Solved: Guiding Web Design Clients Post-Launch Without Marketing?

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out! Read your post and it's a problem I've seen a fair few times over the years. You build a brilliant, shiny new website for a client, they're chuffed with it, and then... crickets. It's a really common situation, so you're not alone in this.

I'm happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance from my experience running paid ad campaigns. Hopefuly it gives you a bit of a framework to help guide your clients. Honestly, you're right to be skeptical about just handing them a 20-page PDF. Most buisness owners are drowning in work as it is, they're not going to suddenly become marketing experts overnight, no matter how good the guide is. It's just not realistic.

We'll need to look at the root of the problem...

The core issue here is a mismatch in expectations. Clients often see a website as a passive thing, a bit like a digital brochure. They think because it exists, customers will just find it. But a website isn't a magnet; it's a destination. And if you don't build any roads leading to it, no one's ever going to visit. They stick with Instagram or Facebook because those platforms have the roads built-in – their existing followers and the platform's algorithm do the heavy lifting for them, at least to a certain degree.

The key is to change their perspective. They need to see the website not as the final step, but as the central hub of their marketing efforts. It's the place where all the roads you're about to help them build should lead. This is a conversation you almost need to have with them during the web design process, not just after launch. Framing it as 'now we need a plan to get your ideal customers to this fantastic new site' can make a world of diference.

It's about educating them that a website 'not working' is rarely about the website itself, especialy if it's well-designed. It's almost always a traffic problem. And a traffic problem is a marketing problem. Once they get that, they're in a much better headspace to think about solutions rather than just abandoning the site you've built for them.

I'd say you need a framework to guide them...

So, instead of a generic document, what you need is a simple conversational framework. A few key questions you can ask them to steer them in the right direction. The most important question they need to answer is this:

Are your ideal customers actively searching for what you sell right now?

The answer to this one question pretty much dictates their entire initial marketing strategy. It splits their options into two clear paths.

Path A: YES, my customers are actively searching.

This is typical for most service-based businesses or for products that solve an urgent, known problem. Think electricians, plumbers, lawyers, accountants, or even specific software solutions. When someone's pipe bursts, they don't browse Instagram for a plumber; they go straight to Google and type "emergency plumber near me".

For these clients, the answer is almost always Google Ads. It's the most direct way to capture that 'intent'. You're putting their business directly in front of someone who has their hand up saying "I need this now".

You can tell them to think about keywords their customers would use. For an electrician client, it would be things like:

• -> "Electrician near me"
• -> "Emergency electrician London"
• -> "Electrical repair service"
• -> "Fit new sockets cost"

The goal is to get their new website to show up for those searches. Social media is largely a waste of time and money for this kind of immediate need. You could also mention Google Local Service Ads, which are even more direct for trades.

This is also where you can help them manage expectations on costs. Getting a lead from Google Ads isn't free. I've seen it vary wildly depending on the industry and location. I remember running a campaign for an HVAC company in a competitive area, and they saw costs around $60 per lead. But then we've also run ads for childcare services where the cost per signup was about $10. One of our best ever consumer services campaigns for a home cleaning company got the cost down to just £5 per lead. So it varies. A good starting ad spend budget for a small local business is usually around £1,000 - £2,000 a month to get meaningful data and a steady flow of leads. Wether that's worth it depends on how much a new customer is worth to them.

Path B: NO, my customers are not actively searching.

This applies to businesses selling innovative products, luxury goods, art, handcrafted items, or anything where the customer doesn't know it exists or doesn't feel an urgent need for it. Nobody wakes up and Googles "handcrafted reclaimed wood earrings" if they've never seen them before. They need to be shown them. This is about creating demand, not capturing it.

For these clients, the answer is usually social media ads, like Meta (Facebook & Instagram). These platforms are brilliant for 'discovery'. You're not waiting for people to search; you're putting your product in their feed based on their interests, demographics, and behaviours.

The absolute key to success here is targeting. You need to help them think about their ideal customer persona. For that handcrafted jewellery client, who are they? What magazines do they read (or what online blogs)? What other brands do they like? Are they into sustainable fashion? Ethical shopping? You can target all of that on Facebook.

If their clients are B2B, selling to other businesses, the logic is the same but the platform might change. If they're selling to small businesses, Meta ads can work well using targeting like "Facebook Business Page Admins" or "Small Business Owners". But if they're trying to reach decision-makers in specific, larger industries (e.g., Head of Marketing in software companies), then LinkedIn Ads is usually the better bet, as the targeting options are much more precise for B2B. It's more expensive, but you're reaching exactly who you need to.

You probably should show them what 'good' looks like...

Once your client understands which path they should be on, their next question is likely "Okay, so how do I do this?" or "Who can do this for me?". Since you don't offer the service, the best thing you can do is help them become an educated buyer when they look for a marketing partner or agency.

This is where you can really add value and build a massive amount of trust. Tell them what to look for, and what to avoid.

1. Case Studies are everything. They should ignore any agency that can't show them proven, relevant results. And I mean relevant. If they sell high-end women's apparel, an agency showing them a case study about generating leads for plumbers isn't that helpful. They need to see experience in their sandpit. I remember one campaign we worked on for a women's apparel brand where we achieved a 691% return on their ad spend using Meta ads. That's the kind of specific, relevant result they should be looking for. If their client sells online courses, they should be looking for an agency that can show them something like the campaign we ran that generated $115k in revenue in just 1.5 months using Meta ads. The numbers prove the competence.

2. Book an intro call. Any decent agency will offer a free consultation or an initial chat. This is the client's chance to interview them. They should come prepared with questions. A good agency won't just sell; they'll offer genuine advice and insights on that first call. It should feel like they're getting value and a taste of the expertise before they've even signed anything.

3. Be wary of guarantees. This is a massive red flag. Anyone in paid advertising who promises a certain ROAS or number of leads is either lying or inexperienced. There are far to many variables. You can't predict exactly how an audience will react or what competitors will be doing. An expert will talk about benchmarks, expected ranges, and their process for optimising towards a goal, not gaurantee an outcome.

Honestly, if a potential client asks us for references after we've shown them detailed case studies and given them a free strategy review, it's often a sign for us that they dont really trust us. Trust is so important. Your clients should find someone who's work and expertise they feel confident in from the start.

You'll need to manage their expectations on costs and results...

This is probably the most important part. Clients abandon websites because they expect instant, free results. You need to arm them with some realistic numbers so they understand it's an investment.

The cost to get a customer or a lead (the Cost Per Acquisition or CPA) can vary massively. I've put together a rough guide you could even share with them to make it tangible. These are just ballpark figures based on our experience, but they're a good starting point.

Explaining this table to them is powerful. It shows that getting a sale for £10 is actually a great result in the UK, not a failure. It also shows them that the conversion rate of their website is a massive factor. This leads nicely into how your work connects to their marketing success.

And you can tell them that these costs aren't static. A proffesional can work to bring them down. It involves constantly testing different audiences, trying new ad creatives, and improving the landing page. I remember working with a B2B SaaS client whose cost to aquire a user was £100 when they came to us. After a few months of optimisation using Meta and Google Ads, we got that down to £7. That's the kind of impact expertise can have, but it takes time and a methodical approach.

We'll need to look at their funnel...

This is where you can tie everything back to your own work. The website you build is the most critical part of the advertising 'funnel'. You can have the best ads in the world, but if they lead to a slow, confusing, or untrustworthy website, you'll get zero sales. The ads just get people to the front door; the website has to persuade them to come inside and buy something.

You can teach them to diagnose problems by looking at where people drop off:

• -> Lots of ad impressions, very few clicks (Low CTR)? The problem is the ad creative or the ad copy. It's not grabbing attention or the message is wrong.
• -> Lots of clicks to the homepage, but very few people visit a product/service page? The problem is likely the homepage. It's not clear what they should do next, or the value proposition isn't strong enough. Or the ad promised something the homepage doesn't deliver.
• -> Lots of visits to product pages, but no 'add to carts'? The problem is on the product page. It could be poor product photos, a lack of descriptive copy, the price being too high, or a lack of reviews and social proof.
• -> Lots of 'add to carts' but few completed checkouts? The problem is the checkout process. It might be too long, have unexpected shipping costs, or not look secure.

This is incredibly empowering for you. It helps you demonstrate that the website is a conversion tool, and you can even advise them on things they can add to make it convert better. Things like trust badges, customer testimonials, links to their social profiles, clear contact information, and professional photography are not just 'nice-to-haves'; they are essential for turning a visitor into a customer. I've seen so many e-commerce stores fail simply because their site looked a bit amateur and untrustworthy, and people just weren't comfortable putting their card details in.

For your B2B clients, the funnel is just as important. They're not selling a £20 t-shirt; they're often selling a complex service. Their website needs a very clear call-to-action. What is the one thing they want a potential client to do? Is it to book a demo? Schedule a free consultation? Download a case study? The entire homepage should be geared towards persuading a visitor to take that one specific action. Offering a completely free trial or a free audit is often the best way to get people in the door for software or high-ticket services. A lot of businesses are scared to do this, but the companies that win are the ones that make it as easy as possible for customers to try before they buy.

I've detailed my main recommendations for you in a table below. Think of it as a checklist you can mentally run through with each client.

By using this kind of framework, you're not just handing off a website and wishing them luck. You're giving them the fundamental knowledge they need to be successful with it. You're transitioning from being their web designer to being a trusted advisor, which is far more valuable and will likely lead to better long-term relationships and referrals.

Ultimately, helping your clients understand this stuff is a huge win for you. When they succeed, it's partly because you built them a great website and pointed them in the right direction to get traffic. Their success becomes your success story. They're far more likely to stick with you for hosting and maintenance, and come back to you for future projects, because you've proven you care about their actual business results, not just delivering a set of files.

While this guidance will put your clients miles ahead of where they are now, actually implementing a paid advertising strategy is a complex, full-time job. It requires constant monitoring, testing, and optimisation. An expert partner can navigate the complexities of ad platforms, write compelling copy that converts, and analyse data to continually drive down costs and improve returns. It's a specialist skill, and for a busy business owner, trying to do it themselves alongside everything else is often a recipe for frustration and wasted money.

If you or any of your clients would ever like to have a chat and a more detailed, no-obligation strategy review, please feel free to get in touch. We're always happy to have a look and provide some specific advice.

Hope this helps!

Regards,

Team @ Lukas Holschuh