Your Website Should Be Your Best Salesperson, Not a Digital Paperweight
I was sitting in a cafe in Bulimba last week chatting with a local landscaper. We’ll call him Dave. Dave’s a hard worker, does incredible stone masonry, and has enough equipment in his shed to build a small city.
He was frustrated. He’d spent five grand on a new website six months ago, and the phone wasn’t ringing.
"I don't get it," he said. "The site looks beautiful. It’s got high-res photos of my work, a fancy logo, and it cost me a fortune. But I’m still getting all my work from word-of-mouth. If I stop networking, the business dies. What was the point of the website?"
I took a look at his site. It was pretty. But it was also useless. It was like a brochure hidden in a drawer. It didn't tell me what he did immediately, it didn't tell me why he was better than the guy down the road, and it made me work too hard just to find his phone number.
Dave’s story isn't unique. I see this every day with Brisbane business owners—from plumbers in Chermside to accountants in the CBD. They treat their website like an art project rather than a sales tool.
If you want more phone calls, more bookings, and more money in the bank, your homepage needs to stop looking pretty and start selling. Here are the biggest mistakes I see local businesses making and exactly how to fix them.
Mistake 1: The "Mystery Man" Headline
You have about three seconds—maybe less—to tell a visitor what you do and where you do it. If I land on your site and the big text at the top says "Excellence in Innovation" or "Quality You Can Trust," I’m leaving.
Why? Because those words mean nothing. A lawyer could say that. A pizza shop could say that. A dog groomer could say that.
The Fix: Be boringly clear. If you’re an electrician in Carindale, your headline should say: "Reliable Electrician in Carindale – Available for Emergency Repairs 24/7."
It’s not poetic, but it tells the customer they are in the right place. Don't make people guess. When people are searching for a service, they are usually in a hurry or in a bit of a panic. Give them the answer immediately.
Mistake 2: Hiding Your Phone Number
This is my biggest pet peeve. I see websites where you have to click "Contact Us," then scroll past a giant map, just to find a phone number.
Most of your customers are looking for you on their phones while they’re on the go. They don't want to fill out a 10-field enquiry form. They want to tap a button and talk to a human.
If your phone number isn't in the top right corner of every page (and clickable!), you are literally throwing money away. We’ve seen businesses double their enquiries just by making the phone number bigger and easier to find.
Mistake 3: Using "Stock" Photos of People Who Don't Work for You
We all know the ones. The perfectly groomed people with unnaturally white teeth wearing headsets, or the "construction workers" wearing pristine yellow vests and hardhats that have never seen a speck of dust.
Brisbane locals are smart. They can smell a fake from a mile away. When you use stock photos, you’re telling the customer: "I’m not a real local business."
I told Dave to get his apprentice to take a photo of him standing next to his truck with his tools. It wasn't a professional photo, but it was real. People buy from people they trust. Showing your face, your team, and your branded vehicles builds that trust instantly. To really stand out, you can even get more calls by showing a quick video of yourself explaining how you help your customers. It proves you're a real person who knows their stuff.
Mistake 4: Taking Too Long to Get to the Point
Some business owners think they need to tell their entire life story on the homepage. "Founded in 1984 by my grandfather, we’ve always believed in the spirit of community..."
Stop. The customer doesn't care about your grandfather yet. They care about their problem.
- Is my roof leaking? - Is my tax return late? - Do I need a tooth pulled?
Your website needs to address the customer's pain point first. Tell them you understand their problem, tell them you have the solution, and tell them what to do next. Save the history lesson for the "About Us" page for the 5% of people who actually want to read it.
Mistake 5: Letting the Robots Build Your Reputation
Lately, I've seen a lot of people trying to save a buck by using automated tools to generate their entire site. While it sounds tempting to have a site ready in ten minutes, these AI website builders often produce generic, soul-less content that doesn't actually convince anyone to buy from you.
Marketing is about human connection. A robot doesn't know why a homeowner in Ascot chooses a different service than someone in Logan. It doesn't understand the local competition or the specific fears your customers have. If your site sounds like a robot wrote it, don't be surprised when people treat you like a nameless commodity and shop on price alone.
Mistake 6: Not Showing Your Social Proof Properly
Most businesses have a "Testimonials" page. Here’s the truth: nobody visits it.
If you want reviews to work for you, they need to be on the homepage, right where people are making the decision to call you or leave. But don't just dump a wall of text.
I worked with a pest control guy in Morningside who had 50 five-star Google reviews but none on his site. We pulled the best three—the ones that mentioned how he showed up on time and didn't leave a mess—and put them right under his main header.
When you show reviews that actually address common customer fears, you eliminate the hesitation that stops people from clicking that "Call Now" button.
Mistake 7: Forgetting the "Next Step"
Imagine walking into a shop, looking around, and finding no counter and no staff. You’d eventually just walk out, right?
That’s what a website without a "Call to Action" feels like. You need to tell the visitor exactly what you want them to do.
- "Call for a Free Quote" - "Book Your Inspection Online" - "Get an Instant Estimate"
This button should be a bright, contrasting colour. If your website is blue, make the button orange or green. It should stand out like a sore thumb. Don't use weak language like "Submit" or "Click Here." Use action-oriented words that promise a result.
Mistake 8: The "Mobile Afterthought"
In 2024, at least 60-70% of your traffic is coming from someone holding a smartphone. If your website looks great on your office iMac but the text is tiny and the buttons are impossible to hit with a thumb on an iPhone, you are failing.
I see so many sites that are technically "responsive" (meaning they shrink to fit the screen) but are a total nightmare to use. If a customer has to pinch and zoom to read your prices, they’re going to hit the back button and call your competitor. Ensure your site loads fast and works perfectly on mobile, or you're just paying for your competitors' leads.
How Much Does It Cost to Fix This?
I’ll be honest with you. You can try to DIY these fixes using a cheap builder for $30 a month. If you have the time and a knack for writing, you might see some improvement.
However, most business owners I know are too busy running their actual business to spend twenty hours shouting at a computer screen.
A professionally designed, conversion-focused website for a local service business usually starts around $3,000 to $7,000.
Now, that might sound like a lot of money. But look at it this way: If your average job is worth $500, and these changes bring in just two extra customers a month, the site pays for itself in less than a year. Over three or four years, that’s an extra $40,000+ in revenue that you would have otherwise missed out on.
What Should You Do First?
If you’re looking at your website right now and feeling a bit overwhelmed, start with these three things tomorrow morning:
1. Check your headline. Does it say exactly what you do and where? If not, change it. 2. Check your phone number. Is it at the top of the page? Is it big? Does it work when you tap it on a phone? 3. Check your photos. Replace one stock photo of a "happy customer" with a real photo of you or your team on a job site.
Marketing shouldn't be a dark art. It’s just about making it as easy as possible for a customer to see that you are a real, local professional who can solve their problem for a fair price.
Most of what you read online about "SEO algorithms" and "brand storytelling" is rubbish for a small business. You don't need to win a design award; you need to win the customer's trust and get them to pick up the phone.
Ready to Turn Your Website Into a Lead Machine?
At Local Marketing Group, we don't care about making "pretty" sites that win design awards but don't pay the bills. We care about one thing: getting your phone to ring.
We've helped dozens of Brisbane businesses—from tradies to professional services—stop wasting money on digital junk and start growing their bottom line. We know the local market, we know what Brisbane customers are looking for, and we know how to make your business the obvious choice.
If you’re tired of your website being a monthly expense instead of a profit-maker, let’s have a chat. No jargon, no fluff, just a straight-up conversation about how to get you more customers.
Contact Local Marketing Group today and let’s get your business growing.