What should a Singapore SME put in its service exclusions?

1. Separate exclusions from work that needs confirmation

Start with one service page and a blank working document. Write the exact offer at the top, then list the tasks someone might reasonably ask about before choosing that service. Use your approved operating scope as the reference. Do not copy a competitor’s exclusions or assume that a familiar industry phrase describes your own offer accurately.

Sort each task into three editorial categories: included in the stated service, available only after confirmation, or outside the service you undertake. Treat these as a writing framework, not legal definitions. A task awaiting an assessment should not be described as definitely included. Equally, do not call something unavailable if your team can genuinely assess it as a separate request.

Google’s helpful-content guidance asks whether readers learn enough to achieve their goal and whether a page provides a complete description of its topic. Google Search Central: helpful content. Our recommendation is to apply that principle to service boundaries: help someone decide whether to enquire, rather than merely adding more promotional text.

For each uncertain task, ask the responsible colleague one concrete question: what must be checked before we can say yes? Record the answer and the person authorised to approve it. Leave unresolved promises out of the published offer until that decision is made.

2. Give each boundary a task, condition and next step

Use this drafting pattern: name the task, state its status, explain any condition, and give a next step. Where there is no genuine alternative, say so plainly. Avoid a generic sentence such as “other work subject to approval” when you can identify the particular work and the information needed to assess it. This is our proposed editorial pattern, not a prescribed Google format.

Hypothetical example only: imagine a Singapore SME preparing a page for office shelving assembly. Its draft might say: “Assembly covers the shelving components specified in the agreed scope. Wall fixing requires a separate assessment of the proposed fixing location. Removal of existing shelving is outside this service. Tell us before booking if either task is needed.” These are invented scope decisions for illustration, not claims about any actual supplier or safety requirements.

Check the wording against the imaginary offer: does it distinguish assembly from wall fixing? Does it say what happens to old shelving? Does it tell the reader when to raise an exception? Use equivalent questions for your actual service, with answers approved by its owner.

Google encourages original information and substantial additional value rather than simply rewriting other sources. Google Search Central: helpful content. Apply that advice by publishing your own verified boundaries and decision process. Do not pad the section with exclusions irrelevant to the service.

3. Put qualifications beside the promise they limit

Place a short scope summary near the service introduction, then explain exceptions beside the relevant task. As an editorial rule, avoid making a broad promise at the top and relying on a distant disclaimer to narrow it. Rewrite the promise itself until it remains accurate when read on its own. Give the enquiry button an adjacent reminder if the customer must provide information before the request can be assessed.

For the hypothetical shelving page, replace “complete office shelving service” with a precise description of the assembly offer. Put the wall-fixing condition beside the assembly explanation, not solely in a footer. If a longer scope document exists, link to it using a descriptive label and keep the essential boundary on the service page itself.

Google advises making important content available as text and making pages discoverable through internal links in its guidance for AI features in Search. Google Search Central: AI features. Our practical recommendation is therefore to write the essential scope in readable page text rather than placing it only inside an image.

Check the introduction, task descriptions and enquiry form together. Ask whether any one of them still implies an excluded task is included. For translated versions, repeat this editorial comparison in each language and ask the business owner to confirm that the underlying service decisions match.

4. Approve the wording with a decision test

Before publication, give a colleague the draft without explaining the offer verbally. Ask them to answer four questions from the page alone: what is included, what is excluded, what needs confirmation, and what should the customer do next? Treat a guessed answer as an editing issue. Revise the relevant passage until the colleague can point to the sentence supporting their answer.

Then ask the service owner to approve each boundary. Keep a simple internal record containing the approved wording, its page location, the responsible person and the reason for the decision. This is a suggested maintenance practice, not a Google requirement. Revisit it when the actual offer changes or when an enquiry exposes an unanswered scope question. Do not invent a publication history or claim an expert reviewed the page unless that happened.

Google strongly encourages accurate authorship information and warns against fabricated creator profiles. Google Search Central: helpful content. If you name a reviewer, identify only the real person and their actual contribution.

Finally, judge the edit by clarity and operational accuracy. Do not treat this checklist as a promise of search exposure. Google says there are no special optimisations required for AI Overviews or AI Mode, and meeting its requirements does not guarantee crawling, indexing or serving. Google Search Central: AI features.

Should every service exclusion appear at the top of the page?

Our recommendation is to put the boundaries needed to understand the main offer near its introduction, then place detailed conditions beside the relevant tasks. First rewrite any headline that overstates the scope. Use the four-question decision test to check whether a reader can understand the offer without searching through unrelated text.

What should we write if a task is sometimes available?

Use a conditional statement approved by the service owner. Name the task, identify what must be assessed and explain how the customer should request confirmation. Avoid publishing a guaranteed outcome while that assessment is pending. If the team cannot yet define the condition, resolve it internally before adding the promise.

Will a service exclusions section guarantee an AI Search citation?

No. Google documents no special optimisation requirement for AI Overviews or AI Mode and says that compliance does not guarantee crawling, indexing or serving. Google Search Central: AI features. Treat this section as a way to explain your actual service clearly, rather than as a promised route to a citation.