7 Hot Tips for Writing a Top-Converting Services Page [VIDEO]
Want to know the secrets to writing a top-converting services page?
Unlike product pages, which are all about landing the sale, service pages are different.
It’s all about getting the lead.
With that in mind, here are seven smart strategies for capturing leads with savvy SEO copywriting.
Watch the video for all the juicy information, or check out a summary of the tips below:
1. Focus on benefits, not features
Don’t bury your benefit statements! It’s important to address how your service can specifically help your prospect. For instance, will your service save your customers money? Help them make more money? Streamline their operations? Tell them!
Features are important– but it’s your unique sales proposition (U.S.P.) and benefit statements that will grab your prospect’s interest and make them contact you. Merely listing features makes you sound the same as everyone else providing the same or a similar service. Who wants that?
2. Consider persona-specific landing pages
Creating landing pages specifically addressing your main targeted audiences is a powerful strategy.
Constant Contact, an email platform, used to show vertical-specific landing pages targeted towards individual industry niches. I LOVE this approach. Why? Vertical-specific pages have very cool SEO and reader benefits.
From the SEO side, vertical-specific landing pages allow you to target highly specific keyphrases, for example [email marketing for real estate agents].
From the reader side, you can tie your writing back to your customer persona and drive home the “what’s-in-it-for-them” benefits. For instance, in the case of Constant Contact, people won’t just read about how cool email marketing is — instead, they’ll read an entire page focused on the benefits of email marketing for their industry. That’s a pretty powerful message!
3. Don’t write skimpy copy
67% of the B2B buyers’ journey is done digitally, according to Forrester Research. That means if your site offers skimpy information and little copy, you run the risk of prospects leaving your site and checking out another vendor. Remember, people won’t “just call” or send you an email. No solid services information = no sale.
4. Include solid, vertical-specific testimonials
Yes, testimonials are smart to have on your site as social proof — but they are only as credible as you make them. Whenever possible, use the full, real names of your testimonial clients rather than just initials. The latter can look fake (however real they might be) and could prove counter-productive.
5. Highlight your company’s overarching benefits, too
Besides individual, specific service benefits, you want to highlight the larger, big-picture benefits that your company has to offer on every single page of your website.
Do you offer free, fast shipping? Does your company offer “white-glove” services, while your competitors offer a DIY solution? Shout your overarching benefits from the rooftops!
Boring B2B and B2C companies list technical features and facts, assuming that’s all their prospect wants (or needs) to know. Don’t be like those companies! In the words of Theodore Levitt from Harvard University, “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole.”
6. Pay close attention to your page Titles
Yes, Titles are very important to readers and for SEO purposes — and it’s crucial to write them right. If you create vague, non-descript Titles with broad keywords, such as “marketing services” or “web design,” you won’t see the positions you want — nor will you see much organic search traffic.
If your Titles are so-so, consider revisiting your keyphrase research and making some strategic tweaks. You may see a boost in page positions (and search traffic) if you do!
7. Consider conducting keyphrase research before you name your services
A cool-sounding, unique service name may seem edgy — but it may not be intuitively searchable. Naming your service something like “Revenue $ucce$$” when you offer “accounts payable services” may make your service hard to find online.
Some companies will conduct keyphrase research before naming a service. That way, they know what words people are using to search for what they offer — and they can consider using those search terms as part of the service name.
Looking for more how-to information? Learn how to write a killer home page and a revenue-driving product page!
Great post, Heather. I’ve used many of these tactics on my copywriting website and gotten great SEO mileage out of them! But plenty to rethink as well here!
Thanks, Sarah! Glad that you liked the post (and VERY happy that the SEO techniques are working for you, too!). :)
Thanks Heather! I love this video series, I’m currently working on rewriting copy for our B2B site and am learning a ton.
Fantastic! I’m so glad it’s helpful.
Wow, is it hard to rewrite the copy since you’re so “close” to it? I know you’ve worked there for awhile….
Hi Heather! I’d love to hear more about how to actually implement your #2 tip, about creating niche landing pages for your services. Do you call these niches out on the home page? If you serve several niches, couldn’t this get a little crowded? I’m off to check out the Constant Contact page now to see how they do it…
Hey, Beth!
All great questions! You know, I thought I had specifically blogged about that tip, but not in depth. Check out next Thursday’s post and I’ll reveal all. :) Thanks for your question!
Really great info,I bookmarked it with google +
Hey Heather,
Great tips. Things I had never thought of. A real treat this was listening to your advice. I have a tighter perspective to work from now. More of a focus and no skimping. To be honest I did not consider key words in the service. So many tips I’m taking away with me. Thank you.
Rachel.
Thank YOU, Rachel! I’m glad you enjoyed the post — I’ve considered recording more video posts, so I appreciate the feedback.
Have a great day!
:)
Thanks
I have recently just started writing vertical-specific landing pages, so here is to hoping that it eventually pays off considering the amount of time it takes to do so. Thanks Heather for the useful suggestions.
Very cool, Susan! Please let me know how it goes! :)