Why Your Website is Bleeding Money (And How to Fix It)
I was sitting down with a landscaper from Chermside last week. He’s a hard worker, does incredible stone masonry, and he’s been paying a decent chunk of change every month for Google ads.
He showed me his phone. "Look at this," he said, frustrated. "I’m getting hundreds of people clicking on my ads, but my phone isn't ringing. Where are they going?"
We looked at his website together. It was beautiful. It had high-resolution photos of gardens, a fancy spinning logo, and a long paragraph about the history of his family business dating back to 1982.
But here was the problem: if I’m a busy homeowner whose retaining wall just collapsed after a Brisbane storm, I don’t care about your grandfather’s history. I want to know three things: 1. Do you fix retaining walls? 2. Are you near me? 3. How do I get a quote right now?
His website made it nearly impossible to find those answers. He was paying for clicks, but he wasn't buying customers. He was effectively throwing $50 notes into the Brisbane River.
This is what people in the marketing world call "landing page optimisation." But let’s call it what it actually is: making sure your website doesn't suck so people actually give you money.
Most small business owners in Brisbane—whether you’re a sparky, a lawyer, or run a boutique gym—make the same five or six mistakes. These mistakes are costing you tens of thousands of dollars in lost jobs every year.
Let’s walk through what you’re doing wrong and how to turn that around so your website actually starts booking jobs.
Mistake 1: The "Where's Wally?" Phone Number
This is the biggest sin I see. If I have to hunt for your phone number, I’m gone. I’ve already clicked the 'back' button and called the next guy on the list.
I’ve seen sites where the phone number is buried at the bottom of a 'Contact Us' page, or worse, it’s an image that I can’t click on from my phone.
If you want people to call you, put your number in the top right corner. Make it big. Make it bold. And for heaven's sake, make sure it’s a link so someone can just tap it with their thumb and start dialling. You need to stop losing customers simply because they can't figure out how to talk to you.
Mistake 2: Talking About Yourself Too Much
You might be proud of your 20 years of experience, but your customer is the hero of this story, not you.
When someone lands on your page, they are asking: "Can this person solve my problem?"
- Bad Heading: "Smith & Sons Plumbing: Established 1994" - Good Heading: "Burst Pipe? We’ll Get Your Water Back On in 2 Hours – Guaranteed."
See the difference? One is a history lesson. The other is a solution to a stressful problem. Brisbane homeowners are busy. They want to know you’ve got their back.
Mistake 3: The Slow Creep
We’ve all been there. You click a link on your phone while waiting for a coffee at a cafe in New Farm, and the page just... hangs. A white screen. A spinning wheel.
You wait three seconds. Then you leave.
If your website takes more than a couple of seconds to load, you are losing half your potential customers before they even see your name. Usually, this happens because someone put massive, uncompressed photos on the site or used a cheap, slow hosting provider.
If you want to stop losing customers before they even see what you offer, you need to ensure your site is fast. It shouldn't feel like a chore to open your page.
Mistake 4: No Clear "Next Step"
I see this constantly with professional services like accountants or mortgage brokers. They explain their services beautifully, but then the page just... ends.
What do you want me to do? - Call you for a free 15-minute chat? - Download a pricing guide? - Fill out a form for a callback?
If you don't tell people exactly what to do next, they will do nothing. You need a big, bright button that says "Book My Quote" or "Get Started." Don't be shy. If you don't ask for the business, you won't get it. I've seen businesses double their enquiries just by adding a clear video explaining what happens after they click that button.
Mistake 5: It Looks Terrible on a Phone
About 70% of your local customers are looking for you on an iPhone or an Android while they’re on the go. If your website looks like a shrunken-down version of a desktop site—where the text is tiny and you have to pinch and zoom to read anything—you’ve already lost.
In Brisbane, we’re an outdoorsy, mobile-first city. If a tradie’s site doesn't work perfectly while I'm standing in my driveway, I'm calling the next person. Your website needs to be built for thumbs, not mouse cursors.
The "So What?" Factor
At the end of the day, your website is an employee. If you had an employee who stood at the front of your shop and ignored customers when they walked in, or spoke a different language, or hid in the back room, you’d fire them.
Your website should be your best salesperson. It should work 24/7, never take a sick day, and consistently hand you leads that are ready to buy.
What should you do first?
1. Open your website on your own phone. Right now. Try to find your phone number and click it. Was it easy? 2. Read your main headline. Does it promise to solve a problem, or is it just your business name? 3. Ask a friend to look at your site for 5 seconds. Then close it. Ask them: "What do I do?" If they can't answer, you have work to do.
How much does this cost?
Fixing these things doesn't have to cost a fortune. You don't need a $20,000 rebranding. Usually, it’s about changing some text, moving some buttons, and cleaning up the images.
In terms of timing, you can often see more phone calls within days of making these changes. It’s not magic; it’s just removing the hurdles you’ve accidentally put in front of your customers.
Stop Guessing, Start Growing
Most Brisbane business owners are experts at what they do, but they aren't experts at web psychology. That’s fine. You shouldn't have to be.
If you’re tired of spending money on ads or SEO and seeing nothing for it, the problem probably isn't the ads. It's the destination.
At Local Marketing Group, we specialise in taking local Brisbane businesses and turning their websites into high-performing sales tools. We don't care about awards or "pretty" designs that don't work. We care about your phone ringing.
Ready to get more out of your website? Let’s have a chat. No jargon, just results.
Contact us today at https://lmgroup.au/contact