Your website works like a billboard in Times Square. Thousands of people walk past it. Most give it a second, maybe two. In that time it has one job: make the right person stop and think “that’s for me”.
I’ve looked at hundreds of small business websites, and the ones that struggle almost always have the same problem. They look fine. They list the services. They have a contact page. But nothing on them makes a busy person stop, trust them and get in touch.
The good news is that the fixes are usually simple, and most of them cost nothing but a bit of rewriting.
People don’t read your website. They scan it for a reason to trust you.
Try it on your own website
Unlock this prompt, copy it into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, add your details in the square brackets, and it will score your homepage against the five reasons visitors leave, which I explain below.
Tip: If your AI tool can’t open websites, copy the words from your homepage and paste them in under the prompt.
The prompt is free when you join my email list. Pop your details in, tick the box to say I can email you my marketing and AI tips, and the full prompt opens straight away. You can unsubscribe any time.
Ticking the box is needed to unlock the prompt. Unsubscribe any time.
Why visitors leave
Go through your own homepage with these in mind. Most websites fall down on at least three.
Visitors see your logo and a vague welcome, but not what you’ll do for them.
The fix: Put your offer on the first screen: who it’s for, what they get and why you.
“We are a family run business established in…” tells a visitor nothing about their problem.
The fix: Rewrite headlines in your customers’ words, about the result they want.
Reviews are hidden on one page that nobody clicks.
The fix: Put reviews, ratings and before and afters right next to every button.
A long form or a buried phone number puts people off at the last moment.
The fix: Make one easy next step, like “Book a free call”, and repeat it down the page.
Homeowners, businesses and landlords all land on the same general page.
The fix: Give each type of customer their own landing page that speaks to them.
The good news?
Most of these are quick fixes.
You don’t always need a new website. You need the right words in the right places.
How to fix it
Work through these in order. Each one makes the next one work harder.
Check your own site
Open your homepage on your phone and compare it with these two lists.
Your questions answered
The questions business owners ask me most when their website isn’t working.
Usually because visitors can’t see quickly what you offer, who it’s for and why they should choose you, or because getting in touch takes too much effort. Fix the first screen and the next step before anything else.
Your offer in your customers’ words, who it’s for, one piece of proof such as a review or rating, and one clear button to take the next step.
Often you can fix the one you have by rewriting the first screen, adding proof and making the next step easier. If the site is slow, hard to update or doesn’t work well on phones, a rebuild is usually quicker and cheaper in the long run.
Copy and layout fixes can be done in days. At Pink Elephant Media we build a new website in a day, and you’re live within a day of approving it.
Want me to look at yours?
I’ll look at your website with you, show you exactly where it’s losing enquiries and what I’d change first. We build your home page free of charge, so you can see the difference before you commit.
Book My Free Website Concept CallOr call 01453 705097The AI Marketing Academy
Build an AI marketing team that works for your business. You teach it, your agents do the work, and you stay in control.
Your website should be your best salesperson. The course that shows you how is Why Your Website Isn’t Winning You Customers, and you’ll come away with a fix list for your own site.
It’s real marketing, powered by AI, and it opens on 14 November.
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