Traffic is fine, leads aren't: a 30-minute conversion audit
When a site gets traffic but no leads, check six things in order: whether the first screen says what you do and for whom; whether there is any price or range; whether there is proof from real customers; whether contacting you takes one tap on a phone; whether the form is short and works; and whether tracking is actually recording leads. Most sites fail at least two, and most of the fixes are copy and layout, not a rebuild.
Do this on your phone, on mobile data, not on your office Wi-Fi. That is how most of your visitors see the site.
Minute 0 to 5: the first screen
Open your homepage and your most important service page. Without scrolling, can a stranger tell:
- What you do, in plain words?
- Who it is for?
- Where you work, if that matters?
- What to do next?
“Innovative solutions for modern businesses” fails all four. “Commercial roofing repair for warehouses in Northern New Jersey, with a free inspection” passes all four.
Minute 5 to 10: price
Search your own site for a number. Any number: a price, a starting point, a range, a typical project.
If there isn’t one, that is likely your biggest leak. Visitors who can’t find a price assume it is high, or assume you’ll waste their time finding out. Many go to the competitor who published one.
You don’t need a full price list. “Most projects run between $8,000 and $15,000, depending on X and Y” is enough to keep the right people reading and filter out the wrong ones.
Minute 10 to 15: proof
Is there evidence from someone other than you?
- Reviews with names, ideally linked to a platform where they can be verified.
- Real project photos or case studies, not stock images.
- Client logos you are allowed to show.
- Certifications or memberships that matter in your field.
Proof should appear near the call to action, not only on a separate testimonials page nobody visits.
Minute 15 to 20: contact
- Can you call with one tap?
- Is there a button visible without scrolling on mobile?
- How many fields does the form have? Count them. Every field beyond name, contact and message costs submissions.
- Submit the form. Did it work? Did you get a confirmation? Did the email arrive? Check spam.
A surprising number of sites have forms that quietly fail, or deliver to an inbox nobody reads.
Minute 20 to 25: speed
Run your key page through PageSpeed Insights and look at the real user data at the top. If it fails, especially on interaction, read why your site feels slow even when it loads fast.
Minute 25 to 30: tracking
Open your analytics and find last month’s leads. Does the number match what actually arrived in your inbox and phone? If analytics shows zero, or shows fifty when you got ten, you’re making decisions on bad data. See if you can’t tell which ad brought the lead.
What to do with the results
Write down every item that failed. Then fix them in this order: tracking first (so you can measure the rest), then contact, then price, then the first screen, then proof, then speed.
Most of these are copy and layout changes measured in days, not a rebuild measured in months. If you’ve fixed them all and leads still don’t come, the problem is likely the offer or the traffic, and that’s a different conversation. If you want a second pair of eyes on the results, that is part of our web design work.
Common questions
How much traffic do I need before conversion rate matters?
Enough that a handful of extra leads would be noticeable. Below a few hundred relevant visits a month, the problem is usually getting the right traffic. Above that, small conversion gains are worth more than more traffic.
What is a good conversion rate for a service business website?
It varies too much by industry, price point and traffic source to give one number. Compare against yourself: your paid traffic against your organic, this quarter against last. A page that converts paid visitors at half the rate of organic ones has a landing page problem.
Should I add a chatbot to get more leads?
Only after the basics. A chat widget doesn't fix an unclear offer, missing prices or a broken form, and it often slows the page down. Fix the six items here first.
