Hello and welcome! So, the sad reality is that the vast majority of business websites either generate no leads at all, or very few. In the next 10 to 15 minutes, I’m going to explain exactly why that is—and more importantly, what you can do about it yourself, without relying on anyone else.
So, why listen to me?
Let’s start with a bit about who I am and why you should listen.
My name is Darren Jamieson, and I run a digital marketing agency called Engage Web. Next month, we’ll be celebrating our 16th anniversary. I’ve been in the digital marketing industry since 1998—yes, the last century. I know I don’t look old enough. Thank you, I appreciate that.
I started out as the first-ever in-house web designer for Game, the high street retailer. These days, our largest client pays us over £30,000 a month to manage their digital marketing.
That might sound like a lot, but within the first year of working with them, we increased their enquiries by 10 times—that’s a 1,000% increase. And that’s why they’re still with us. This client has operations in four different countries and about 600 to 700 franchises, so yes, there’s a lot of work involved.
Let’s talk about why most business websites don’t get any enquiries.
Picture your website: you’ve got a logo, maybe some navigation at the top or side. A few pages: About Us, Meet the Team, Services, and Contact Us.
And still… nothing. No enquiries.
So what do you do?
You start spending money. You might have tried PPC (Pay Per Click) through Google Ads, Facebook Ads (that tempting “Boost This Post” for £5 offer) or SEO (search engine optimisation), which can cost a fortune—some agencies charge thousands per month.
All of this sends traffic to your website, but most websites don’t convert. So again, nothing.
You may try writing blogs because that’s what you’ve heard people do.
Let’s take an example. Suppose you’re in property. You might write blogs like:
“How Do I Sell My House Quickly?”
“How Do I Maximise My Rental Investment?”
“How Do I Get Rid of Problem Tenants?”
Those are great. People do search for those things. But even if they land on your blog, they’re probably not going to send you an enquiry.
Why? Because blogs aren’t designed to convert.
What you actually need are pillar pages
Instead of relying on a generic “Services” page that lists everything, you need to create a separate page for each service you offer. These are called Pillar Pages or Content Pillars.
So if you offer:
Invoice Factoring
Invoice Finance
You should have a separate page for each one. Then, if you write a blog like “What’s the difference between invoice factoring and invoice finance?”, you can link the relevant keywords back to the corresponding service pages.
Every blog you write should stand on its own, contain links to your pillar pages and reinforce to Google which pages are important.
The more links pointing to your pillar pages, the more authority they have in the eyes of Google, and the better they rank.
A single page cannot rank well for multiple services or topics. Each service needs its own optimised page.
What about social media?
You can post on LinkedIn, write articles, or newsletters there and link back to your website. But there’s a problem—you don’t own LinkedIn. You don’t own Facebook, Twitter, or any social platform.
Years ago, Budweiser UK spent millions building their Facebook page. At the time, when they posted something, most followers saw it. But over time, Facebook reduced organic reach to just 4%. That means if you don’t pay, hardly anyone sees your content.
So, stop relying on platforms you can’t control. Focus on your website and email list—because you own those.
Give people what they want instantly
Let’s talk about what website visitors really want. Remember The Matrix? When Trinity needed to fly a helicopter, Tank downloaded the pilot program into her brain—instant ability.
That’s what your website visitors want: instant solutions to their problems, with zero effort.
How do you provide that?
With a lead magnet.
What is a lead magnet?
A lead magnet is something valuable your target audience wants—something they’ll exchange their contact details for.
Examples include:
“50 Poses for Personal Branding Photography”
“17 Ways to Increase the Value of Your Home Without Spending a Penny”
A free consultation
An exclusive video
A downloadable PDF guide
A lead magnet is only a lead magnet if you get the lead. This should be, bare minimum, their name and email. Possibly phone number, but don’t ask for it unless you’re actually going to use it, or you give a reason, like “We’ll send this via WhatsApp”.
The details then go into your email database using platforms like Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, or Keep (formerly Infusionsoft). That data is yours, unlike your social followers.
Don’t forget to actually promote your lead magnet
You can use PPC, SEO, social media, email marketing or YouTube videos with links to landing pages; but always direct the traffic to your landing page with your lead magnet. Never send people to a generic homepage.
And don’t worry too much about perfecting your lead magnet. Most people won’t even read it. What matters is the title, cover and perceived value.
As a real example, one of our clients, Chester.com, had a “Subscribe to Our Newsletter” box on their homepage. After two years, they had just 151 subscribers.
So in mid-November, we added a simple Christmas Events Calendar for Chester as a downloadable PDF. Just two pages.
Five weeks later: 7,000+ email subscribers.
All highly targeted people interested in what’s going on in Chester—valuable to advertisers and sponsors.
It really is that simple. But what do you do with the emails?
Once you collect those emails, don’t just sit on them.
You need an email automation sequence, which entails:
- A welcome email immediately
- A follow-up 3 days later
- Another email a week later
- Ongoing newsletters or valuable content
Keep your list warm. If you wait six months to email them, they’ll forget who you are and unsubscribe.
And here’s something almost nobody does—but you absolutely should: pick up the phone.
Call them within a day or two and ask, “Hi, how did you find the guide you downloaded?”
They’ll usually say, “Oh, I haven’t looked at it yet.”
That’s your opening: “What prompted you to download it?”
Now, they’ll tell you their problem—and coincidentally, that’s exactly what you solve.
So, if you have a website that gets traffic and you’re not capturing leads with a proper lead magnet and funnel—you’re wasting your traffic.
Set this up first. Then run your ads, SEO, and campaigns. Then you’ll see results.
Thank you very much!
About your host:
Darren has worked within digital marketing since the last century, and was the first in-house web designer for video games retailer GAME in the UK, known as Electronics Boutique in the States. After co-founding his own agency, Engage Web, in 2009, Darren has worked with clients around the world, including Australia, Canada and the USA.
iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/engaging-marketeer/id1612454837
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenjamieson/
Engaging Marketeer: https://engagingmarketeer.com
Engage Web: https://www.engageweb.co.uk
