Why is your website not getting enquiries?

1. Are potential customers finding your website?

An enquiry needs a visitor first. Before changing the page, check how many people arrive and whether they were searching for the services you sell, in the suburbs you cover.

In Google Search Console’s Performance report, look at the last three months of search queries and the pages people clicked. If the site is more than a year old, compare it with the same three months last year. Search Console covers Google Search, so use website analytics to check other sources such as ads, social links and referrals.

• Few impressions: your pages rarely appear in the searches Google reports. Check that your homepage and service pages are indexed and name the services customers search for.
• Impressions but few clicks: inspect the queries, positions, page titles and descriptions. An average position worse than 10 (for example 14 or 25) means the page mostly shows on page two or lower, where few people click.
• Clicks for the wrong work: check whether your pages focus on services you no longer offer or locations you do not cover.

Small numbers are easy to overread. Three visits without an enquiry do not tell you the same thing as months of relevant traffic with no calls or messages. Check that your analytics is recording visits before treating an empty report as no visitors. Our local SEO checklist covers the service pages, business details and search checks to start with. If your business doesn’t appear in the map results at all, work through why a business isn’t showing on Google Maps first.

2. Can customers tell what you do and where you work?

Open the first page a customer would land on. Without scrolling, can you tell which services the business provides and the area it covers? A headline such as “Quality solutions you can trust” leaves the visitor to work that out.

Then check the service details. A customer looking for a switchboard upgrade needs different information from someone planning a new house. Explain the job, the type of property you work on and how to get a quote. Use our service-page outline and worked example if you need help rewriting that information.

Our plumber website page shows how to separate urgent repairs from planned jobs. The electrician website page covers service information, credentials and quote requests.

3. Have you given customers a reason to choose you?

“Great service” does not show what a job will look like. Show customers a job like theirs, who will do it and why they can trust you.

• Show relevant jobs. Add your own photos and explain what you did. A finished garden photo is more useful with a note about the paving, planting and access you had to work with.
• Identify the business. Make your business name, service area and contact details easy to find. Explain who will do the work.
• Use real credentials and feedback. Show relevant licences or qualifications accurately, and use genuine customer reviews with permission.

For bigger jobs such as renovations, landscaping and new builds, customers want to see a similar job before they call. Our pages on construction website design and websites for landscapers explain what to include alongside project photos.

4. Can someone use the site on their phone?

Use your own phone, preferably over mobile data as well as Wi-Fi. Start on a service page and try to make an enquiry.

• Can you read the service information without zooming in?
• Does the menu open, and can you close it again?
• Is the phone number easy to find, and does tapping it bring up the correct number?
• Can you reach the enquiry button without a popup covering it?
• Are the form fields labelled and easy to complete?
• Do the heading and phone number appear before the large images finish loading?

Offer a contact method that fits the job. A plumbing repair may start with a call. A garden makeover may suit a short form with the suburb, type of work and a message. Ask for four things: name, phone or email, suburb and a short description of the job. Save the detailed questions for the first call.

5. Does the enquiry actually reach your inbox?

A form can display “Thank you” even when its email does not arrive. Send a clearly labelled test enquiry through your website and follow it all the way through.

1. Fill it in like a customer.

   Use a real email address you can access. Submit once and check that the page confirms what happened. Try missing a required field too: the error should explain what to fix.

2. Check the receiving inbox.

   Look in the expected inbox and spam folder. Confirm that your name, phone number and full message arrived. If nothing appears, ask the person managing your website to trace the submission.

3. Try replying.

   Check that a reply goes to the customer’s address. If you send an automatic acknowledgement, check its wording and delivery as well.

Compare the enquiries you actually receive with any reports of form submissions. A click on “Send” is not proof that the form was accepted, an email arrived or a customer received a reply.

What should you fix first?

Use the 12-point homepage checklist to check your own page and keep a list of fixes. It organises your answers; it does not scan the website or replace a real enquiry test.

If the site no longer matches your services, service area or standard of work, a rebuild may make sense; use the website redesign checklist so you don’t lose email or search traffic in the switch. If the only confirmed problem is a broken form, fix that first. After any change, count enquiries for at least six weeks and compare them with the six weeks before, rather than judging it on one quiet day.