Website not getting leads? Why, and what to fix
A website that doesn’t bring in enquiries usually has one of two problems. Either not enough of the right people find it, or the people who find it don’t get in touch. The fixes are different, so start by working out which one you have.
First, find out which problem you have
You need two rough numbers: how many people visit the site, and how many of them get in touch.
- Google Search Console is free. It shows how often your site appears in Google, how many people click through and which searches brought them.
- Your website platform or analytics tool shows how many visits you get.
- Your inbox and phone show the enquiries. Ask new customers how they found you.
If almost nobody visits, start with the next section. If people visit but don’t get in touch, skip to the one after. If you can’t tell either way, setting up a way to measure it is your first fix.
If not enough people find you
You’re missing from the map results. For a local business, a free Google Business Profile puts you on Google Maps and in the local results when people search nearby. Make sure yours is claimed and accurate, with real photos and the areas you cover.
Your pages don’t say what you do and where. If your homepage title is just your business name, Google has little to go on. Each important page should say plainly what you do and the area you cover, in the words your customers use.
One page is trying to do everything. A single page that lists every service rarely ranks for any of them. Give each main service its own page.
Google hasn’t found your pages. In Search Console, use the URL inspection tool to check whether your key pages are indexed. Don’t rely on a “site:” search in Google, which only shows a sample.
Nobody links to you. Mentions and links from local directories, suppliers, trade bodies and local press help Google trust a site. Avoid paid link packages: they tend to do more harm than good.
If people visit but don’t get in touch
It isn’t clear straight away what you do and where. Visitors decide quickly whether they’re in the right place. The first screen should say what you do, where you do it and what to do next.
It’s slow on a phone. Plenty of people will find you on their phone, often in between other things. Test your site with PageSpeed Insights, then open it on your own phone using mobile data.
There’s no obvious next step. Give visitors one clear action, the same on every page: call, book or send an enquiry. Several competing buttons split their attention.
The form asks too much. Every extra box is another reason to give up. Ask only for what you need to reply.
It doesn’t answer the questions people ask before they call. Which areas do you cover? How soon can you start? What affects the price? How does it work? If the answers aren’t there, the next site they open might have them.
There’s no proof. Photos of real work, honest reviews and a few words about who you are do more than any slogan.
Enquiries go somewhere nobody checks. This one is easy to miss. Send an enquiry through your own form and see where it lands and how long it takes you to reply. A slow reply loses work the website has already won.
A quick check you can do today
- Open your site on your phone, using mobile data. Does it load quickly?
- Without scrolling, can you tell what the business does and where?
- Can you find how to get in touch within a few seconds?
- Fill in your own enquiry form. Where did it go? Did you get a confirmation?
- Search Google for your main service and your town. Where do you appear, if at all?
If any of these fail, that’s the first thing to fix.
When to get help
This is the work behind a website that wins work: pages that answer what buyers ask, load quickly on a phone and make the next step obvious, with enquiries landing where you’ll see them. If enquiries arrive but quotes then go quiet, read how to automate quote follow up.