Your Website Gets Traffic But No Calls: Here's Why

Your analytics show visitors. Google tells you people are landing on your site. But the phone isn't ringing.

This is one of the most frustrating situations for service business owners. You're paying for traffic (either through ads or the time invested in SEO) and it's just... leaking away.

I've audited hundreds of service business websites. The problems are almost always the same. Here's what's killing your conversions and how to fix it.

Problem #1: Your Phone Number is Hiding

This sounds too simple to be true, but I'd estimate 60% of the service business websites I audit bury their phone number.

Common hiding spots: - Footer only (requires scrolling on mobile) - Behind a hamburger menu - In a "Contact" page that requires clicking - Formatted as an image (not tappable) - In tiny font that's hard to read on mobile

The fix is obvious:

Your phone number should be: - In the header, visible without scrolling - Large enough to tap easily (44px minimum tap target) - A real `tel:` link that opens the dialer - Visible on every single page

On mobile, where 60-70% of your traffic comes from, people don't want to hunt. They want to tap and call. Every second of friction costs you calls.

Test it yourself: Open your website on your phone. Time how many seconds it takes to initiate a call. If it's more than 3 seconds, you're losing business.

Problem #2: Your Site is Slow (And You Don't Realize It)

Most business owners check their website on their office WiFi and think it loads fine. Meanwhile, customers on cellular connections in their cars are watching a blank screen for 8 seconds.

The speed benchmarks that matter:

• Under 2.5 seconds: Good
• 2.5-4 seconds: Needs improvement
• Over 4 seconds: You're losing significant traffic

Google's research shows that bounce rate increases by 32% as page load time goes from 1 second to 3 seconds. At 5 seconds, the probability of bounce increases by 90%.

Common speed killers on service business sites:

1. . Uncompressed images: Those 4MB photos from your phone need to be under 200KB for web
2. . Bloated WordPress themes: Premium themes with features you don't use
3. . Too many plugins: Each one adds weight
4. . Cheap shared hosting: $5/month hosting is slow hosting
5. . No caching: Every visit rebuilds the page from scratch

The quick test: Run your site through Google PageSpeed Insights. Look at the mobile score. Most service business sites score 20-40. You want 70+.

The ROI of speed: A 1-second improvement in load time can increase conversions by 7%. On a site getting 1,000 monthly visitors, that could be dozens more calls per year.

Problem #3: No Clear Next Step

A visitor lands on your site. They see your services. They think "maybe I should call." Then they see navigation to 8 other pages, a blog, an "About Us" section, and a newsletter signup.

Decision paralysis. They click around, get distracted, leave.

The principle: Every page should have ONE primary action you want visitors to take.

For service businesses, that action is almost always: call or fill out a form.

What this looks like:

Bad homepage: - Navigation to 12 pages - "Learn More" buttons everywhere - Social media icons competing for attention - Newsletter popup - Chat widget - Multiple forms for different purposes

Good homepage: - Phone number huge and prominent - One primary CTA: "Call Now" or "Get a Free Quote" - Minimal navigation (services, about, contact) - Supporting content reinforces why to call

The landing page rule: If someone arrives from an ad, they should see a phone number and form above the fold. No navigation menu. No distractions. One action.

Problem #4: No Trust Signals Above the Fold

A stranger lands on your site. Why should they trust you with their home, their emergency, their money?

If the answer to that question is "they need to read our About page," you've already lost them.

Trust signals that should be visible immediately:

• Star rating and review count ("4.9 stars - 247 reviews")
• License and insurance information
• Years in business
• Google Business badge or Yelp rating
• "Licensed | Insured | Bonded"
• Local service area (proves you're actually local)

What doesn't work as well: - Generic "BBB accredited" badges (nobody checks) - Industry association logos (customers don't recognize) - Award badges from obscure organizations

The credibility stack:

1. . Social proof (reviews, ratings)
2. . Credentials (license, insurance)
3. . Longevity (years in business)
4. . Locality (service area, local address)

Hit all four above the fold. Don't make people scroll to trust you.

Problem #5: Mobile Experience is an Afterthought

Here's a stat that should scare you: For home services, 60-70% of traffic is mobile. For emergency services, it's even higher.

That person with a burst pipe at 10 PM isn't opening their laptop. They're on their phone.

Mobile experience problems I see constantly:

• Text too small to read without zooming
• Buttons too small to tap accurately
• Forms that require typing when tapping would work
• Images that take forever to load
• Popups that are impossible to close on mobile

Mobile-first requirements:

• Tap targets 44x44 pixels minimum
• Font size 16px minimum (smaller causes auto-zoom on iOS)
• Click-to-call on all phone numbers
• Forms with appropriate input types (tel for phone, email for email)
• No mandatory horizontal scrolling

The test: Actually use your site on a phone. Try to complete every action a customer would. Where do you get frustrated?

Problem #6: Wrong Traffic, Not Wrong Website

Sometimes the website isn't the problem. The traffic is.

If you're getting 1,000 visitors and 0 calls, maybe those visitors never intended to hire anyone.

Traffic quality issues:

• Ranking for informational keywords ("how to unclog a drain" vs "plumber near me")
• Ads running on broad match attracting irrelevant clicks
• Geographic targeting including areas you don't serve
• Attracting DIYers instead of buyers

How to diagnose:

Look at your Google Search Console or Google Ads search terms. What are people actually searching when they find you?

If most searches are: - "How to..." - "[Service] cost" - "[Service] DIY" - "What is a..."

You're attracting researchers, not buyers.

If most searches are: - "[Service] near me" - "[Service] [your city]" - "Emergency [service]" - "Best [service] [your city]"

You're attracting buyers. The website is the problem.

Problem #7: Your Form Asks Too Much

Every form field is friction. Every piece of information you ask for is a reason for someone to abandon.

Forms that kill conversion:

• Name, email, phone, address, service type, detailed description, preferred time slot, how did you hear about us, captcha
• 10+ fields before submission
• Required fields that aren't actually required
• No indication of what happens after submission

Forms that convert:

For emergency services: - Name - Phone - Brief description (optional) - "Call Me Now" button

For scheduled services: - Name - Phone - Service needed (dropdown) - Preferred callback time (optional)

The principle: Ask for the minimum needed to call them back. You can get details on the phone.

Phone vs. form: For urgent services, don't even show a form above the fold. Just the phone number. Forms are for scheduled/non-urgent requests.

The Conversion Audit Checklist

Run through this checklist on mobile:

Speed: - [ ] Page loads in under 3 seconds on cellular - [ ] PageSpeed Insights mobile score above 70

Phone number: - [ ] Visible without scrolling - [ ] Large and tappable - [ ] Formatted as a tel: link - [ ] On every page

Trust: - [ ] Review rating visible above fold - [ ] License/insurance mentioned - [ ] Years in business or local credibility shown

Action: - [ ] Clear primary CTA above fold - [ ] Form is short (under 5 fields) - [ ] Confirmation of what happens next

Mobile: - [ ] Text readable without zooming - [ ] Buttons large enough to tap - [ ] No horizontal scrolling

Every item you fail is costing you calls.

The Quick Win

If you do nothing else, do this today:

1. . Put your phone number in your site header, large and prominent
2. . Make sure it's a real tap-to-call link
3. . Add your Google review rating next to it

That single change can increase call volume by 20-30% for sites that were hiding their phone number.

The rest of the list matters too. But start there.

Getting traffic but not converting? [Let's audit your site](/contact) and find exactly where you're losing visitors.