Why a Slow Website is Killing Your Business (And Your Profit)

Look, I’m going to be straight with you.

If your website takes more than a few seconds to load, you aren’t just annoying people. You’re literally handing your customers over to your competitors.

I’ve sat across from plenty of business owners here in Brisbane who tell me, “But my site looks great!”

That’s nice. But if I’m a bloke looking for a plumber because my hot water system just exploded, I’m not waiting six seconds for your high-res hero image of a wrench to load. I’m hitting the back button and calling the next guy on the list.

In the marketing world, people get bogged down in technical nonsense. They talk about stuff that sounds like it’s from a sci-fi movie.

But you? You just want the phone to ring.

Here’s the honest truth about website speed, what actually makes you money, and why most of what you’ve been told is a waste of time.

The Three-Second Rule (It’s Actually Shorter Now)

We used to say you had three seconds. Now? It’s more like two.

Think about how you use your phone. You’re walking down the street, or you’re sitting on the couch during a footy ad break. You click a link. If that white screen stays there for more than a heartbeat, you’re gone.

When your site is slow, you’re paying for clicks that never even see your business. If you’re running ads, this is effectively like lighting twenty-dollar bills on fire.

I’ve seen businesses spend thousands on fancy designs, only to realise they’ve built a digital brick. It’s heavy, it’s slow, and nobody wants to carry it.

Why Google Cares (And Why You Should Too)

Google has one job: to give people what they want, fast.

If Google sends someone to your site and that person leaves immediately because it’s slow, Google notices. They think, “Right, that site’s rubbish. I won’t send anyone else there.”

Suddenly, your rankings drop. Your phone stops ringing.

It’s not just about being “fast.” It’s about being faster than the other guy. In a local market like Brisbane, if you’re a builder or an accountant, you don’t need to be the fastest site on the planet. You just need to be faster than the three other businesses your customer is looking at.

The Big Speed Killers (The Stuff You Can Fix)

Most of the time, your site is slow because of things that are incredibly easy to avoid.

1. Massive Images

That one photo is enough to kill your speed. You need to shrink those files. If you don’t, your visitors are basically trying to download a movie just to see a picture of your office.

2. Too Many "Gadgets"

Every single one of those things adds weight.

Unless that widget is directly helping you turn website visitors into customers, get rid of it. You want a lean, mean, money-making machine, not a digital Christmas tree.

3. Cheap Hosting

Spend the extra twenty bucks a month for decent hosting. It’s the cheapest marketing investment you’ll ever make.

What Actually Matters for Conversions?

People talk about "optimisation" like it’s magic. It’s not. It’s just about removing friction.

When a site loads fast, the user feels in control. They trust you more. It sounds weird, but a fast site feels professional. A slow site feels like a scam or a business that’s about to go bust.

Once they’re on the site, you need to make sure they know what to do. We talk a lot about how small website tweaks can be the difference between a bounce and a booking. Speed is just the first hurdle. If you clear that, you’re in the game.

The "Mobile First" Reality

Most of your customers are on their phones. This is where speed really bites you.

A site might load okay on your office computer with high-speed NBN. But what about the bloke on a job site with two bars of 4G?

If your site doesn't work on phones instantly, you’re losing half your market. Period. We’ve seen clients double their enquiries just by making their mobile site load one second faster. Not because they changed their offer, but because people actually got to see it.

My Honest Take: Don’t Chase 100/100

There are tools online that give your website a score out of 100.

Here’s a secret: You don’t need a 100.

You can spend thousands of dollars trying to get that last 5% of speed, and it won’t make you a single extra cent.

Get your site to a point where it feels "snappy." If you click a link and the page is there before you can blink, you’re doing fine. Don’t pay an agency five grand to shave half a millisecond off your load time. It’s a vanity project.

Instead, focus on the stuff that actually gets people to call you. For example, making sure your portfolio can win jobs by showing off your best work quickly, rather than hiding it behind a slow-loading gallery.

What Should You Do First?

If you’re worried your site is slow, here’s what I’d do if I were you:

1. Check it on your phone. Not on your Wi-Fi. Turn your Wi-Fi off, use your data, and try to load your site. Does it feel slow? If you’re getting bored waiting, your customers are too. 2. Look at your images. If you’ve got a gallery page, is it taking forever to load? That’s your culprit. 3. Ask your host. If you’re on a cheap plan, ask them what an upgrade looks like. Sometimes a $10 jump makes a world of difference.

The Bottom Line

Speed isn't about being a tech wizard. It’s about respect.

Respecting your customer’s time. Respecting the fact that they have a problem and they want you to solve it—now.

If you make them wait, you’re telling them you don’t really want their business.

At Local Marketing Group, we don’t care about fancy scores. We care about whether your website is making you money. If it’s slow, it’s not.

If you want someone to take a look at your site and tell you—honestly—if it’s holding you back, give us a shout. We’ll skip the jargon and get straight to the stuff that actually moves the needle.

No fluff. Just results.

Ready to get more from your website? Let’s have a chat.