Your Website is Costing You Money (and Not Just the Monthly Fee)
I see it every single week here in Brisbane. A sparky in Chermside or a plumber in Coorparoo spends three or four grand on a shiny new website, waits three months, and then... nothing. The phone doesn't ring. The inbox is empty.
Most tradies think a website is like a digital business card. You have it because you're 'supposed to.' But if your website isn't bringing in at least five to ten times what it costs you to maintain every single year, it’s a failure. Plain and simple.
In my experience working with local businesses across Queensland, most tradie websites are built by people who understand 'pretty pictures' but have no clue how to make a phone ring. They focus on things that don't matter to a homeowner with a burst pipe or a builder looking for a reliable subbie.
If you aren't getting leads, it isn't 'bad luck.' It’s usually one of seven specific mistakes. Let’s break down why your site is currently a glorified paperweight and how we can turn it into a tool that actually puts money in your bank account.
1. You’re Hiding Your Phone Number
This sounds stupidly simple, but you’d be amazed how many businesses get this wrong. I’ve been on websites for Brisbane roofers where I had to click three different pages just to find a mobile number.
The Reality Check: When someone has a leaking roof or their power has cut out, they are stressed. They are not there to read your 'About Us' page or look at photos of your Christmas party. They want to talk to a human being now.
If your phone number isn't at the very top of the page in big, bold text, you are losing money. On a phone, that number should be a button they can tap to call immediately. If a customer has to copy and paste your number or, god forbid, write it down on a piece of paper to dial it, they will just hit the 'back' button and call the next guy on Google.
The Fix: Put your phone number in the top right corner of every page. Make it big. Make it a different colour. Ensure it stays at the top of the screen when they scroll down on their phone.
2. You’re Selling 'Features' Instead of Peace of Mind
Most tradies fill their websites with a list of things they do. - "We do switchboard upgrades" - "We do hot water systems" - "We do bathroom renovations"
While you need to list your services, that’s not why people hire you. They hire you because they have a problem they want gone.
I worked with a pest controller in North Lakes who had a website full of facts about termite species. It looked like a school textbook. Nobody cares about the Latin name of a termite; they care about their house falling down. We changed the wording to focus on 'Protecting your family home' and 'Same-day emergency inspections.' The phone calls doubled in a month.
Stop talking about yourself and start talking about the customer. Instead of saying "We have 20 years experience," say "Get it fixed right the first time so you don't have to pay twice."
If you want to stop competing on price, you have to show the customer that you understand their frustration and that you are the safest pair of hands to fix it.
3. Your Site Works Great on a Laptop (But Not a Phone)
Roughly 80% of people looking for a local tradie in Brisbane are doing it on a mobile phone. They are standing in their kitchen, sitting in their car, or on a lunch break at work.
I often see websites that look beautiful on a big office computer, but when you open them on an iPhone, the text is tiny, the buttons are too small to click with a thumb, and the images take forever to load.
If your website takes more than 3 seconds to load on a 4G connection, the customer is gone. They don't have the patience to wait. Google also hates slow websites and will push you down the rankings, making you invisible to new customers.
The Test: Open your website on your own phone right now. Try to click your phone number. Try to fill out your contact form. If it feels clunky or slow, you are literally throwing leads away to your competitors.
4. You’re Invisible Where it Matters
You can have the best website in the world, but if nobody sees it, it’s useless. It’s like putting a massive billboard in the middle of the Simpson Desert.
Many tradies get sold a 'SEO package' for $500 a month that does absolutely nothing. They get told they are 'ranking' for terms nobody searches for.
In the tradie world, there are two main ways to get seen: Google and Facebook. Most people get this wrong and waste thousands of dollars on the wrong platform. If you want to know which one actually works for your specific trade, you should check out our breakdown on Google vs Facebook.
For most tradies, Google is king. When someone's toilet is overflowing, they don't go on Facebook to see what their friends are doing; they go to Google and type in "plumber near me." If you aren't showing up in those top few results (especially the map section), you don't exist to that customer.
5. Nobody Trusts You (Yet)
In the home services industry, trust is the most valuable currency. You are asking a stranger to come into their home, often while they are vulnerable or stressed.
If your website is just text and a few stock photos of people who clearly aren't from Australia (you know the ones—the 'electricians' wearing hard hats that look like they’re from a movie set), people won't trust you.
People buy from people. They want to see: - Photos of you and your team in your actual uniforms. - Photos of your branded utes (which, by the way, is a whole other topic—many guys find their ute signage isn't working as well as it should). - Real reviews from real local customers.
If you have five stars on Google, scream it from the rooftops. Put those reviews on your homepage. If you don't have reviews, that should be your number one priority starting tomorrow. A website with 50 five-star reviews will always get more calls than a fancy website with zero reviews.
6. Your Contact Form is Too Long
I’ve seen contact forms that ask for the customer's full address, their type of house, how they heard about the business, and a detailed description of the job before they can even hit 'submit.'
Every extra box you ask a customer to fill out reduces the chance of them finishing the form.
The Rule: Only ask for what you absolutely need to call them back. Usually, that’s just a Name, Phone Number, and Suburb. You can get the rest of the details over the phone in thirty seconds.
Don't make them do the work for you. Your job is to make it as easy as possible for them to say "help me."
7. You Aren't Tracking Anything
How many leads did your website get you last month? If you don't know the answer, you can't grow your business.
Most tradies just guess. "Yeah, the phone's been pretty busy lately, I think the website is doing okay."
That’s not a business strategy; that’s a hope and a prayer. You need to know exactly where your calls are coming from. Is it your Google listing? Is it a Facebook ad? Is it someone typing your name in directly?
When you track your results, you can stop wasting money on the stuff that doesn't work and double down on the stuff that does. For example, if you find out that most of your high-profit renovation jobs are coming from one specific page on your site, you can put more effort into making that page even better.
How Much Does a Good Website Cost?
You can get a website for $500 from a guy overseas, or you can spend $20,000 with a big agency in the city.
For a standard Brisbane tradie business, you should expect to pay somewhere between $3,000 and $7,000 for a high-quality website that is actually designed to get phone calls.
Anything cheaper than that is usually a template that won't be set up to convert visitors into customers. Anything more than that is usually overkill unless you're a large company with multiple locations and complex booking systems.
Think of it like buying a tool. You can buy the cheap knock-off drill at the hardware store, but it’ll burn out in a month and you’ll have to buy a new one anyway. Or you can buy the professional grade tool that works every time and makes you money.
How Long Until the Phone Starts Ringing?
A new website isn't a magic switch. Once it’s live, it takes Google a bit of time to recognise it.
- 1-2 Weeks: Your site is live and searchable if someone types in your exact business name. - 1-3 Months: If your SEO is done right, you’ll start appearing for local searches (e.g., "Electrician Carindale"). - 6 Months+: This is where the real momentum happens. Your reviews are building, your rankings are solid, and the website becomes a consistent lead machine.
If you need calls today, you shouldn't rely on organic search. You should look at Google Ads. But even then, if your website is rubbish, you’ll just be paying for people to visit a site that doesn't make them call you. Fix the website first, then turn on the tap.
What Should You Do First?
If you're sitting there thinking "my website is definitely one of the bad ones," don't panic. Most of your competitors are in the same boat. That’s actually good news for you—it means if you get this right, you can quickly take the lion's share of the work in your area.
Here is your 3-step plan for this week:
1. Check your mobile site: Open your website on your phone. Can you find your phone number in 2 seconds? Is it a 'click-to-call' button? If not, call your web person and tell them to fix it immediately. 2. Get 3 New Reviews: Send a text to the last three customers you did a great job for. Ask them specifically to mention the service you provided and the suburb they live in. This is the fastest way to boost your credibility. 3. Audit your photos: Get rid of the stock photos. Take your phone out to your next job, clean your ute, and take a photo of yourself and your team in front of it. Put that on your homepage.
Marketing doesn't have to be complicated. It's about being seen by the right people and giving them a reason to trust you. If your website does those two things, your phone will ring.
At Local Marketing Group, we don't care about 'awards' or 'pretty designs' that don't work. We care about how many times your phone rings and how much money is in your bank account at the end of the month. We’ve helped dozens of Brisbane tradies stop wasting money on useless marketing and start getting real results.
If you want a straight-talking assessment of why your website isn't ringing and a plan to fix it, get in touch with us today.
Ready to get more leads? Contact Local Marketing Group and let's get your phone ringing.