Home / Blog / Where your website leaks leads, and how to find each leak
Where your website leaks leads, and how to find each leak
Leads rarely vanish all at once. They drip out at a few predictable points. Here's how to find yours.
Plug the biggest leak first.
Direct answer: Most websites leak leads at five points: the page loads slowly on a phone, the headline doesn't say what you do, the offer gives no reason to act now, the form or phone number is hard to use, and follow-up is slow. Check each one in order, then fix the leak that costs the most first.
1. Speed on a phone
Open your site on your phone, on cellular data, and count. If the first screen takes more than a few seconds, some visitors leave before they read a word. Google's own guidance treats a Largest Contentful Paint of 2.5 seconds or less as good.
2. The headline
Read your first screen as a stranger. Does it say what you do, for whom, and what to do next? "Welcome to our website" is a leak. "Leaky roof? Fixed this week" is not. The 5-second homepage test makes this easy to check.
3. The offer
Visitors need a reason to act today: a free estimate, a same-week appointment, a clear price range. Without one, they bookmark you and forget you.
4. The form and the phone number
Every extra form field costs some people. Put the phone number where a thumb can reach it on every page. Model your own form with the form friction calculator.
5. Follow-up
A lead that waits hours for a reply often calls someone else. Instant confirmations and fast callbacks keep the leads you already earned.
Find your biggest leak
Put your real numbers into the funnel tool on our conversion rate optimization services page, or watch the leak meter on the homepage. Then fix the weakest step first. It almost always pays more than buying more traffic.
Source: web.dev, Web Vitals.
Questions people ask
What is the most common website leak?
For local service businesses it is usually the first screen on a phone: a slow load, a vague headline, or a phone number that is hard to find.
How do I know which leak costs the most?
Track each step, from visit to form start to lead to customer, and compare them. The step with the biggest drop against a sensible reference is where to start.
Want us to find your leaks?
A free strategy session with a real person. We look at your site, your traffic and your numbers, then tell you plainly what would move them.