
• Photos of that type of work where you have them
• Trust signals like accreditations or relevant qualifications
• A clear call to action: call, WhatsApp or enquiry form

The content should be genuinely useful. If a page is just three sentences copied with the service name changed, Google will treat it as thin content and it will not help you.

Do You Need Location Pages Too?

If you cover several distinct areas, yes. But only build pages for places you genuinely work in, and only if you can write something useful about each one.

A page that says "We provide plumbing services in Beverley" is thin and will not rank. A page that explains your typical response time in Beverley, the types of properties you work on there, and the services you offer locally is genuinely useful to both customers and Google.

The Difference Between Service and Location Pages

A service page is about what you do. A location page is about where you do it. Some businesses combine them into service-plus-location pages, like "boiler repair Beverley". This can work well when you have enough specific content for each combination, but it should not be done as a mass-generated template.

How to Start

If you are not sure where to start, list every service you offer on a piece of paper. That is your page list. Then list the main areas you cover. That tells you whether you need location pages as well.

Start with your three or four most important services and build proper pages for those. You can add more over time. A website with five well-written service pages will outperform one with thirty thin ones every time.

If you want help structuring your service pages properly, or a website built around the searches your customers actually make, get in touch.

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