Most small businesses don’t lose customers online because of one big failure. They lose them through a handful of ordinary mistakes: a website that doesn’t say where you work, a contact form nobody has tested, a Google profile that hasn’t been touched in two years. Each one is fixable, and most cost nothing but time.
Here are the ten I’d check first on any small business website, with what to do about each one.
1. No clear goal for the website
If you can’t say what you want a visitor to do, the website can’t help them do it. For most local businesses the answer is simple: call, send an enquiry or book. Pick the main action, make it obvious on every page, and count how often it happens. Everything else in this list is easier once you know what you’re measuring.
2. Writing for everyone
“Quality service at competitive prices” could describe any business anywhere. Say who you help, what you do for them and where you do it, in the words your customers use. “Boiler servicing for homes in Derry and Limavady” tells a visitor and Google far more than a paragraph of general claims.
3. Service pages that don’t say what or where
One “Services” page listing everything is hard to rank and hard to read. Give each main service its own page that explains what’s included, roughly what it costs or how pricing works, and which areas you cover. If you add pages for towns you serve, give each one real local detail. Copies with only the town name swapped help nobody.
4. Neglecting your Google Business Profile
For local searches, your Business Profile is often seen before your website. Check the primary category is the most specific one that fits, the phone number and hours are right, and the photos are recent and real. Use your real business name: Google’s guidelines for representing your business don’t allow extra keywords or locations in the name, and breaking them can get a profile suspended.
5. Not asking for reviews, or asking the wrong way
Happy customers rarely leave a review unless you ask. Ask soon after the job, send a direct link, and reply to every review, including the bad ones. Don’t offer anything in return and don’t only ask the customers you expect to be positive: Google’s policy prohibits both. There’s more on this in our guide to Google reviews for Northern Ireland businesses.
6. A website that’s awkward on a phone
Most local searches happen on mobiles, often when someone wants help quickly. Open your own site on your phone and try to call you, find your prices and send an enquiry. If any of that takes more than a few seconds, fix it. Google’s free PageSpeed Insights will show whether the site is slow and what’s causing it.
7. Contact forms nobody tests
Forms break quietly. A plugin update, a changed email address or a spam filter can stop enquiries arriving, and you won’t know until a customer mentions it. Send yourself a test message through every form once a month, and check it arrives where it should.
8. Spreading yourself across too many channels
You don’t need to be on every platform. A complete Business Profile, a clear website and one social channel your customers actually use will usually beat five half-finished accounts. Do a few things properly and drop what isn’t bringing enquiries.
9. Publishing generic content
AI tools make it easy to fill a blog, and the result tends to read like every other blog. Google’s guidance on creating helpful, people-first content asks whether content shows first-hand expertise. Write about the questions customers actually ask you, the jobs you’ve done and the prices you charge. That’s the part nobody else can copy.
10. Not knowing where enquiries come from
If you don’t know which enquiries came from Google, your Business Profile or word of mouth, you can’t tell what’s worth doing more of. Set up Google Search Console and analytics, track form submissions and phone clicks, and ask new customers how they found you. If you use analytics or advertising cookies, check you’re asking for consent in line with the ICO’s guidance on cookies, which is being updated.
Where to start
If you only do three things this month, test your contact forms, tidy your Google Business Profile and ask your last ten happy customers for a review. Then work through the rest one at a time.
To check your own site properly, use the free Website SEO Health Check. It takes about an hour and doesn’t need paid software. If you’re planning a new site, the website redesign checklist covers what to get right before you start. For hands-on help, see website design and SEO services in Northern Ireland.
