Lead generation: turn your website into a source of enquiries

A lead is a qualified enquiry, not just a contact

On Google France, “génération de leads” (lead generation) is searched 590 times a month and “générer des leads” (generate leads) 210 times. Behind the jargon, the goal is simple: a visitor who has a need leaves you a way to call them back, with enough information for you to reply usefully.

For a tradesperson, it is a quote request with the job address and the nature of the work. For a practice, a booking or a precise question. For a business that sells to other businesses, a request for a demo or a price. In every case, the value of a lead is judged by what it becomes: a signed quote, a case opened, an order.

A service website does not sell online; it turns a search into a conversation. Every element of the page should bring that moment closer.

Step 1: one page per service and per area, on real searches

Your customers do not search for “our services”. They search for a leaking water heater, an accountant for a property holding company, a certified translation of a birth certificate, often with a city. A home page that lists everything wins none of these searches. One page per service, about that service and your area, can win its own.

The cost of an ad click shows what a visitor is worth in your trade: on Google France, an average of €8.42 on “plombier” (plumber), €30 on “serrurier” (locksmith), €13 on “expert comptable” (accountant). Every search you win organically is a click you do not pay for.

1. 1
   List your services: write each one the way a customer would describe it on the phone, not in your internal vocabulary.
2. 2
   Check the demand: Google Search Console shows the queries that already display your site; keyword tools give the volumes. Keep the services that have real searches.
3. 3
   One page per service: a title with the service and the area, a first sentence that says what you do, for whom, where and how quickly.
4. 4
   Proof specific to each page: photos of real jobs, cases handled, certifications actually obtained, the precise service area.
5. 5
   Link the pages: every service page linked from the home page and from neighbouring services, with real links.

Step 2: an effortless way to get in touch, visible without scrolling

On mobile, a visitor who wants to call does not copy a number: they tap it. Yet 39% of the sites in our study offer neither a tappable phone number nor WhatsApp on the home page. And on our own sites, 61% of measured visits happen on mobile.

The form is the other door. Every extra field makes some visitors give up. Ask for the minimum needed to call back and qualify; the rest can be asked on the phone.

• The number as a tel: link in the header, visible on mobile without scrolling, and repeated at the bottom of every service page.
• A three-field form to start with: name, contact method, the need in one sentence. Add the city or postcode only if your area requires it.
• A button whose label says what happens: “Get a free quote”, “Get a call back today”, rather than “Send”.
• A sentence under the button that says what comes next, truthfully: usual response time, whether the quote is free, whether the call-out is charged.
• A thank-you page that confirms the enquiry and says when you will call back: it also lets you measure every lead.

Step 3: real proof, not promises

A visitor torn between three providers picks the one that gives the most concrete reasons to trust them. Those reasons must be verifiable: real Google reviews with a link to your profile, photos of your own work, the name and face of the person who will come, your ten-year building insurance (décennale) number or professional body registration if your trade has one.

Avoid what rings false: invented badges, satisfied-customer counters with no source, testimonials with no name. In France the law regulates online reviews, and an attentive visitor quickly spots fabricated proof.

Step 4: qualify without discouraging

More enquiries is not always better: ten requests outside your area or budget cost time. The page can sort them without closing the door.

• Show your service area clearly, with the main towns, on every service page.
• Give a price range when you can (“from”, “fixed-price diagnosis”): it filters out requests outside the budget and reassures the others.
• Offer a simple choice in the form (type of need, urgency) rather than a long free-text field.
• For B2B, a “company size” or “volume” field is enough to prioritise call-backs.

On our own quote-request sites, we put the main offer first, visible without scrolling, and only at the end of the page a block “Would you rather go through a professional?” with a short form. The enquiry only comes after the answer to the visitor’s question.

Step 5: reply fast and measure every enquiry

A lead goes cold quickly: someone asking for a quote often contacts several providers. A same-day reply, even a short one, puts you ahead. Receive every enquiry in a single place (shared inbox, tracking tool) and note what becomes of it.

Measurement comes down to three monthly figures: visits to service pages, enquiries received (forms, calls, messages), signed quotes. The ratio between the first two is your conversion rate; between the last two, the quality of your leads.

1. 1
   Count forms: a conversion event on the thank-you page in Google Analytics 4.
2. 2
   Count calls: an event on the tel: link click, and if possible a phone number dedicated to the website.
3. 3
   Note where each enquiry comes from: Google search, Google Business Profile, Bing, AI assistant, word of mouth.
4. 4
   Every month, review the pages that get visits without enquiries: they are the ones to rewrite first.

Step 6: be present wherever your customers also search

Google is not alone. On our sites, 52% of visits from a search engine come through Bing and the engines that use its index, and 13% of measured visits come from an AI assistant, ChatGPT first. A tradesperson or practice missing from Bing Webmaster Tools, or whose site blocks AI assistants’ crawlers, leaves those enquiries to others.