Why Your Best Work is Currently Invisible (And How to Fix It)
I see this every single week with Brisbane business owners. A landscape gardener in Ashgrove or a boutique accountant in the CBD spends hours writing a helpful guide or taking great photos of a finished project. They post it on their website, wait for the phone to ring, and… nothing happens.
The reality is that putting something on your website and hoping for the best is like printing a thousand flyers and leaving them in your garage. Nobody sees them, so nobody calls you.
To grow your business, you need to get your message in front of people who don't know you exist yet. In marketing circles, they call this 'content syndication'. To you and me, it just means taking your best stuff and putting it on other people’s websites and platforms so you can get more enquiries without having to create brand-new material every day.
However, most small businesses get this completely wrong. They waste time on the wrong sites, post things that look like spam, or pay for 'reach' that doesn't actually result in a single phone call.
Here are the biggest mistakes I see Brisbane businesses making when trying to spread their message, and what you should do instead to actually see a return on your investment.
Mistake 1: Posting on Sites Your Customers Don't Visit
I’ve spoken to tradies who spend money to have their articles featured on national 'business news' sites. They think it sounds impressive. But let’s be honest: is a homeowner in Chermside looking for a plumber going to be reading Australian Financial Review updates on a Tuesday morning to find one? Probably not.
Data shows that local relevance beats national reach every single time for a small business. If you are a local service provider, your 'syndication' should be local.
The Fix: Look for local community hubs, industry-specific directories, or Brisbane-focused lifestyle blogs. Getting featured in a local Northside community group or a QLD-specific industry portal will drive more actual phone calls than a generic news site ever will. You want to get your business in front of more people who are actually in your service area.
Mistake 2: Being a 'One-Hit Wonder' (The Consistency Problem)
Many business owners try this once, don't get 50 calls in twenty-four hours, and give up. They say, "I tried posting my project photos on that local site and it didn't work."
Marketing is about staying top-of-mind. Most people need to see your business name five to seven times before they trust you enough to pick up the phone. If you only show up once, you’re forgotten by lunchtime.
The Fix: You need a system where your best work is shared regularly. If you have a great set of 'before and after' photos, they shouldn't just live on your website. They should be shared on local business directories, community forums, and industry pages over several months. Using photos and videos from clients is one of the most cost-effective ways to do this because the content is already 'real' and trustworthy.
Mistake 3: Sounding Like a Corporate Robot
If you take an article from your website and post it elsewhere, but it reads like a dry textbook, people will scroll right past it. People buy from people. In Brisbane, we value a straight-talker.
I once worked with a pool builder in Carindale who was posting technical specs about pH levels and concrete curing times on local forums. Nobody cared. We changed his approach to focus on "How to keep your pool clear during a Brisbane summer storm." The enquiries flooded in because he solved a specific problem for local people.
The Fix: Stop trying to sound 'professional' and start being helpful. If you’re sharing your content on other platforms, make sure it answers a question your customers actually ask. If you stop writing random blogs and start sharing solutions to common local problems, you’ll find that people are much more likely to click through to your site or call your office.
Mistake 4: Not Having a Clear 'Next Step'
This is the most expensive mistake you can make. You successfully get a local blog to feature your work. Thousands of people see it. But at the end of the post, there’s no clear instruction on what to do next.
You’ve spent time or money to get their attention, and then you just let them walk away.
The Fix: Every time your content appears on another site, it must have a clear 'Call to Action'. It shouldn't be "Visit our website for more info." It should be: "Click here to get a free quote for your Brisbane renovation." "Call us today to fix your leaking tap." "Download our free checklist for first-time home buyers in QLD."
The Cost of Getting it Right vs. Getting it Wrong
Let's talk numbers, because that's what matters.
The Wrong Way: You pay a 'marketing agency' $1,000 a month to post your links on random 'high authority' websites that have nothing to do with Brisbane. You get zero calls. Total loss: $12,000 a year. The Right Way: You spend a few hours a month (or hire a local specialist) to place your best project case studies and helpful tips on 3-4 local Brisbane platforms and industry sites.
Within 3 to 6 months, you’ll start seeing 'referral traffic' in your numbers—people coming to your site from those specific links. More importantly, you’ll start hearing people say, "I saw your work on [Local Site]" when they call you.
What Should You Do First?
If you want to start getting your business in front of more people without spending all day on a keyboard, follow these three steps:
1. Identify your 'Winners': Look at your website. Which page or project gets the most compliments? Which photo makes people say "Wow"? That is the content you should be sharing elsewhere. 2. Find 3 Local 'Hangs': Where do your customers spend time online? Is it a local Facebook community group? A Brisbane trade directory? A specific QLD property blog? 3. Ask for the Feature: Reach out to the owners of those sites. Say, "I’ve got a really helpful guide/set of photos that your readers would love. Can I share it on your site with a link back to mine?" Many will say yes because they need content just as much as you need customers.
A Realistic Timeline for Results
This isn't an overnight fix. If you start today, here is what you can realistically expect:
Month 1: You'll spend time finding the right places to share your work and reaching out to them. Month 2: Your first few 'features' go live. You might see a small bump in website visitors. Month 4-6: As you appear in more places, your brand becomes familiar. This is when the "I've seen you guys everywhere" comments start, and the phone calls become more frequent.
Stop Wasting Money on 'Invisible' Content
Most Brisbane business owners are sitting on a goldmine of photos, advice, and stories that could be bringing in new customers. They just don't have a plan to get that gold in front of the right people.
Don't let your hard work go to waste on a website that nobody visits. Start putting your best stuff where your customers are already looking. It’s the fastest way to grow your business without increasing your workload.
Want to get more phone calls without the headache of doing it yourself? At Local Marketing Group, we help Brisbane businesses get their name in front of the right people at the right time. We don't care about 'likes' or 'shares'—we care about your phone ringing.
Contact Local Marketing Group today and let’s get your business the attention it deserves.