You've got a website. It looks decent. Maybe you even paid good money for it. But your phone isn't ringing, your inbox is quiet, and you're wondering what the point of it all is.
Here's the thing — most small business websites aren't *bad*. They're just missing a few critical pieces that turn visitors into actual paying customers. And the frustrating part? These are all fixable.
I've built and audited dozens of websites for small businesses, and the same five problems come up again and again. Let's go through each one, why it matters, and what you can do about it right now.
1. You Don't Have Clear Calls to Action
This is the big one. You'd be amazed how many business websites are basically digital brochures — they tell people what the business does, but never actually ask the visitor to *do* anything.
Why it matters: If someone lands on your site and there's no obvious next step, they'll leave. It's that simple. Studies show that a single, clear call to action can increase conversions by over 370%. People need to be told what to do next.
Real example: I once looked at a plumber's website that had five pages of information about their services, qualifications, and history — but not a single "Get a Quote" or "Call Now" button above the fold. The only phone number was buried in the footer in tiny text.
The fix: Every page on your site should have one primary action you want the visitor to take. "Get a Free Quote," "Book a Call," "Message Us on WhatsApp" — whatever makes sense for your business. Put it in a button. Make it big. Put it at the top of the page *and* at the bottom. Don't be shy about it — you're not being pushy, you're being helpful.
2. Your Site Isn't Properly Optimised for Mobile
Over 60% of all web traffic now comes from mobile devices. Google has been using mobile-first indexing since 2023, which means Google literally looks at the mobile version of your site *first* when deciding where to rank you.
Why it matters: If your site is awkward to use on a phone — tiny text, buttons too close together, horizontal scrolling — you're losing more than half your potential customers before they even read a word. A study by Google found that 53% of mobile users abandon a site that takes longer than 3 seconds to load.
Real example: A local café owner told me they were getting decent traffic from Google but almost no enquiries. When I pulled up their site on my phone, the menu was a PDF that required pinching and zooming to read, and the "Contact Us" form was broken on mobile. They were effectively invisible to the majority of their visitors.
The fix: Pull your website up on your phone right now. Try to do everything a customer would do — find your number, read your services, fill in a form. If anything is annoying or broken, that's your priority. If you're using a website builder, make sure you're previewing and editing the mobile version separately. If you've got a developer, tell them mobile is the primary experience, not an afterthought.
3. You're Invisible on Local Search
When someone searches "electrician near me" or "best coffee shop in Manchester," Google decides who shows up based on local SEO signals. If you haven't set these up, you might as well not exist for local searches.
Why it matters: 46% of all Google searches have local intent. And 76% of people who search for something local on their phone visit a business within 24 hours. That's not vague future traffic — that's someone ready to spend money *today*.
Real example: A dog groomer I worked with had a lovely website but hadn't claimed their Google Business Profile. They were nowhere on Google Maps, had no reviews showing up in search, and their address wasn't consistent across directories. A competitor with a worse website but a properly optimised Google profile was getting all the local traffic.
The fix: Start with the basics:
- Claim and complete your Google Business Profile — fill in every single field, add photos, and post updates regularly
- Get your NAP consistent — that's Name, Address, Phone number. Make sure it's identical everywhere: your website, Google, Facebook, Yell, any directory you're listed on. If your registered office differs from where you actually operate, use your operating address on Google and your site — that's the one customers care about. The registered office can sit in your legal footer separately
- Ask for reviews — after every good job, send the customer your Google review link. Reviews are one of the strongest local ranking signals
- Add local keywords to your site — don't just say "we offer plumbing services." Say "we offer plumbing services in South Manchester and Stockport"
4. Your Website Is Too Slow
Page speed isn't just a nice-to-have. It directly impacts whether people stay on your site and whether Google ranks you. According to Google, as page load time goes from 1 second to 3 seconds, the probability of a visitor bouncing increases by 32%. From 1 to 5 seconds? That jumps to 90%.
Why it matters: A slow website signals "unprofessional" to visitors, even if they can't articulate why. They just feel it. And Google uses Core Web Vitals — a set of speed and responsiveness metrics — as a ranking factor. So a slow site gets punished twice: visitors leave *and* Google pushes you down.
Real example: A tradesman's site I audited was loading in about 8 seconds on mobile. The culprit? A 4MB hero image that hadn't been compressed, three unused JavaScript libraries left over from a theme, and no caching configured. After optimising, we got it down to 1.8 seconds. His enquiry rate doubled within a month.
The fix:
- Compress your images — use WebP format where possible, and never upload a 4000px wide photo for a thumbnail. Tools like Squoosh or TinyPNG make this easy
- Check your speed — run your site through PageSpeed Insights. It's free and tells you exactly what's slowing things down
- Remove what you're not using — unused plugins, heavy sliders, analytics scripts you forgot about. Every bit of code your site loads is time added
- Enable caching — if you're on WordPress, a caching plugin like WP Super Cache takes five minutes to set up and makes a noticeable difference
5. You Have No Social Proof or Testimonials
People trust other people more than they trust businesses. It's human nature. If your website doesn't show any evidence that real humans have used your service and been happy about it, visitors have no reason to trust you over the next search result.
Why it matters: 93% of consumers say online reviews influence their purchasing decisions. And it's not just about having reviews somewhere on the internet — they need to be visible *on your website* where the buying decision is being made.
Real example: Two roofers in the same area, similar prices, similar services. One had a testimonials section on their homepage with photos, names, and specific details ("Replaced our flat roof in two days, cleaned up perfectly"). The other had nothing. Guess which one was fully booked three months ahead?
The fix:
- Add testimonials to your homepage — not hidden on a separate page nobody clicks. Right there, front and centre
- Use real names and specifics — "Great service, 10/10" is weak. "Dave re-tiled our bathroom in three days and it looks incredible" is powerful
- Show Google reviews — embed your Google reviews or link directly to them. It adds credibility because people know those reviews are verified
- Add case studies or before/after photos — if your work is visual (trades, design, landscaping), show it. Nothing builds trust faster than proof
The Bottom Line
None of these five things require a complete website rebuild. They're practical, targeted fixes that can genuinely transform how many customers your website brings in. The difference between a website that sits there doing nothing and one that actively generates leads usually comes down to exactly these details.
If you're not sure where your site stands, try auditing it yourself using the points above. Check it on your phone, time how fast it loads, count how many clear calls to action you can see, and ask yourself whether a stranger would trust your business based on what's on the page.
And if you'd rather have someone take a proper look and sort it for you — that's what I do at Axel Up. No pressure, no jargon, just honest advice on what's working and what's not.
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