Website basics
Why Your Tradie Website Gets No Calls: 9 Fixes You Can Do This Weekend
Short answer: when a tradie website gets no calls, it's almost always one of two problems. Either people aren't finding it, or they find it and something puts them off calling. The nine checks below cover both, and each one takes a few minutes. Work through them in order, because the first ones fix the most.
Part 1: Are people finding it?
1. Check you're on Google at all
Type site:yourbusiness.co.nz into Google, using your own domain. If nothing comes up, Google hasn't indexed your site and nobody will find it by searching.
The fix: set up Google Search Console (free), verify your site, and submit your sitemap. It will also tell you if pages are being blocked or have errors. Sites that were built and never "switched on" for search are more common than you'd think.
2. Make sure your Google Business Profile links to it
For local trades, many enquiries start in the Google Maps results rather than the normal list of websites. Search your business name and check your profile shows your website link, and that the name, phone and address match your site exactly.
The fix: claim or tidy up your profile. Our Google Business Profile checklist walks through it step by step.
3. Have a page for each service and area
Search for what your customers would type, such as "roofer Tauranga" or "hot water cylinder replacement Lower Hutt", on your phone in a private window. If your site has one page that lists everything, Google has nothing specific to show for any one search.
The fix: a separate page for each main service, and pages for your main areas with real local detail. See our local SEO guide for tradies.
Part 2: Are they calling once they find it?
4. Test calling yourself in one tap
Open your site on your phone. Is the number at the top? Does tapping it start a call? If the number's buried in the footer, or it's part of an image, you're losing people who were ready to ring.
The fix: a tap-to-call number or button in the header of every page. Add a "Get a quote" button next to it for people who'd rather message.
5. Read the first screen like a stranger
On your phone, without scrolling, does it say what you do and where? "Excellence in every project" doesn't. "Licensed plumber in Christchurch, same-week bookings" does, as long as it's true.
The fix: rewrite the headline to name your trade and your area, with your phone number and a quote button right beside it.
6. Test the speed on a phone
Put your address into Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool and look at the mobile score. If the page takes more than a few seconds to show anything, many visitors leave before it loads.
The fix: the usual culprit is huge photos straight off a phone. Resize them before uploading, and remove auto-playing videos, sliders and pop-ups.
Rather not spend your weekend on it?
Ted sites are built fast, mobile-first and tap-to-call on every page, and we look after them from there. $0 to build, from $39.95 a month incl. GST.
7. Send yourself a test enquiry
Fill in your own contact form and see what arrives. It's surprisingly common for a form to send to an old email address, land in spam, or not send at all. Every one of those is a customer who thinks you ignored them.
The fix: make sure the form goes somewhere you check daily, ideally with a text or phone notification, and repeat the test every few months.
8. Show proof you're good
With no reviews, no real photos and no licence details, a visitor has no reason to choose you over the next result.
The fix: add your Google rating and a few written reviews, real before and after photos (our photo guide helps), and your LBP, EWRB or PGDB details if your trade has them.
9. Make it look current
An old copyright year, a disconnected number, a service you stopped offering or a "Not secure" warning in the browser all make people wonder whether you're still trading.
The fix: update the details, remove anything out of date, and make sure your site uses https (secure). Most hosts include the security certificate free.
If you've done all nine and it's still quiet
Give it time. New pages and new reviews take weeks to show up in search. Keep adding job photos and asking for reviews. If the site is old, slow or hard to update, it may be quicker to replace it than keep patching it. Our guide to what to put on a tradie website is a good spec to hold a new one to.
Swap it for one that works
Tell Ted your trade and the suburbs you work. We build the new site, you approve it before it goes live, and we run it from there.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my website not getting any enquiries?
The most common reasons are that it isn't showing on Google for the searches your customers make, it's slow or awkward on a phone, the phone number is hard to find or can't be tapped, it doesn't say clearly what you do and where, or the contact form is broken. Check each one in that order.
How do I check if my website is on Google?
Search Google for site:yourdomain.co.nz. If nothing appears, Google hasn't indexed your site. Set up Google Search Console, which is free, submit your sitemap, and check for any errors it reports.
How fast should a tradie website load?
On a phone on mobile data, the main content should appear in about two and a half seconds or less. Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool will test your page and show what is slowing it down, which is most often oversized photos.
How long does it take for a new tradie website to get calls?
Enquiries from your Google Business Profile can start within weeks once it's verified and reviewed. Ranking the website itself for competitive searches usually takes a few months of steady work: service and area pages, reviews, photos and a linked profile.
