A home page obviously, a contact us page of course, what about a privacy policy page, should you have one of them on your website? Not sure?
No problem, because I’m going to tell you what pages you should consider having on your small business website and what you should put on them.
If they’ve never heard of you before and clicked on your page from a Google result, it is the opportunity to make a good impression and make those visitors want to do business with you.
Here is a quick test for you that demonstrates the power of your home page.
Between these two handymen websites which one would you most likely call to repair anything in your house?
The one on the top of course. Does this mean this handyman is better than this one?
Maybe not, but that is an assumption a lot of people will make based on the home page alone.
A short description of some of your most popular services.
Some testimonials to establish credibility and trust.
Think of your home page as a shop front providing a glance of what can be found on the rest of your website.
For more information on how to create the perfect home page I recommend you watch my video “how to create the perfect home page” where I cover this topic in great depth.
Let’s move on to the next page
Just like for your home page I recommend you add a headline which includes your targeted keywords followed by a short summary of your services or products overall.
Then list each and every one of them along with an image that showcases them.
If you are a service based type of business ideally you want images of you or a member of your team in action which will be unique to you.
Describe each service in a few lines. Don’t limit yourself to explaining what the service is about.
Think about including unique benefits in the description itself clients can get when they hire you such as, no call out fees or work guaranteed for 12 months…
Look at amazon product pages they are filled with tons of details providing everything you need to know about a product you are intrested in.
If you are a service type of business the recommendations are the same.
Just like on other pages, add an image that visually represent the service you provide.
Add a headline which includes your targeted keyword. Add a brief summary of the service itself.
Add some of the unique selling points attached to the service. Add a service specific price list.
Add some examples of work you have done recently along with some genuine customer testimonials to convey you’re good at what you do.
Add an FAQ section that answers any query visitors may have and anything else you think will be useful to potential customers.
The trick here is to include keyword rich relevant content which will help you rank in Google search results for the products or services you provide.
Your full address, your phone number, an email address, your opening and closing times and a contact form.
Don’t go mad with the form though, 3 to 4 fields should be more than enough.
Also, add your Google My Business Map to help people understand where you are located in relation to them or which area you serve.
If you don’t know how to do this watch my video, how to add a Google map to your website.
In this example this business also includes a Book now button on the page which I think is a good idea.
Since social media profiles are extremely popular think of including links to them in there too.
The idea here is to list all the many possible ways visitors might want to get in touch since everybody has different preferences.
If you do have a form and capture email addresses or other personal data here is another page you must add on your website.
Use a free privacy policy generator.
Here is a cool article that lists 12 of the most popular ones you can use .
They all more or less work the same way.
All you need to do is fill in your business details.
The privacy policy generator will do the rest and spit out a tidy privacy policy specific to your business.
All you need to do is create a page and copy and paste the content.
Once you’re done, add a link to your privacy policy page in your footer which should be on all pages which is where people would expect to find these kind of links.
I quite like this one as it super simple to use.
Just enter your company’s name, your website name and the url of your site them click on next and all the heavy lifting will be done for you.
This generator even produces an HTML version which you can integrate directly on your site.
Once you’ve create a page you should also add a link to it in your footer across all of your pages.
Let’s move on to our next page.
Talk about who is behind the company.
Give a little bit of history.
Mention awards you may have received. Show the faces behind the team.
Describe what your company stands for and tell your visitors what makes you different from your competitors.
Mention any quirky or amusing details that may be worth talking about.
Make this page as compelling as you can.
Think about it as if you were describing yourself to someone you’ve never met before.
This is the chance to create a bond with your audience. Let’s now talk about another type of page you need on your website.
If you run a brick and mortar type of business and have multiple stores, creating location pages is easy, you just build a page for each store location making sure you describe what can be found there, who the team members are, where the store is located etc…
If you only have one brick and mortar business you won’t need any location pages.
Instead use you home page in which you can refer to the city you serve by adding your location keyword as part of the content.
Now, if you are a service area type of business such as a window cleaner or a plumber things become a little bit more complex.
You clearly want to be found in Google for loads of locations and might think that by creating tons of location pages you will be found in search results for those locations you are targeting.
Sadly you couldn’t be further from the truth.
Pick around 5 areas near where your business is located and create dedicated pages for them.
Add relevant content to the area you are targeting such as jobs you have completed there, testimonials from the locals etc…
This will give you a much better chance to rank for multiple locations.
For more information on this topic I suggest you watch my video “How to Rank in Google for multiple locations”
Let’s now talk about one last page I think most small website should have.
Here is a simple example of a price page I have built for one my clients website.
It is the 4th most popular page on the entire site.
Just build one already!
That’s it, this was the last must-have page I recommend you need on your website, regardless of the vertical you are working in.
There is one more page you might want to consider depending on your business type.
Choosing what pages to create for your website can be an overwhelming decision as they are so many factors at play.And while most of you will focus on the pretty side of things such as choosing pictures and colours, there is little consideration for how well your pages will perform in Google search results which is a great oversight and should be at the forefront of you process. To help you, I’m going to run through the list of pages I think you should include on your website and tell you what type of content you should consider adding to them so they rank in Google. Let’s start with the most obvious one.
Your Home page
For 90% of small business websites, the home page is the most important one because- It’s likely to be the most visited page of your site
- It’s the page where most other websites will link to making it your most valuable page to rank in Google search results
- It’s also the first page potential customers will come across.
If they’ve never heard of you before and clicked on your page from a Google result, it is the opportunity to make a good impression and make those visitors want to do business with you.
Here is a quick test for you that demonstrates the power of your home page.
Between these two handymen websites which one would you most likely call to repair anything in your house?
The one on the top of course. Does this mean this handyman is better than this one?
Maybe not, but that is an assumption a lot of people will make based on the home page alone.
What content should you put on your home page?
A compelling headline that describes what you do, a short description about your business, a strong visual, preferably including a snapshot of yourself or your team at work. Your unique selling points describing why visitors should choose you instead of a competitor.A short description of some of your most popular services.
Some testimonials to establish credibility and trust.
Think of your home page as a shop front providing a glance of what can be found on the rest of your website.
For more information on how to create the perfect home page I recommend you watch my video “how to create the perfect home page” where I cover this topic in great depth.
Let’s move on to the next page
A service or product page
This is the page that defines the very reason you do business in the first place and should explain what services your provide or products you sale.What content should you put on your service or product page?
Just like for your home page I recommend you add a headline which includes your targeted keywords followed by a short summary of your services or products overall.
Then list each and every one of them along with an image that showcases them.
If you are a service based type of business ideally you want images of you or a member of your team in action which will be unique to you.
Describe each service in a few lines. Don’t limit yourself to explaining what the service is about.
Think about including unique benefits in the description itself clients can get when they hire you such as, no call out fees or work guaranteed for 12 months…
Remember this is another chance to convince visitors you are the best choice.Finally add a read more or find out more button which will link through to a landing page where people can find out more information about the specific service or product they are interested in. This leads me to the next type of page you should add to your website.
Dedicated service or product pages
Listing all the services or products you provide on one page is great but won’t be enough. Visitors nowadays want to make informed decisions before picking up their phone or pulling their credit card out. The more reassurance they get, the more likely they will part with their money. That’s why you must create dedicated pages for services and products on your websites as it will ease the visitors’ decision making process.Look at amazon product pages they are filled with tons of details providing everything you need to know about a product you are intrested in.
If you are a service type of business the recommendations are the same.
Just like on other pages, add an image that visually represent the service you provide.
Add a headline which includes your targeted keyword. Add a brief summary of the service itself.
Add some of the unique selling points attached to the service. Add a service specific price list.
Add some examples of work you have done recently along with some genuine customer testimonials to convey you’re good at what you do.
Add an FAQ section that answers any query visitors may have and anything else you think will be useful to potential customers.
The trick here is to include keyword rich relevant content which will help you rank in Google search results for the products or services you provide.
Each page you create will become an additional opportunity to drive more traffic to your site from people searching for exactly what you are selling.Remember to add a call to action, or two, on each page so people can get in touch. This leads me to the next page I want to talk about.
Contact us page
Most visitors nowadays expect to find your contact details in the footer of all your web pages so if you haven’t done it considering doing it as soon as possible. But visitors also expect to find a contact us link in the main navigation of your site, It’s almost a legacy type of behaviour. And since you want people to get in touch with you, a contact page is a must have page on any website.What content should you put on your contact us page?
I know it sounds pretty obvious but since you don’t want to miss out on any opportunity this is what I recommend you add to it.Your full address, your phone number, an email address, your opening and closing times and a contact form.
Don’t go mad with the form though, 3 to 4 fields should be more than enough.
Also, add your Google My Business Map to help people understand where you are located in relation to them or which area you serve.
If you don’t know how to do this watch my video, how to add a Google map to your website.
In this example this business also includes a Book now button on the page which I think is a good idea.
Since social media profiles are extremely popular think of including links to them in there too.
The idea here is to list all the many possible ways visitors might want to get in touch since everybody has different preferences.
If you do have a form and capture email addresses or other personal data here is another page you must add on your website.
A Privacy Policy page
Depending on where your business operates, Collecting or using personal data for non-personal / activities in relation to your website means you are legally required to provide information to individuals about how you use their data. This is done by providing relevant information via a privacy policy page.Legal matters can be complex so in an ideal world you would need to consider paying a data protection specialist to write the content of your privacy policy page.Since this is likely to cost a fair amount of money and probably a bit overkill for a small business website, here is a much cheaper alternative.
Use a free privacy policy generator.
Here is a cool article that lists 12 of the most popular ones you can use .
They all more or less work the same way.
All you need to do is fill in your business details.
The privacy policy generator will do the rest and spit out a tidy privacy policy specific to your business.
All you need to do is create a page and copy and paste the content.
Once you’re done, add a link to your privacy policy page in your footer which should be on all pages which is where people would expect to find these kind of links.
I don’t know about you but I always feel a little bit more reassured when I see a privacy policy link on a website, even more so if it’s on a small website.While we are discussing legal matters, let’s talk about the next page you need to add to your website.
Terms and conditions page
Having a terms and conditions page is not a legal requirement but I thoroughly recommend you add one to your site. On this page you can define and state the rules and guidelines visitors need to abide by when they using your website services. As part of the content, you will also need to state what happens to users should they violate those rules and guidelines.This may sound a bit much for a small or local website however, as your business grows and you release more functionalities, it will help reduce your business’s liability.This will be very handy If you decide to run a blog for instance where people can freely comment on your articles but some of them decide to be abusive. Just like the Privacy policy page, you would ideally need some professional legal help to craft a terms and conditions page however, just like the privacy policy page, you can use a free generator.
I quite like this one as it super simple to use.
Just enter your company’s name, your website name and the url of your site them click on next and all the heavy lifting will be done for you.
This generator even produces an HTML version which you can integrate directly on your site.
Once you’ve create a page you should also add a link to it in your footer across all of your pages.
Let’s move on to our next page.
About us page
The about us page is a very important page for any website large or small but I feel it carries even more weight on a small business website because as a local business owner you have the chance to be way more personable than a big brand can. Visitors are likely to relate to you more as you are part of their local community. They will want to know who they are likely to deal with before engaging with you.What content should you put on your contact us page?
If you are stuck and not quite sure about what you should add to your about us page here are a few pointers you can use.Talk about who is behind the company.
Give a little bit of history.
Mention awards you may have received. Show the faces behind the team.
Describe what your company stands for and tell your visitors what makes you different from your competitors.
Mention any quirky or amusing details that may be worth talking about.
Make this page as compelling as you can.
Think about it as if you were describing yourself to someone you’ve never met before.
This is the chance to create a bond with your audience. Let’s now talk about another type of page you need on your website.
Location pages
I call location pages, pages that are created to promote your business in certain areas within your city.If you run a brick and mortar type of business and have multiple stores, creating location pages is easy, you just build a page for each store location making sure you describe what can be found there, who the team members are, where the store is located etc…
If you only have one brick and mortar business you won’t need any location pages.
Instead use you home page in which you can refer to the city you serve by adding your location keyword as part of the content.
Now, if you are a service area type of business such as a window cleaner or a plumber things become a little bit more complex.
You clearly want to be found in Google for loads of locations and might think that by creating tons of location pages you will be found in search results for those locations you are targeting.
Sadly you couldn’t be further from the truth.
Proximity to a business is a key ranking factor.So if you are a family lawyer located in Sacramento and have created a page for family lawyer in Las Vegas, trust me, it’s highly unlikely your business will ever be found for anyone searching for a lawyer in las vegas. Your business is located way too far. Instead this is what I recommend you do.
Create effective location pages for service area type of businesses
Pick around 5 areas near where your business is located and create dedicated pages for them.
Add relevant content to the area you are targeting such as jobs you have completed there, testimonials from the locals etc…
This will give you a much better chance to rank for multiple locations.
For more information on this topic I suggest you watch my video “How to Rank in Google for multiple locations”
Let’s now talk about one last page I think most small website should have.
Cost or A price related page
Whenever I do keyword research for clients there is one theme that is common across all industries, costs and prices. Potential clients want to know how much it’s going to cost them to hire you. Yet I see so many websites with no price page. I believe the main reason behind this is because a lot of local business owners are a bit cagey about revealing their prices and feel it could scare people of. So they hold back and hope they will get calls from customers anyway which is when they can seal the deal. I think this is a bad idea.You want to be as transparent as possible. Customers will find out about your prices one way or the other so be upfront about it.And if they find out you were a lot more expensive than your competitors, anticipate some backlash such as a negative review for example. And nobody wants that.
Here is a simple example of a price page I have built for one my clients website.
It is the 4th most popular page on the entire site.
Just build one already!
That’s it, this was the last must-have page I recommend you need on your website, regardless of the vertical you are working in.
There is one more page you might want to consider depending on your business type.
