How to get more calls
How to get more customers to call you.
For a trade, a phone call is a job waiting to happen. Someone who rings you is ready to book, not window-shopping. So getting more calls is not some dark art, it is mostly about removing the friction between someone wanting you and actually picking up the phone.
Three things do it: make it dead easy to call you, show up where people reach for their phone, and make sure you never miss one. Here is how to do each.
Why the phone wins
A call is a job, a form is a maybe.
Someone with a dead boiler or a leak under the sink does not want to fill in a form and wait. They want to talk to a person now. That is why, for a trade, the phone beats every other way of getting in touch: the people who call are the most ready to book, and they want to hire today. A form has its place as a backup, but if calling is not the obvious first option, you are quietly turning your best leads into maybes.
Step one
Make it dead easy to call you.
Most trade searches happen on a phone, so every extra tap between wanting you and ringing you costs calls. Strip the friction out.
- A tap-to-call number on every page. On every page, not the contact one alone. On a phone, one tap should ring you, with no copying the number out.
- Number up top, not buried. Put it in the header and the first thing people see, not hidden at the bottom or three clicks in.
- Lead with the phone, offer a form as backup. Make calling the obvious choice, and give a form only for people who cannot talk right then.
- A website that loads fast. If your website is slow on mobile, people leave before they ever see your number.
Step two
Show up where people reach for the phone.
Being easy to call only helps if people see you at the moment they want to. Two of these are free, and both put a call button right in front of a ready customer.
Google Business Profile
Free, and it shows a call button right on the map listing for "near me" searches. Keep it complete, add real photos, and gather reviews so people trust you enough to ring.
Google Ads with a call button
Your ads can run with a call button built in, so someone can ring you straight from the search result without even opening your website.
Reviews
People ring the trade they trust. A wall of genuine reviews is often the last nudge someone needs before they tap call.
A matched website
When an ad or search sends someone to a website about exactly what they need, in their town, they call. A generic homepage makes them think twice.
Step three
Never miss the calls you already get.
The cruellest way to lose work is to earn the call and then drop it. When you are up a ladder or under a floor, calls slip, and a missed call with no follow-up is a lost job. Put a net under them.
- Answer fast when you can, the trade who picks up first usually wins the job
- Set up a text-back for missed calls, so a missed call still starts a conversation
- Have a voicemail that works and gets checked, not a full inbox
- Decide how out-of-hours calls are handled, even if it is just a text back first thing
Know what works
Track your calls.
If you are paying to get the phone ringing, you want to know what is ringing it. Call tracking tells you which searches and ads actually produce calls, so you can put money into what works and cut what does not. It is the same idea as knowing your cost per job rather than your cost per click, which we cover in how much to spend on Google Ads. And if the phone still is not ringing, the wider fixes are in how to get more leads.
Why us
Why take our word for it?
Because getting your phone ringing is the whole job for us. We build websites that put your number front and centre and run ads that send ready customers straight to you. Half of what is on this page is free and does not need us at all, and we said so anyway. We only do well when your phone actually rings.
Straight answers
Questions trades actually ask.
- How do I get more customers to call my business?
- Make it dead easy to call, show up where people reach for the phone, and never miss one. Put a tap-to-call number on every page instead of hiding behind a form, keep your Google Business Profile complete so the call button shows, and answer fast. For a trade, most of the work is removing the friction between someone wanting you and actually ringing.
- Why is my phone not ringing?
- Usually one of three things: people cannot find you, they find you but there is no obvious way to call, or they call and it goes unanswered. A buried number, a form-only website, or calls going to voicemail all quietly cost you jobs. Check each one before assuming you need more advertising.
- Should I use a contact form or a phone number?
- For a trade, lead with the phone. Someone with a leak or a dead boiler wants to talk to a person now, not fill in a form and wait. Offer a form as a backup for people who cannot talk right then, but the tap-to-call number should be the obvious first choice on every page.
- What is click-to-call?
- It is a phone number on your website or ad that a mobile user taps to ring you straight away, no copying the number out. Since most trade searches happen on a phone, a tap-to-call number turns interest into a call in one tap, which is exactly what you want.
- How can I get more calls from Google?
- Two ways. Your free Google Business Profile shows a call button on the map listing, so keep it complete and gather reviews. And Google ads can run with a call button built in, so someone can ring you straight from the ad without even visiting your website. Both put your number in front of people at the moment they want to call.
- How do I stop missing calls?
- Answer fast, and have a net for the ones you cannot get to. A missed call with no follow-up is a lost job, so set up a text-back for missed calls, a voicemail that actually gets checked, and a plan for out of hours. Winning the callback race is one of the cheapest ways to get more work.
Want your phone ringing?
Tell us a bit about your business and we'll build you a website that gets people calling, and drive the right ones to it. Got a question first? Just message us.