Getting people to your website is only half the job. The other half is making it easy for them to get in touch once they are there.
Most people looking for a local trade or service are busy. They are often on a phone, maybe standing in a kitchen with a leaking tap or sat in the van between jobs. If your site makes them work to contact you, many will simply go back to Google and try the next one.
Here are the changes that make the biggest difference, and most of them are simple.
Put your phone number where people can see it
Your phone number should be at the top of every page. On a phone, it should be tappable, so one tap starts the call. That sounds obvious, but plenty of sites hide the number in the footer or show it as an image that cannot be tapped.
A few tips:
- Show the number in the header on every page
- Make it a proper tap-to-call link on mobile
- Add your opening hours nearby, so people know when to ring
- If you cannot answer during jobs, say when you will call back
Keep your contact form short
Every extra box on a form is another reason to give up. Ask only for what you need to reply.
For most local businesses that is:
- Name
- Phone number or email
- A short message about what they need
- Postcode or town, if you cover a set area
You can ask for more detail once you are talking. Also check that the form actually reaches you. Send yourself a test every so often. It is surprisingly common for forms to break quietly, with enquiries landing in spam or nowhere at all.
Offer WhatsApp
Lots of people would rather send a quick message than make a call. WhatsApp lets them do that in a way that feels familiar, and they can send photos of the problem, which saves you a wasted visit.
Add a clear "Message us on WhatsApp" button near your phone number. If you use WhatsApp Business, you can set an automatic reply that says you have got the message and when you will respond.
Be clear about prices
People hesitate when they have no idea what something might cost. They worry about being ripped off, or about wasting your time and theirs.
You do not have to publish a full price list if every job is different. But giving some guidance helps a lot:
- "Prices from" for your most common jobs
- What affects the price, in plain terms
- Whether quotes are free
- Any call-out charge, stated up front
Clear pricing also filters out people who were never going to book, which saves you time on the phone.
Put reviews near your buttons
Reviews reassure people that you are real, reliable and good at what you do. They work best when they sit close to the moment someone decides to get in touch.
Instead of hiding reviews on a separate page, place two or three short ones near your contact form or call button. Use real reviews with first names and the town, if your customers are happy with that. Linking to your Google reviews helps too, because people trust what they can check.
Make your pages fast on a phone
A slow page loses people before they have even read your name. Most of your visitors are likely to be on a phone, possibly on a patchy signal.
Things that slow sites down:
- Large photos that have not been resized
- Too many plugins or pop-ups
- Cheap or overloaded hosting
- Auto-playing videos
Open your own site on your phone, away from Wi-Fi, and see how it feels. If you find yourself waiting, your customers are too. Free tools like Google's PageSpeed Insights can give you a rough idea of what to fix.
Show real work
Photos of your own jobs are far more convincing than stock images. Before and after shots work especially well for cleaners, landscapers, decorators and similar trades. They show the standard of your work and prove you are a genuine local business.
Reply quickly
All of this is wasted if enquiries sit unanswered. People often contact more than one business, and the first to reply has a real advantage.
You do not have to answer instantly, but try to:
- Reply the same day where you can
- Send an automatic reply to forms, saying you have got the message and when you will respond
- Keep a simple note of who you need to get back to
A short, friendly "Thanks, I can come and look on Thursday" goes a long way.
A quick checklist
- Phone number at the top, one tap to call
- A short form that you have tested
- A WhatsApp button
- Some guidance on prices
- Reviews near your buttons
- A fast site on mobile
- Real photos of your work
- Quick replies
If your current site is missing several of these, it may be worth starting fresh. At We are Graft, every site we build has the number one tap away, reviews shown and a contact form that reaches you. You can see some examples or read how the process works.
If you want to see what your business could look like, ask for a free design. You see it before you pay, and if you do not like it, you pay nothing.