Some websites have been online for years and nobody knows for sure whether they bring anything in. The enquiries arrive by phone, by email, by message, and when someone asks "so what is the website for?", the answer is a shrug. It is possible to know, without long reports. Follow these steps.
1. Define what counts as an enquiry
Before counting, decide what you are counting. An enquiry can be a completed form, a call, a WhatsApp message, an email, a booking request or a quote request. Choose the ones that matter to your business and leave out the rest, such as sales pitches or job applications.
2. Gather the places where enquiries arrive
There are usually four or five: the email inbox, the company phone, WhatsApp, social media messages and the website form. If they are scattered, nobody knows the total. Pick one single place where every new enquiry is recorded, even if it is a shared spreadsheet.
3. Ask how the person found you
It is the cheapest and most reliable measurement: one simple question, asked on the phone, in the first message or at booking. "How did you hear about us?" The answers ("I saw your website", "you came up on Google", "a friend recommended you") are worth more than many charts, because they come from the person who decided.
4. Compare with what the website records
If the website has statistics, see how many people reached the pages that lead to contact and how many clicked the phone number, clicked WhatsApp or sent the form. There is a catch: on a website that asks for cookie consent, people who decline are not counted. The numbers are an approximation. They show the direction (up, down, flat), not the exact detail.
5. Read the numbers in the right order
- There are visits, but few enquiries. The problem is usually the page: it does not say quickly what you do, does not show how to get in touch or asks for too many fields.
- There are few visits, but good enquiries. The website works for those who arrive. More people need to find it.
- There are many enquiries that are not for you. The message is attracting the wrong people. Re-read what is written.
- Enquiries arrive another way, but say "I saw the website". The website may be working harder than it looks: many people look and call later. That is why the question in step 3 is worth asking.
If you do not yet know what pace to expect, read how long digital marketing takes. And if the website brings visits but few enquiries, see what customers ask before buying: a missing answer to those doubts is a frequent cause. Our Digital Marketing work starts by looking at these paths before changing anything.
A one-page record
Create a sheet with five columns: date, name or initials, channel it came through (phone, email, WhatsApp, form, social), the answer to "how did you hear about us?" and whether they became a customer. Fill it in for a month and, at the end, add up by channel and by answer. Imagine a joinery workshop (an invented example) that finds most enquiries arrive by WhatsApp, but nearly all begin with "I saw it on the website". Without the record, the website seemed useless. With it, you can see it is the front door, even when the enquiry arrives elsewhere.
In short
- Decide first what counts as an enquiry.
- Record every enquiry in one place, whatever the channel.
- 'How did you hear about us?' is the cheapest and most reliable measurement.
- Website statistics show the direction, not the exact number.
Quick questions
Do I need a paid tool to know this?
Not to start. A record sheet and the question asked to every new customer give a useful picture. Statistics tools help later, to see the path inside the website.
How many enquiries a month are normal?
There is no right number, because it depends on the sector, the size of the company and what the website has to do. What matters is the trend over the months and the quality of the enquiries.
What if people say they found me by recommendation?
That counts too. Many recommendations go through the website: the person hears the name, searches and only then gets in touch. Ask whether they saw the website before calling.
Want to know where your enquiries come from?
The exploratory call is a 30-minute conversation, at no cost. We see where your enquiries come from and what is measured today. You keep the written summary.
Book an exploratory call