Well, you've built it… now what?
I remember talking to a solicitor from Manchester, who’d just spent £5,000 on a gorgeous new website. Six months later? Zero enquiries. Not one. “It looks fantastic,” he told me, nursing his third coffee, “but it might as well be invisible.”
Sound familiar?
If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve got a professional services website that’s more digital paperweight than lead-generating machine. Don’t worry – you’re not alone.
About 70% of the professional service owners I meet face exactly the same problem.
Let’s fix that, shall we?
This isn’t going to be your typical “10 quick tips” fluff piece. I’ve spent 14 years helping UK professional service businesses market their websites, and I’m going to share what actually works – not what sounds good in a marketing textbook.
35 Ways to Market Your Website and Attract More Clients
Complete list of proven marketing methods that professional businesses use to stay consistently busy.
The same methods that helped one client increase website enquiries by 700%.
Why Your Professional Website Is Failing You
“My website looks great but doesn’t generate leads.”
I hear this at least three times a week. Here’s the brutal truth – most professional service websites are built backwards.
They’re designed to look impressive rather than generate enquiries. They’re packed with corporate jargon nobody actually searches for. They talk endlessly about the company history (which precisely zero potential clients care about) while ignoring the problems people actually need solving.
I had a client that has a beautiful website. Truly stunning design. But it was all “we provide comprehensive human resource solutions leveraging strategic frameworks to optimise organisational potential.”
Good grief.
When we rewrote it to say “We help small businesses avoid expensive employment tribunals and reduce staff turnover,” enquiries jumped 43% in the first month.
The problems with most professional websites are embarrassingly basic:
- They’re written for peers, not clients
- They bury contact information beneath mountains of text
- They lack any compelling reason to choose you over competitors
- They’re built by designers who don’t understand conversion
- They offer no clear next step for visitors
A solicitor’s website that doesn’t immediately answer “Do you handle this specific problem I have?” is just digital decoration.
Sort Your Website First (Or Waste Your Marketing Budget)
Before you spend a penny on marketing, let’s be painfully honest – is your website actually ready for visitors?
Most aren’t. Marketing a broken website is like running expensive newspaper ads for a shop with locked doors. Madness.
Here’s your no-nonsense website checklist:
Your Value Proposition: The "So What?" Test
Can someone tell in 5 seconds:
- What you do
- Who you help
- Why they should care
- How to contact you
Try this brutal test: Show your homepage to a stranger for 5 seconds, then ask them to tell you what you do. If they can’t, you’re failing the most basic marketing hurdle.
Navigation That Makes Sense to Normal Humans
Professional service websites love convoluted menu structures.
Stop it.
Your visitors want:
- Services (what you actually do, using words clients use)
- About (who you are and why it matters)
- Case Studies/Results (proof you’re good)
- Contact (obvious ways to reach you)
Everything else is probably getting in the way.
A law firm I worked with reduced their navigation from 18 items to 6. Enquiries increased 27% that month. Why? Because confused visitors don’t become clients.
Trust Signals People Actually Care About
Nobody cares about your “commitment to excellence.”
They care about evidence you can solve their problem.
What works:
- Client testimonials with full names and photos
- Specific results with numbers (“Reduced turnover by 32%”)
- Recognisable client logos (with permission)
- Industry awards and recognition
- Professional memberships that clients recognise
What doesn’t:
- Stock photos of random businesspeople
- Generic testimonials from “John S.”
- Vague claims about “passion for service”
Contact Methods That Don't Make Life Difficult
I’m amazed how many professional service websites make contacting them a challenge.
Put your phone number at the top of every page. Yes, every page.
Contact forms should have maximum 5 fields – name, email, phone, message, and maybe one service selection dropdown. Every field beyond that costs you enquiries.
A financial advisor I worked with removed the “How did you hear about us?” field from his contact form. Enquiries went up 18%. That question mattered to him but was friction for prospects.
Getting Found: Traffic Strategies That Actually Work
There are exactly three reliable ways to get targeted traffic to a professional service website:
- Search engines
- Referrals/word-of-mouth
- Paid advertising
Everything else is typically a distraction. Let’s focus on what works.
SEO: Not Sexy, Just Essential
SEO isn’t about tricking Google. It’s about being the obvious answer to what people are searching for.
For local professional services, this means:
- Location + Service Pages Create dedicated pages for each service in each location you serve. “Employment Solicitor Derby” works better than a generic “Legal Services” page.
- Problem-Based Content People search for solutions to problems, not services. “How to contest a will in the UK” gets searched more than “probate services.”
- Long-Tail Focus Forget competing for “accountant” – you’ll never win. Focus on “R&D tax relief for manufacturing businesses in Nottingham.”
A client I worked with created 12 service+location pages. Within 3 months, they ranked on page one for 9 of those terms, bringing 43 new enquiries.
Google Business Profile: The Neglected Goldmine
For local professional services, your Google Business Profile often drives more enquiries than your website. Yet most firms barely maintain theirs.
The client I mentioned earlier? We spent 2 hours optimising his Google Business Profile:
- Added all services with descriptions
- Posted weekly updates
- Responded to every review
- Added 20+ photos of the team and office
- Created a review generation process
Result: 14 direct enquiries from Google Business Profile in the next month.
If you do nothing else from this article, sort out your Google presence.
Directory Listings: Boring But Effective
Industry and location directories aren’t exciting, but they work:
- Professional body directories
- Local chambers of commerce
- Industry-specific platforms
- General business directories (Yell, Thomson Local, etc.)
Ensure your name, address, phone (NAP) information is identical across all platforms. Inconsistency kills local search rankings.
Paid Marketing: Where to Spend (And Where Not To)
If you need enquiries now rather than in 3-6 months, paid marketing is your answer. But most professional services waste enormous amounts on the wrong platforms.
Google Ads: Expensive But Immediate
For professional services, Google Ads work because they target people actively searching for solutions.
Key principles:
- Target specific services, not your brand name
- Create dedicated landing pages for each ad
- Track phone calls, not just clicks
- Start with a small daily budget (£10-20)
- Focus on location-specific keywords
A property development firm I worked with spent £5,000+ on Google Ads focused on “planning permission” and similar terms. It generated 300+ enquiries, a certain percentage became clients worth about £10,000+ in fees each. That’s a decent return.
If you want to know more about Google Ads, ready our article here.
LinkedIn: For Some B2B Services Only
LinkedIn advertising works for high-value B2B services with long sales cycles. For most others, it’s a money pit.
When it works:
- Management consulting
- Corporate legal services
- Executive recruitment
- B2B financial services
When it’s usually wasted:
- Most consumer services
- Low-value transaction services
- Local business services
The best LinkedIn approach? Target by job title and company size, offer valuable content rather than direct pitches, and nurture leads over time.
Facebook/Instagram: Mostly A Waste For Professional Services
Controversial opinion: most professional services shouldn’t advertise on Facebook or Instagram.
Why? Because people aren’t on social media looking for accountants, solicitors, financial advisors, or consultants.
Exceptions exist for:
- Visual services (architects, interior designers)
- Lifestyle-adjacent services (certain financial planning)
- B2C volume services with broad appeal
If your service is something people actively search for rather than discover while scrolling, your money is better spent elsewhere.
Content That Builds Authority (Without Eating Your Life)
Most professional service firms approach content marketing backwards. They try to be “thought leaders” by writing abstract academic pieces nobody searches for.
Effective content answers specific questions your ideal clients are already asking:
The Content That Actually Works
- FAQs Pages Every question prospects ask during consultations should be answered on your website.
- Process Explanations Step-by-step breakdowns of working with you remove fear of the unknown.
- Problem-Specific Guides “How to handle an HMRC investigation” beats “Tax compliance best practices.”
- Decision Criteria Content “How to choose the right [your profession]” – be honest about when someone might not need you.
A solicitor I worked with created 15 detailed guides addressing exact questions clients asked in initial consultations. Not only did these rank well, but new clients started coming in already educated on the process, making consultations more efficient.
Content Distribution That Makes Sense
Creating content without distribution is pointless. Focus on:
- Email to your existing database
- Sharing with referral partners
- Answering related questions on industry forums
- Converting content to different formats (video, audio, etc.)
The best distribution channel? Email your existing clients and contacts. A consultant increased her open rates from 18% to 41% by sending helpful content rather than company news.
Local Visibility For Service Businesses
Professional services are local businesses. Your visibility in your geographic area matters enormously.
Local Content That Connects
- Create area guides relevant to your service
- Comment on local regulations or changes
- Feature local client success stories
- Participate in community initiatives
A small law firm created “The Plymouth Landlord’s Guide to 2025 Rental Regulations.” It cost £600 to produce and brought in 11 new landlord clients within 4 months.
Reviews: The Trust Currency
Online reviews drive professional service enquiries more than almost any other factor:
- Create a systematic approach to requesting reviews
- Make it ridiculously easy for clients to leave them
- Respond thoughtfully to every review, especially negative ones
- Feature reviews prominently on your website
An accountant I worked with implemented a simple email sequence asking for Google reviews after tax returns were filed.
They went from 7 reviews to 54 in six months, and directly traced 9 new clients to those reviews.
Measuring Success Without Going Mad
You don’t need complex analytics. You need to track what matters.
For professional services, that’s:
- Enquiry Source – Ask every prospect “How did you hear about us?” and record it
- Enquiry-to-Client Conversion Rate – What percentage of enquiries become paying clients?
- Cost Per Enquiry – How much are you spending to generate each lead?
- Client Value – What’s the average value of new clients from each channel?
A consultant I worked with discovered his Google Ads leads converted at 12%, while her networking leads converted at 38%. He adjusted her marketing budget accordingly and increased profits by 23%.
The simplest approach? A spreadsheet with columns for:
- Lead name
- Date
- Source
- Service interested in
- Became client? (Y/N)
- Client value (if converted)
This basic tracking tells you more than most fancy analytics platforms.
Your Next 30 Days: What To Do Tomorrow
Feeling overwhelmed? Start here:
Week 1: Fix the Foundation
- Simplify your homepage to clearly state what you do, for whom, and why they should care
- Check your contact information is visible on every page
- Add 3-5 client testimonials with full names and specific results
- Ensure your Google Business Profile is fully optimised
Week 2: Content Foundation
- Create one comprehensive FAQ page answering common prospect questions
- Update service pages to focus on client problems, not your processes
- Add a “How We Work” page outlining your client journey
- Write one detailed guide addressing a common client problem
Week 3: Local Visibility
- Request reviews from your 10 most satisfied recent clients
- Submit your business to relevant professional directories
- Update all online listings to ensure consistent contact information
- Create a simple review generation process for new clients
Week 4: Traffic Generation
- Consider a small Google Ads campaign for your main service
- Email your client database with your new helpful content
- Reach out to 3-5 complementary businesses for referral arrangements
- Create a simple tracking system for new enquiries
The Honest Truth About Website Marketing
Marketing your professional service website isn’t about tricks or hacks. It’s about fundamentals:
- Having a website that clearly communicates your value
- Making it easy for prospects to contact you
- Building trust through evidence and social proof
- Being visible where your ideal clients are looking
- Tracking what works and doing more of it
Most professional service firms overcomplicate this process, chasing trendy tactics while neglecting the basics that actually drive enquiries.
I’ve seen firms waste thousands on complex marketing campaigns while ignoring simple fixes that could double their enquiries overnight.
The good news? If your competitors are making these same mistakes (and trust me, they are), even small improvements can give you a significant advantage.
Start with the 30-day plan above. Focus on getting the foundations right before worry about advanced strategies.
Need a hand putting this into action?
We do this every day for businesses like yours — if you’d like to talk it through, we’re happy to help.
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
No. In fact, spreading yourself too thin is one of the biggest mistakes we see. One well-optimised website and a single focused channel (like SEO or Google Ads) is usually enough to start generating leads consistently.
Looking good isn’t the same as converting. If your site doesn’t guide visitors clearly or build enough trust, it won’t generate enquiries, no matter how well it’s designed.
Start by fixing what’s losing you the most leads. For most professional service firms, that’s usually the website’s messaging, offer clarity, and enquiry process.
Yes. Every client success mentioned here came from businesses just like yours. The principles of clear strategy, conversion-focused content, and consistent follow-up work across all professional services.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is about earning “free” traffic by improving your website content and authority which is more of a brand awareness.
AdWords delivers paid traffic for lead generation.
Both have their place – SEO is brilliant for long-term sustainable traffic, while AdWords gives immediate visibility and more precise targeting. Ideally, you want both working together.
Make sure everything aligns: your keywords, ad copy, and landing pages should all tell the same story. Create tightly focused ad groups with specific keywords, and ensure your landing pages deliver what your ads promise. Google rewards relevance above all else.
These prevent your ads showing for certain terms. For example, a wedding photographer might add “free” as a negative keyword to avoid paying for clicks from people looking for free photography.
I once helped a client who sold high-end garden furniture add negatives like “cheap,” “budget,” and “DIY” to filter out clicks unlikely to convert.
Absolutely – and it’s one of AdWords’ strengths. Target countries, regions, cities, or even specific postcodes.
You can also set radius targeting around a specific location, which is brilliant for local businesses with a defined catchment area.
