Show where you work on your homepage

Key takeaways

Putting your service area on homepage hero text answers a question every local buyer asks first: 'do you cover me?'. Name the towns or region in the subheadline, list the main areas once lower down, and link to area pages only if you have real local content. A hidden area list costs you both good-fit and poor-fit enquiries.

• Name your area in the first screen, ideally the subheadline.
• List 5 to 10 main towns once, lower down, not 60 postcodes.
• Say what happens outside the area, honestly.
• Area pages only when each has real local content.

Why should a homepage show the service area?

A local buyer's first question is often 'do you cover me?'. If the homepage does not answer it, good-fit visitors hesitate and poor-fit visitors enquire anyway, wasting your time. Naming the area in the first screen is one of the cheapest homepage fixes for trades, clinics, cleaners and other local services.

• Why your homepage is not converting visitors into customers
• The five questions every homepage visitor needs answered

Where should the service area go on the homepage?

Put a short version in the subheadline or directly under the headline, such as 'across Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield'. Repeat it lower down with a list of the main towns, and in the footer with your address if customers visit you. Avoid hiding it in an image or a map with no text, because search engines and screen readers cannot read that.

• The homepage subheadline: where the explaining happens
• Where to put contact details on your website

How should you word a service area?

Use the place names customers use: towns and well-known districts, not postcode prefixes alone. Give a radius only if people understand it, such as 'within 20 miles of Norwich'. Say what happens outside the area, for example 'larger projects across East Anglia', so borderline visitors still enquire.

• Local SEO for a small business website

Do you need separate area pages?

Only when each page has genuinely local content: jobs done there, local reviews, travel times or local rules. Thin pages that swap a town name are treated by Google as low value. Most small firms are better served by one clear area statement on the homepage and a strong Google Business Profile.

• Website for multiple locations: when to restructure
• Google Business Profile clicks that land on your homepage

When should you not name an area?

Do not name an area if you sell nationally or online and location is irrelevant to buyers; it can make a national firm look small. In that case, state the delivery promise instead, such as 'UK-wide, next working day'.

• Show your availability on the homepage, honestly

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see with local trades: the area list sits on a 'Contact' page that few visitors open, and the phone rings with enquiries from 40 miles away while local visitors drift off. One line in the hero and a short town list fixes both.

• See client work
• Website Design & Development for UK businesses

Service area checklist

• Name the area in the first screen.
• Use towns customers recognise.
• List 5 to 10 main towns lower down in text.
• Say what happens outside the area.
• Keep address and area consistent with Google Business Profile.

• Mission statements on a homepage: why they rarely help
• 'Why choose us' sections that actually differentiate

Next step

Write one line that names your area the way customers would say it, and add it under your headline today.