We pulled up a Greensboro architecture firm's website during a meeting last week and counted everything wrong with it. The home page had a five-paragraph "Welcome to our firm" letter from the founder. There was no phone number above the fold. The contact page was buried three clicks deep. There was nothing asking the visitor to do anything. It was a brochure printed on glass, not a lead generator. And it was pulling in 1,200 visitors a month and producing zero leads.
What a Brochure Website Looks Like
A brochure website tells visitors who you are, what you do, and where you are located, then leaves them to figure out the next step on their own. It looks "professional," it usually has a Flash intro or a slow rotating banner, and it produces almost no measurable business. Most Triad service business websites built between 2005 and 2008 fall into this category.
What a Lead-Generating Website Looks Like Instead
- →A clear, benefit-driven headline above the fold that answers "what do you do, for whom, and why should I care" in five seconds.
- →A visible phone number in the top right of every page in large readable text. Not buried in the footer. Not in a logo image.
- →A short contact form on the home page, not on a separate contact page that requires another click.
- →A clear primary call to action repeated on every page. "Request a Free Estimate," "Schedule Your Consultation," "Get a Same-Day Appointment." One verb, one outcome.
- →Social proof. Real testimonials with first names and last initials, photos of completed projects, awards, and association logos.
- →Service-specific pages that match the keywords prospects actually search for, not one generic "What We Do" page.
- →No Flash intro, no auto-playing music, no five-second loading screen. Every one of those costs leads.
The Math of a Lead-Generating Website
A brochure site converts roughly 0.2 to 0.5 percent of visitors into leads. A lead-generating site for a Triad service business converts 2 to 6 percent. On 1,200 monthly visitors, that is the difference between three leads a year and 60 to 70 leads a year, with no change in traffic. The same SEO investment, the same AdWords spend, the same Yellow Pages ad, dramatically different return.
The Three-Page Test
Pull up your home page, your main service page, and your contact page. Ask three honest questions: Can a stranger tell what you do in five seconds? Is the next step they should take obvious? Is your phone number visible without scrolling or hunting? If any answer is no, you have a brochure, not a lead generator.
After we rebuilt the Greensboro architecture firm's home page around a clear headline, a visible phone number, a short contact form, and three project case studies with photos, monthly leads moved from zero to 14 inside 90 days. Traffic was unchanged.
Read the companion pieces on headlines, offers, and calls to action above the fold and stock photos vs. real photos of your team and work, or have our digital marketing agency rebuild your website around lead generation.