Look, I’ve seen it a hundred times. A business owner spends five or ten grand on a shiny new website because they think the old one looks a bit dusty. They pick the colours their partner likes, choose a font that looks 'professional', and hit launch.
Then? Nothing. The phone doesn’t ring any more than it did before. Sometimes, it actually rings less.
That’s because they guessed. They treated their website like a piece of art instead of a tool to make money.
If you want more bookings and fewer tyre-kickers, you need to stop guessing. You need to test. In the fancy marketing world, they call this A/B testing. In the real world, it’s just called 'seeing what actually works'.
What is this testing stuff anyway?
It’s dead simple. You show one version of a page to half your visitors and a slightly different version to the other half. You see which one gets more people to call you or fill out your form. The winner stays, the loser gets binned.
Think of it like a menu at a pub. If you’re not sure if people want a $25 steak or a $32 wagyu burger, you put both on the specials board for a week. You check the till at the end of the night. That’s it. That’s the whole 'secret'.
Most agencies will try to make this sound like rocket science. It isn’t. It’s just about making sure you aren't overpaying for websites that don't actually do their job.
The Two Ways to Do This (And Which One You Need)
There are basically two ways to approach this. One is for big companies like Amazon or Qantas. The other is for you.
1. The 'Big Data' Approach
This is where you change the shade of blue on a button by 2% and wait for a million people to click it. Unless you’re getting 50,000 visitors a day to your site, don’t bother. It’s a waste of time and you’ll be waiting three years to get a result.2. The 'Big Swing' Approach
This is what we do for our clients in Brisbane. Instead of testing a button colour, we test the whole offer.For example: Version A: "Contact us for a quote." Version B: "Get a fixed price in 2 minutes."
That’s a big swing. One of those is going to get more phone calls. You don’t need a degree in statistics to see the difference when your inbox starts filling up.
Why Most Small Businesses Shouldn’t Redesign From Scratch
Before you go and blow twenty grand on a 'bulldozer' job, you need to know if you can just fix what you’ve already got.
I always tell people to look at their current site first. If the bones are good, you just need to fix your website by testing the bits that matter. Changing a headline or putting your phone number in a big, bright box at the top can do more for your bank account than a whole new fancy layout ever will.
"Most business owners think they need a new website, but what they actually need is a better offer that people feel stupid saying no to."
— James O'Brien, Content Marketing Manager
What Should You Actually Test?
Don't get bogged down in the weeds. If you're going to spend time on this, focus on the stuff that moves the needle.
Your Headline
This is the first thing people see. If it’s 'Welcome to Smith & Co Plumbing', you’re losing money. No one cares. They want to know you can fix their burst pipe at 2 AM. Test a headline that promises a result versus one that just says who you are.The 'Call to Action'
That’s just a fancy way of saying 'the button'. Does 'Enquire Now' work better than 'Book My Inspection'? Usually, the more specific you are, the more money you make. People like to know exactly what happens next.The Hero Image
Does a photo of your team work better than a photo of a finished job? For tradies, we often find that a photo of a real person in a branded shirt beats a generic stock photo of a 'happy family' every single time. People want to know who is turning up at their house.The Real Cost of Testing
Let’s be honest. This isn't free. You either pay an agency to run these tests for you, or you spend your own time stuffing around with software.
If you're doing less than $500k a year, you probably don't need ongoing testing. You just need a site that doesn't suck. You need to make sure your website works on phones and loads fast. That's 80% of the battle won right there.
But if you're spending money on Google Ads or Facebook Ads, you are crazy if you aren't testing. If you spend $2,000 a month on ads and you can make your website 20% better at turning those clicks into calls, you just made an extra $400 a month for nothing. Over a year, that’s a lot of beer money.
How Long Does It Take?
This isn't an overnight fix. To get a real answer, you usually need to run a test for at least two to four weeks. You need enough people to go through the site so you can see a pattern.
If someone tells you they can give you 'optimised results' in three days, they're lying to you. They're just guessing, and you're paying for the privilege.
The 'Gut Feeling' Trap
I’ve had arguments with clients who hate the colour orange. But when we tested an orange 'Call Now' button against a sleek grey one, the orange one got double the clicks.
Your website isn't for you. It’s for your customers. If they like the 'ugly' version that makes it easy to find your phone number, then that’s the version you should use. Leave your ego at the door and let the bank balance decide which design is better.
What to Do First
If you're sitting there thinking your website could be doing more, don't go and hire a designer yet.
1. Check your numbers. How many people actually called you from the site last month? 2. Look at your mobile site. Open it on your phone. Is the phone number clickable? Can you find the contact form in two seconds? 3. Test one big thing. Change your main headline to something that offers a benefit, not just your name. Leave it for a month. See if the phone rings more.
Marketing doesn't have to be a dark art. It's just about making small, smart moves based on what your customers are actually doing, not what you think they might do.
If you want a hand figuring out why your site isn't pulling its weight, give us a buzz at Local Marketing Group. We don't do fluff, and we don't do 'pretty' websites that stay silent. We build stuff that works.
Ready to stop wasting cash? Talk to us here.