Why Your Website Traffic Isn't Converting (Diagnostic Guide)

Home service websites convert 3-10% of visitors into leads. PPC landing pages average 10.22%. For benchmarks, cleaning services convert at 17.65% (the highest in home services), while roofing and gutter companies face the most expensive leads at $228 cost per lead.

If you’re below those numbers, something in your conversion process needs fixing. And most businesses are spending in the wrong place: the average company spends $92 to acquire a customer but only $1 on converting them. Going from a 1% to 3% conversion rate delivers a 200% revenue increase, far easier than driving 200% more traffic to the same broken funnel.

Check 1: Page speed

A 1-second delay in loading costs 7% in conversions. Three seconds costs 21%.

88.5% of web designers say slow loading is the #1 reason visitors leave. Before checking anything else, check your speed.

Test by going to Google PageSpeed Insights and entering your homepage URL. Good looks like mobile scores above 50 (ideally 80+) and desktop above 70 (ideally 90+).

Common fixes include compressing images with TinyPNG or Squoosh, removing unused plugins, upgrading hosting, and enabling caching.

Speed is the foundation. Nothing else matters if visitors leave before the page loads.

Check 2: Mobile experience

60%+ of home service searches happen on mobile. Sites that fail on mobile lose most of their traffic.

Test by opening your website on your phone. Try to call using the phone number and fill out the contact form.

Common problems include phone numbers missing click-to-call, form fields too small to tap, and text requiring zoom to read.

The above-the-fold rule matters most. On mobile, the primary CTA (usually “Call Now”) should be visible immediately. Mobile users are often urgent.

Contractors with above-the-fold CTAs on mobile see 304% better conversion than those who bury the phone number.

Check 3: Clear call to action

Visitors expect the contact method to be obvious. The CTA should be visible within 2 seconds of landing.

Test by having someone who’s never seen your site look at it. Ask what they should click to get in touch. Time how long it takes them.

Good looks like a primary CTA in the header that stays visible on scroll, a clickable phone number, a single clear action per page, and a button color that contrasts with the background.

Conversion killers include multiple competing CTAs, vague language like “Learn More” instead of “Get Free Quote,” hidden contact info, and generic forms with no context.

Personalized CTAs perform 202% better than generic ones. “Get Your Free AC Inspection” beats “Contact Us.”

Check 4: Trust signals

Homeowners let contractors into their homes. They need to trust you first.

Essential trust signals include Google reviews (linked or embedded), license and insurance badges, before/after photos of real jobs, service area map, years in business, and certifications like NATE. Photos matter more than you’d expect: Harrington Movers increased conversions by 45.45% just by switching from stock photos to real photos of their team and trucks. Your actual crew and your actual vehicles build more trust than any stock image of a smiling handshake.

Test by looking at your homepage as a skeptical homeowner. Can you answer: Is this company legit? Will they do good work? Will they rip me off?

If those answers take more than 5 seconds to find, add more proof.

Check 5: Value proposition clarity

Can a visitor tell what you do and why you’re different within 3 seconds?

“Full-Service HVAC Company” says nothing. “24/7 Emergency AC Repair in [City] - Same Day Service” says everything.

Try the 5-second test: show someone your homepage for 5 seconds, then ask what the company does, who it serves, and why someone should choose it. Vague messaging means vague answers.

Common clarity killers include industry jargon that confuses homeowners (like “SEER rating”), generic taglines like “Quality Service You Can Trust,” missing location info, and feature lists without benefits.

Lead with the outcome the homeowner wants. “Stay cool this summer” beats “High-efficiency cooling solutions.”

Check 6: Form friction

Forms kill conversions when they ask too much. Over 80% of users abandon online forms after starting to fill them out. For contractors, each abandoned form represents a $1,000+ lost job opportunity walking out the door.

The optimal form asks for name, phone, email (optional), and a brief description of need. Four fields max for initial contact.

Run a form friction audit: count your form fields (more than 5 is too many), check for unnecessary required fields, look for confusing labels, and test on mobile to see if you can complete it with your thumb.

Every additional field drops conversion by ~4%. Require only what you need to make first contact. Consider replacing static forms entirely: AI chatbots and SMS follow-up tools like LeadTruffle report 30-40% higher conversion vs static forms for home service businesses. A chat widget that asks one question at a time feels like a conversation, not paperwork.

Check 7: Traffic quality

Sometimes the traffic itself causes the problem.

Signs of traffic quality problems include high bounce rate from specific sources, visitors from wrong geographic areas, mismatched search intent (they wanted “DIY” not “hire a pro”), and competitor traffic from researchers rather than buyers.

Check by looking at Google Analytics by source, comparing conversion rates by traffic source, checking geographic distribution, and reviewing search queries driving traffic.

If PPC traffic converts at 8% but organic converts at 1%, the organic traffic is likely informational rather than transactional. Target different keywords.

Check 8: Competitive positioning

Visitors often compare 3+ contractors before deciding. Sites that fail to stand out blend in.

Ask yourself: What makes you better than the contractor whose site they just left? Is that difference clear in the first 10 seconds? What unique value do you offer, like a guarantee, same-day service, or financing?

Position yourself by leading with your strongest differentiator. Highlight what makes you unique. Use comparison language like “Unlike other contractors, we…” and be specific with exact response times rather than “fast service.”

If you struggle to articulate why someone should choose you, so will the visitor.

Check 9: Page-by-page conversion

Your homepage might convert fine while your service pages fail.

Run a page-level audit: pull conversion rates by page from Google Analytics, identify pages with high traffic but low conversion, and apply the above checks to those specific pages.

Common patterns include service pages missing CTAs, blog posts with no path to conversion, location pages without phone numbers, and FAQ pages without contact options.

Every page that gets traffic should have a clear conversion path.

Quick wins by priority

Fix today: make your phone number clickable on mobile, add it to every page header, and reduce your form to 4 fields or fewer.

Fix this week: add Google reviews to your homepage, speed up mobile load time, and rewrite your headline to be specific.

Fix this month: create dedicated landing pages for your top services, add before/after photos, and set up visitor identification to capture anonymous traffic.

When to look beyond the website

If you’ve fixed everything above and conversions remain low, the problem might lie elsewhere.

Other factors include lead quality (wrong audience reaching the site), slow follow-up on leads you do get, pricing that’s out of market, and reputation issues where bad reviews offset a good site.

The website gets blamed for conversion problems that happen elsewhere. Make sure you’re measuring the right thing.

Capture unconverted traffic

Even well-performing websites convert only 10-15% of visitors. The rest leave.

Visitor identification captures 15-25% of those anonymous visitors. Retargeting keeps you visible to the rest. For more details, see how visitor tracking works.

Improving conversion lifts your baseline. Recovery strategies capture the overflow. Both matter.