Why your website gets no enquiries (and what to fix first)

The website looks great. It cost money, took months and, according to Google Analytics, it even gets visits. The problem is that almost nobody gets in touch. And the usual conclusion is the worst one possible: we need more traffic. More ads, more posts, more SEO.

Sending more traffic to a website that doesn't convert is like getting more people into a shop where nobody can find the till. Before bringing in more people, it's worth understanding why the ones already arriving leave.

1. Nobody can tell what you do in five seconds

People decide almost instantly whether they're in the right place. If the top of the page says "Integrated solutions for your success", nobody knows whether you're a dentist, a consultant or a cleaning company. Say what you do, for whom and where, in the words your client would use. Save the creativity for later.

2. Your contact details are hidden

If people have to hunt for your phone number in the footer or open a menu to find the button, many give up. The next step should be visible at the top and repeated down the page, especially on mobile. One clear button is worth more than three discreet ones.

3. The form feels like an interrogation

Name, email, phone, company, job title, budget, how you heard about us, your grandmother's tax number. Every extra field is another reason to give up. Ask only for what you need to reply. For many service businesses, a name, a contact and a message are enough. And if your clients prefer WhatsApp, let them use WhatsApp.

4. There's no hint of price

You don't need to publish a price list. But with no indication at all, people on a tight budget are afraid to ask, and people with a generous one can't tell whether you're good enough. A range, a "from" price or an explanation of how pricing works gets many people unstuck.

5. There's no proof

Saying you're the best convinces nobody. Showing it does: named testimonials, case studies with before and after, Google reviews, photos of real work, client logos when you're allowed to use them. People who don't know you need to see that others like them have already trusted you.

6. On mobile, it's a different story

Most visits to service business websites come from phones. And many websites were signed off on a big screen, in a meeting, without anyone opening them on a phone with their thumb. Tiny text, buttons that don't respond first time, menus that cover everything, pages that take forever on mobile data.

7. The website talks about you, not the client

"We are a company founded in 2008 with a dynamic team." The client doesn't care, at least not at first. They want to know whether you solve their problem, how it works and what it costs. Talk about the problem first, then the solution, and only then about yourself.

8. It's the wrong traffic

Sometimes the website is fine and the problem is further upstream. Visits from other countries, from searches unrelated to your service, from badly targeted ads. A thousand wrong visits are worth less than fifty right ones. Before touching the website, check where people come from and what they were looking for.

The ten-minute test

Pick up your phone, turn off the wifi and open your website as if you were a client who had never heard of you. Time it:

• Within five seconds, can you tell what the business does and for whom?
• Within fifteen seconds, can you find how to get in touch without scrolling around?
• Can you roughly tell what it will cost, or how the price is worked out?
• Is there any proof that other people were happy?
• Can you send a message in under a minute?

Then ask two or three outsiders, not family, to do the same while you watch. Don't explain anything. Wherever they hesitate is where your clients give up.

An example

A holiday rental in Tavira had around 1,500 visits a month and almost no direct bookings. The top of the page was a drone video with no text, the booking button only appeared at the bottom and the form had nine fields. They put a line at the top with the type of accommodation and the distance to the beach, kept an availability button visible at all times and cut the form down to dates, name and contact. Traffic didn't change. Direct requests went up enough to pay for the changes in the first month of summer.

What to fix first

Don't rebuild the whole website. Fix things in the order people give up: first the message at the top, then the contact button, then the form, then the proof. Measure for a few weeks and only then decide whether you need more traffic. Most of the time, you find out you didn't.