Guide
Website for plumbers, heating engineers and electricians: what to put on each service page
Give each job you want more of its own page, answer what customers ask before they ring, and leave off what Google treats as spam.
A website for a plumber, heating engineer or electrician needs one page for each job it wants more of. airstad local builds websites for trades in Surrey, Hampshire, West Sussex and London, with a page for each kind of work. This guide sets out what each service page needs, what to leave off, and how to show customers who is coming to the door.
Why does each job need its own service page?
Each job needs its own page because a customer searching for a boiler replacement wants a page about boiler replacement. A list of everything you do, with one line each, does not answer that search.
- Google’s advice on helpful content (opens in a new tab) asks whether a page gives a substantial, complete description of its topic.
- The same advice asks whether the page shows first-hand expertise, which a page written by the person who does the job can do.
- The trade-off is time, because every page has to be written and kept current. I would start with the two or three jobs that pay best.
What does a service page for a trade business need?
A service page needs eight things. The advice on titles comes from Google’s page on title links (opens in a new tab) , and the rest is our view of what customers ask before they ring.
- A title that names the job, such as “Boiler replacement in Woking | Your business name”. Google asks for a title that is short, describes the page and differs from every other page on the site.
- What the job involves, including what you do, roughly how long it takes and anything the customer needs to do, such as clearing the cupboard.
- Price guidance, which is a starting price or what makes the price go up or down.
- Proof you are qualified, such as your registration number and any manufacturer accreditations you can show on request.
- Photos of your own work on that job, finished and in progress, rather than stock images.
- Where you do the job, in a sentence naming the towns you cover, so a customer can see whether you come to them.
- The questions customers ask, which are the ones you answer on the phone every week, with your answers.
- One clear way to get in touch, which is your phone number and a short form, visible without scrolling to the bottom.
Where should you show your Gas Safe or electrical registration?
Show your registration on every page it applies to, so a customer can check it in seconds. The two trades have different registrations, set out below.
| Gas work | Electrical work | |
|---|---|---|
| Registration | Being on the Gas Safe Register (opens in a new tab) is a legal requirement for gas work. | Membership of a competent person scheme (opens in a new tab) , such as NICEIC or NAPIT, lets you certify your own work against the Building Regulations. |
| What customers can check | The Gas Safe ID card shows your registration number and the gas work you are qualified to do. Customers can also look you up on the register’s website. | Customers and letting agents look for the scheme, so name it on every page where it applies. |
| What to put on the page | Your Gas Safe number on every page about gas work. | The scheme name on every page about electrical work. |
What should you leave off a trade website’s service pages?
Leave off three things: a block of town names, copies of one page with the town swapped, and claims you cannot back up. The first two are examples in Google’s spam policies (opens in a new tab) .
| Leave off | Why | What to do instead |
|---|---|---|
| A block of town names | A paragraph listing every town you want to rank in is one of Google’s own examples of keyword stuffing. | Name the towns you cover for this job in one sentence. |
| Copies of one page with the town swapped | Pages made for each town that all send people to the same place are what Google calls doorway abuse. | Write a page about the town: the postcodes, the work you do there and the jobs you have done nearby. |
| Claims you cannot back up | “Number one in Surrey” or “the best electrician in town” invite the question of who says so. | Use a registration number, a review count or a photo of a finished job. |
How do you show customers who is coming to the door?
Put your name, how long you have done the work and a photo of you or your van on the site. Google’s advice on helpful content (opens in a new tab) asks whether it is self-evident to visitors who wrote the content.
A customer letting someone into their home wants to know who is coming. The website is often where they look first.
What is the first step to improving your service pages?
Open the page for the job you most want more of, or the page where it is mentioned, and check it against the eight points above. Whatever is missing is your first edit.
If you would rather have it done for you, that is how we build websites for trades : a page for each kind of work, written around the questions customers ask before they ring, with area pages for the towns you cover. You can see the result on the sites we have built .
Sources
- Google: creating helpful, reliable, people-first content (opens in a new tab)
- Google: influencing your title links in search results (opens in a new tab)
- Google: spam policies for web search (opens in a new tab)
- HSE: Gas Safe Register (opens in a new tab)
- GOV.UK: competent person schemes (opens in a new tab)
More guides
- How much does a website cost in the UK for a plumber?
- What UK agencies publish for a plumber's or electrician's website, what the price does and does not include, and what to check before you pay.
- Plumbing leads: what they cost, who else gets them, and how to own your own
- Where plumbing and heating leads come from, what each kind costs, which ones are shared with other plumbers, and what you keep when you stop paying.
- Google review rules for plumbers, heating engineers and electricians, on one page
- Ask every customer, offer nothing in return, and never write, filter or trade away a review. What Google's policy and UK law say about each common practice, with the source for every line.
- How to add your business to Google Maps: a complete Google Business Profile for plumbers, heating engineers and electricians
- How to get your business on Google Maps, and what a complete listing needs. Every part of it, what Google allows in each, and a ten-minute monthly check that keeps it right.
- How much does Checkatrade cost? Checkatrade, MyBuilder and Bark compared for plumbers, heating engineers and electricians
- How much Checkatrade costs, what MyBuilder and Bark charge a plumber, heating engineer or electrician, how each one charges, and why the price of a lead is not the price of a job.
- How to get more Google reviews: a guide for plumbers, heating engineers and electricians
- Ask every customer on the day, send one reminder, and never offer anything in return. What Google and UK law allow, what they rule out, and a routine that fits a busy week.