PODCAST: Season 7, Episode 45
Website not getting enquiries? You’re not alone. It looks lovely, it’s been live for months, and the phone still isn’t ringing.
This week I’m joined by Sophie from The Marketing Launch Company, a website marketing strategist who has built and refreshed around 100 websites for small business owners. We get into the gap between the DIY website you cobbled together yourself and the expensive agency site you’re too scared to touch, and why neither usually comes with an actual marketing strategy behind it.
We also talk Wix vs Squarespace for SEO, why nobody is reading your website copy, and the telltale signs that a website was built with AI.
Why Is My Website Not Getting Enquiries?
In this episode, Sophie and I cover:
- The gap between DIY websites and agency websites for small businesses
- Why a website without a marketing strategy is just a brochure sitting in a drawer
- What Sophie looks at first: the words, the headlines, the user journey and how easy it is to get in touch
- Why no one reads your website (but Google and AI do), and why your copy needs to be scannable
- Why your website, Instagram and LinkedIn should look like the same business
- Wix vs Squarespace vs WordPress for SEO
- The telltale signs of an AI-built website
- How Sophie turns around a website refresh in two days, on her own, around school hours
- Why she’d rather be curious about people than “network”
DIY Website vs Agency Website: What Small Businesses Get Wrong
Sophie sees two routes. With no budget, you DIY on Wix, Squarespace or Shopify and end up with something that might look nice but has zero marketing strategy, so it isn’t seen on Google and brings in a trickle of enquiries at best. With budget, you go to an agency, and end up paying monthly for someone to change a button on a site you don’t understand, often on a domain you don’t even own.
Her point: marketing comes first. Before she touches a website builder, she wants to know who’s landing on the site and what they need to see to pick up the phone or send the email. The design and the platform are just the delivery.
Wix vs Squarespace for SEO: Which Is Better?
Sophie works on both. Squarespace is easier if you’re less tech-confident, because blocks stay where you put them. Wix offers more customisation and, in her view, has upped its SEO game so much in the last five years that it now beats Squarespace. Her example: Wix checks whether your image alt text actually uses your keyword, rather than just ticking a box.
WordPress? A brilliant, powerful system, but it needs a lot of looking after with plugins, hosting, updates and security.
The Rebellious Leader Audit
- If your ideal client landed on your homepage right now, would they know within seconds who you help and how to get in touch?
- Do you know which platform your website is built on, and could you change a word on it yourself?
- Is your website copy written in scannable bullet points, or are you asking people to read walls of text?
- Does your website look and sound like the same business as your Instagram and LinkedIn?
- Is your website bringing you enquiries, or is it a pretty brochure that nobody finds?
Your Rebellious Decision
Open your website on your phone, pretend you’re your ideal client, and try to get in touch with yourself. Fix the first thing that slows you down this week.
Mentioned in This Episode
About Sophie: Sophie is a website marketing strategist and the founder of The Marketing Launch Company, based in Haslemere. She’s worked in marketing since her first job, earned her CIM qualification on the job, and spent seven years as marketing director of an events and conferences company she co-owned. She launched The Marketing Launch Company three years ago, specialising in websites for small business owners, with refreshes turned around in two days. She’s just launched a self-guided course on SEO and getting enquiries from your website.
- Sophie’s website: https://www.themarketinglaunch.co.uk/
- Sophie on Instagram: @marketinglaunchcompany
- The Rebellion waitlist (the AI-built page we talk about): https://millsgray.kartra.com/page/TherebellionWL
- The Rebellious Leader on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0H3PB1TPD
Let’s Connect
Has this episode made you look at your website through slightly narrowed eyes? Come and tell me what you’re changing first. I’m on Instagram at @mills_gray, so slide into my DMs.
And if you want more of my take on doing business your way rather than the way you’ve been told to, my book, The Rebellious Leader, is out now.