Solved: Trouble Getting Leads Despite Marketing Efforts

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out!

Read through your situation and I can tell you're frustrated. It’s completely understandable. Putting in all that effort – flyers, signs, building out a digital presence – and hearing nothing but silence is a tough place to be, especially when you're just starting out. The good news is that what you're experiencing is incredibly common, and more importantly, it's fixable. The fact you're getting clicks and visits is actually a positive sign, even if it doesn't feel like it. It tells us part of the system is working. People are seeing your ads and they're curious enough to click.

The problem, and where most new businesses go wrong, isn't the traffic itself. It’s what happens in the crucial seconds after they land on your page. The leads aren't materialising because there's a breakdown somewhere between the click and the conversion. My gut feeling, based on seeing this exact scenario play out countless times, is that the issue lies with your landing page, your offer, and the message you're sending to potential customers. Let's walk through how we'd diagnose and fix this.

We'll need to look at your landing page first, not your ads...

This might sound a bit backwards, but the first thing we need to scrutinise is your landing page. You mentioned you had your Google Ads "set up professionally," and the clicks you're getting prove that. The ads are doing their basic job: they are driving people to your digital front door. But if nobody is ringing the bell, the problem is almost certainly the door itself, or what they see when they peek through the window.

Pouring more money into ads right now would be like trying to fill a bucket with a massive hole in the bottom. You can pour faster, but it's just going to leak out at the same rate. You have to patch the bucket first. Your landing page is that bucket.

For a high-trust, high-ticket service like home remodeling, your website has to do some very heavy lifting. A customer isn't buying a £20 t-shirt; they're considering handing over tens of thousands of pounds and inviting your team into their home for weeks or months. The level of trust required is immense, and your website is the first and most important tool for building it. If it fails, nothing else matters.

So, what makes a landing page fail in your industry?

1. A Crisis of Confidence: Does your site look the part? I don't mean it needs to be an award-winning piece of design, but it needs to look solid, professional, and trustworthy. We're talking clean layout, easy navigation, and no obvious technical glitches. If the page is slow to load, looks wonky on a mobile phone, or is just a wall of text with a couple of blurry photos, you've lost the visitor before they've even read a word. It instantly signals 'amateur', and 'amateur' is the last thing someone wants when it comes to framing a dormer on their house.

2. The Power of Proof: This is probably the most common failing I see. You absolutely cannot tell people you do great work; you have to *show* them. Stock photos are a kiss of death. They scream 'fake'. You need a gallery of big, beautiful, high-resolution photos of your actual projects. For decks, dormers, and framing, before-and-after shots are pure gold. They are the most compelling proof you can possibly offer. They tell a story of transformation that words never can.

Beyond photos, you need social proof. Where are the testimonials from happy clients? Not just a sentence, but a name and a location (e.g., "John S., [Your Town]"). A short video testimonial is even better. Do you have any trade accreditations? Are you insured? These logos and trust badges need to be visible. People are actively looking for reasons to disqualify you, for red flags. You need to proactively give them reasons to trust you.

3. A Vague Message: What does your landing page headline say? If it's something generic like "Home Remodeling Services" or "Your Local Construction Company," it's not working hard enough. It doesn't connect. It doesn't solve a problem. It just states a fact. We need to go deeper than that, which brings me to my next point.

I'd say you need to stop thinking about 'customers' and start thinking about their nightmares...

This is a mental shift that changes everything. Forget the dry, demographic profile of your "ideal customer". It’s useless. "Homeowners aged 35-65 in this postcode" tells you nothing of value. It leads to bland, generic marketing that speaks to no one.

To stop burning cash, you have to define your customer by their specific, urgent, and expensive problem. Their nightmare. Your customer isn't just a person who 'wants a deck'. Why do they want it? What is the real pain point?

Maybe their nightmare is staring out at their scrappy, useless back garden, knowing another summer is about to pass them by. It's the embarassment of not having a proper space to host a family BBQ. It's the frustration of having this vision in their head for years and not knowing how to make it a reality. You don't sell deck builds; you sell the 'envy of the neighbours', the 'perfect spot for a gin and tonic on a Friday evening', the 'unforgettable family gatherings'.

For a dormer extension, the nightmare is even more acute. It’s the stress of a growing family squeezed into a space that's too small. It's the arguments over the single bathroom. It’s the massive, looming dread of having to move house, uproot the kids from their school, and take on a bigger mortgage. You're not selling 'extra square footage'; you're selling a way to stay in the home and the neighbourhood they love. You're selling a solution to a deep-seated family stress.

Once you understand this nightmare, it becomes the engine for all your messaging. Your landing page headline is no longer "Dormer Extensions." It becomes something like, "Love Your Home But Need More Space? Add a Dormer and Stay in the Neighbourhood You Love." Your ad copy changes. Your entire approach shifts from being a builder to being a problem solver. This is how you connect with people on an emotional level, which is what's required to get them to pick up the phone for a project of this scale. You need to show them you understand their real problem, not just the construction task.

This understanding of their 'nightmare' is what should inform every single word on your landing page. It should be writen to speak directly to that pain, agitate it a little, and then present your service as the clear, expert solution.

You probably should delete the "Contact Us" button...

Alright, let's talk about the final, and often most-fumbled, step: the Call to Action (CTA). What are you asking people to do on your landing page? If the main button says "Contact Us" or "Submit", you are making a huge mistake.

Think about it from the customer's perspective. They land on your page. They're wary, sceptical. They're evaluating you. A "Contact Us" button is incredibly high-friction. It's vague and low-value. What happens when I contact you? Do I fill out a long, tedious form? Do I get put on a mailing list? Will I get a high-pressure sales call immediately? It puts all the work and all the risk on the prospect, for an unknown return. Most people won't bother.

Your offer, your CTA, needs to be the complete opposite. It must be high-value and low-friction. It has to be an irresistable next step that delivers tangible value to the prospect and makes them *want* to engage. You have to give them something to get something.

For your business, here are some far more powerful offers:

• -> "Get a Free, No-Obligation On-Site Quote": This is specific. 'On-site' implies a personal, tailored service. 'No-Obligation' removes the risk and fear of being pressured.
• -> "Request a Free Design Consultation & Estimate": This feels even more valuable. 'Design Consultation' suggests you're bringing expertise and ideas, not just a price list. It positions you as a partner, not just a contractor.
• -> "Download Our Free Guide: The 7 Costly Mistakes to Avoid When Building a Deck in [Your Area]": This is a lead magnet. It's a slightly different strategy. You offer a piece of valuable content in exchange for their email address. This gets you a lead you can nurture over time, demonstrates your expertise, and builds trust. You become the helpful expert before you've even spoken to them.

The button text itself should reflect this value. Instead of "Submit", it should say "Get My Free Quote Now" or "Book My Free Design Session". Every element of the CTA should be about what *they* get, not what *you* want. This simple change can dramatically increase the number of people who take that next step because you've made it safe and valuable for them to do so.

You'll need to get surgical with your Google Ads...

Once your landing page is a high-trust, conversion-focused machine with a powerful offer, *then* we can turn our attention back to the Google Ads. As I said, they are driving clicks, but are they the *right* clicks? We need to ensure the traffic you're paying for has the highest possible intent to buy.

In the home services industry, this means getting laser-focused on your keywords. Broad, generic terms are a black hole for your budget. Someone searching for "home remodeling ideas" is in a completely different stage than someone searching for "deck builder in [your town]". The first is dreaming, the second is buying. You only want to pay for the buyers.

Your Keyword Strategy:

You need to target what we call 'long-tail keywords' that show clear commercial intent. These are longer, more specific phrases. Ditch "framing" and target "framing contractors for home extension [your city]". Ditch "deck" and target "composite deck installation cost [your county]".

A few examples of high-intent keywords you should be targeting:

• -> "deck building company near me"
• -> "get a quote for a new dormer"
• -> "local framing experts for extensions"
• -> "best deck builders in [your town]"
• -> "cost to build a two-storey extension"

Negative Keywords are Your Best Friend:

Just as important is telling Google what *not* to show your ads for. Every click from an irrelevant search is wasted money. You need a robust negative keyword list from day one. This should include terms like:

• -> "jobs", "hiring", "careers" (people looking for work, not to hire you)
• -> "DIY", "how to", "plans", "guide" (people who want to do it themselves)
• -> "supplies", "lumber", "tools" (people looking for materials)
• -> "free", "cheap", "pictures", "ideas" (low-intent, research phase)

This ensures your budget is spent only on prospects who are actively looking to hire a professional service like yours. I've seen campaigns where simply adding a comprehensive negative keyword list has cut the cost per lead in half overnight.

Ad Copy that Connects:

Finally, your ad copy must mirror the 'nightmare' and the 'offer' we've just discussed. Each ad group (e.g., one for decks, one for dormers) should have highly specific ads.

A bad ad for decks:
Deck & Framing Services We Build Quality Decks and Extensions. Call Us Today for a Quote!

A good ad for decks:
Local Deck Builders in [Your Town] Transform Your Garden This Summer. Free On-Site Design & Quote. View Our Award-Winning Projects. Fully Insured. Book Your Slot Now.

See the difference? The second ad speaks to a desire (transform your garden), offers specific value (free on-site design), builds trust (award-winning, insured), and has a clear, compelling call to action. It's working much, much harder.

Let's talk about the numbers that actually matter...

One final point, and it’s a big one. You're frustrated by getting no leads, which is really a frustration about cost. You're spending money and seeing no return. But we need to frame this cost correctly. The realy important question is "how much can I afford to spend to acquire a profitable customer?"

For high-ticket services, you have to be willing to pay for a quality lead. We run campaigns for an HVAC company in a competitive area, and they happily pay around $60 per lead because they know their numbers. One closed job is worth thousands. On the other end, we've had a home cleaning company get leads for £5, but their contract values are much smaller. Your business, with projects likely in the tens of thousands, sits firmly in the 'quality over quantity' camp.

Let's do some back-of-the-napkin maths. This is a vital exercise for you.

Now, I am NOT saying you should be paying £1,500 for a lead. But this calculation completely reframes the situation. It shows you that paying £50, £100, or even £200 for a genuinely qualified lead—someone who has requested an on-site quote for a new dormer—is not just affordable, it's an incredibly smart investment. Once you know your numbers, you stop being afraid of the cost and start focusing on the return. It frees you to invest properly in acquiring the right kind of customers.

I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:

This is the main advice I have for you, laid out as an actionable plan. This is the sequence I would follow to turn your campaign from a cost centre into a lead generation machine.

I know this is a huge amount of information to take in. It can feel overwhelming, especially when you're also trying to manage projects and run the day-to-day of a new business. The truth is, building a reliable lead generation system is a seperate skill set from being a brilliant builder. Trying to master both at the same time is incredibly difficult and often leads to the exact frustration you're feeling now.

This is where getting expert help can make all the difference. It allows you to focus on what you do best—creating amazing spaces for homeowners—while someone else focuses on what they do best: ensuring a steady stream of high-quality leads are coming to your door.

If you'd like to walk through this in more detail and have us take a proper, in-depth look at your landing page and Google Ads account, we offer a completely free, no-obligation strategy session. We can show you exactly what we'd do, step-by-step, to implement these changes and start getting the phone to ring. There's no hard sell, just actionable advice specific to your business.

Regards,

Team @ Lukas Holschuh