Home Services Launch Playbook

Who this is for

Owners of new or newly online trade and home services businesses: plumbing, electrical, roofing, cleaning, landscaping and similar.

Before you start

• The list of services you offer and the ones you do not, so pages never promise work you turn down.
• The towns or neighbourhoods you cover, as you would describe them to a customer.
• Licences, insurance and safety information you are able to state publicly.
• Photos of your own work that you have permission to publish.

Step 1

Plan services and areas

Decide which service pages to build and which questions each one should answer.

1. 01Write one line per service describing the job, the usual signs that a homeowner needs it and what you do on a visit.
2. 02List the questions customers ask on the phone before booking: cost factors, timing, preparation, safety.
3. 03Decide whether a separate page per area adds real local detail; if not, cover the areas on the service page instead.
4. 04Choose a first set of guides that answer the most common questions behind your main service.

Step 2

Create useful local pages

Write pages a homeowner would find useful even if they never call you.

1. 01Write a page per service explaining the work, what affects the price and how to prepare for the visit.
2. 02Write guides that help a homeowner judge urgency and know when a problem needs a professional.
3. 03Include genuinely local detail where it exists: building types, local regulations, seasonal issues in your area.
4. 04State plainly what you cannot help with, and when a homeowner should contact somebody else.

Step 3

Publish and connect the pages

Make sure each page can be reached from the homepage and from the guides that lead to it.

1. 01Publish service pages first, then guides, linking each guide to the service it relates to.
2. 02Keep your business name, address and phone number consistent across your site and listings.
3. 03Link to your service area and contact details from every guide.
4. 04Add a guide on a regular schedule, prompted by the questions you hear that week.

Step 4

Measure enquiries, not only visits

Connect what people read with the jobs they book.

1. 01Ask new customers how they found you and note which page or guide they mention.
2. 02Check which queries your pages appear for in your search console, especially area names.
3. 03Update service pages when your prices, coverage or methods change.
4. 04Retire or merge guides that cover the same question twice.

Common pitfalls

• Area pages that differ only by the town name. They add pages without adding anything a reader can use.
• Advice that encourages homeowners to attempt unsafe work. Say when a job needs a qualified professional.
• Stock photos presented as your own work.
• A phone number or address on the website that does not match your business listings.

Where Opus Rank helps

Tutorials for the parts of this plan you can do in Opus Rank.

• Content language and region

  Write for the region you serve, with its spelling and conventions.

• Create an article outline

  Agree the structure of a service guide before it is written.

• Add internal links

  Find links between your guides and your service pages.

• Publish an article to your CMS

  Send each reviewed page to your website through a connected CMS.

Related playbooks

• Online Store Launch Playbook
• Consultancy Launch Playbook
• SEO Agency Service Launch Playbook