Why Your Website Isn't Converting (And What to Fix First)
I Used to Be on the First Page of Google. Then I Got a New Website.
If that sentence made you wince, you're not alone.
A little while ago I sat down with Sara Southgate, a naturopath and perimenopause specialist who helps business owners in perimenopause protect their brain, their time, and their money-making ability. Sara had been running her business successfully for years, building her client base through networking, LinkedIn, Facebook, and a paid programme called the Cortisol Detox that feeds into her six-month group programme, the Nourish Club.
She'd invested in a website a few years back. Had someone recommended to her. Handed it all over with no reason to think anything was wrong.
And then we looked at it together.
Google barely knew she existed. Three years in, and the only things Google was associating with her site were her name and one keyword — and she was sitting at around position 56 for that. Her website had been live for three years and was essentially invisible.
The reason? No page titles. No meta description. No heading structure at all. Her main homepage headline was embedded in an image, which meant Google couldn't read a single word of it.
None of this was Sara's fault. She didn't know what she didn't know. But as I said to her during our conversation — once you can see the problem clearly, it becomes something you can fix.
In this episode of the Website Success Show, I walk through Sara's website live, looking at what's getting in the way of both her Google visibility and her conversions, and talking through the practical steps she can take to start turning things around.
Here's a summary of what we covered.
Your Hero Section Has Three Seconds to Do Its Job
When someone lands on your website, they need to know three things almost immediately: what you do, who it's for, and what to do next. If that's not clear in the section above the fold — the part of the page visible before anyone scrolls — you're losing people before they've even started reading.
I always say, if you can explain what you do to my 81-year-old mum or my 10-year-old nephew and they get the gist of it, that's the language that belongs in your hero section. Plain, clear, and focused on the person reading it.
For Sara, the messaging could be clearer around the transformed state — how her clients feel after working with her. One of the best ways to find that language is to go back through your testimonials and pull out the words your clients have actually used to describe their results. That's your copy, right there.
Watch Your Voice — First Person or Third Person, Not Both
One thing I spotted on Sara's homepage was a switch between first and third person throughout the copy. In one section it said "I want you to" and in the next it said "get Sara's free recipes here." That kind of inconsistency creates a subtle disconnect for the person reading it.
If it's just you in your business, pick one voice and stick with it. And ideally, frame your calls to action around the benefit to the customer rather than around you. Instead of "get Sara's free recipes," think about what the reader gets from it — something like "get your free recipes to nourish your brain" keeps the focus where it belongs.
Missing Page Titles, Meta Descriptions, and Heading Structure Are Not SEO Problems — They're Basic Website Problems
This is something I feel strongly about. When Sara's website was built, whoever built it left out some of the most fundamental elements a website needs. No page title. No meta description. No heading structure.
These are not advanced SEO tactics. They are the basics. A page title is the blue link that shows up in Google search results. A meta description is the text underneath it that encourages someone to click through. Heading structure — your H1, H2s, and H3s — is how Google understands what your page is about and how the content is organised.
To check what's going on with your own website, I use a free Chrome extension called AIOSEO — download it from the Google Chrome Web Store. You can fire it up on any page of your website and it will show you straight away whether these basics are in place.
Text Inside Images Is Invisible to Google
Sara's main homepage headline - "Take Control of Your Health Today" - was embedded inside an image rather than written as actual text on the page. It looked fine to a human visitor, but Google couldn't read it at all.
If your headline, your key messages, or any important copy is part of an image rather than real text, Google has no idea what it says. This is a quick fix but an important one.
Think of Your Heading Structure Like an English Essay
Every page on your website should have one H1 heading — the main title of that page. Then H2 headings for the main sections, and H3s within those if needed. The hierarchy should flow naturally down the page, just like the structure of an essay.
Most website builders let you select heading levels, but they're often set up in a way that encourages people to use headings just to make text bigger or smaller rather than for structure. That's how you end up with pages that have ten H1s and then jump to an H4 — which leaves Google confused about what the page is actually about.
Going through your website and setting the heading structure correctly is one of the quickest things you can do to immediately help Google understand what you do.
Google Search Console vs Google Analytics - Do You Know the Difference?
Sara had Google Analytics set up, which is a great start. But Google Analytics and Google Search Console do different things, and for understanding what Google thinks of your website, Search Console is actually the more valuable of the two.
Google Analytics tells you how people behaved once they arrived on your site - where they came from, which pages they visited, how long they stayed.
Google Search Console tells you whether Google can find and understand your site at all. It's where you can submit your sitemap, see which queries your site is appearing for, and spot problems with how Google is crawling your pages.
If you don't have Google Search Console set up, that's worth doing as a priority. And if you'd had it in place, Sara, you might have spotted much earlier that something wasn't right.
Add a Three-Step Process to Your Homepage
This is something a lot of homepages are missing, and it can make a real difference to conversions. A simple three-step process shows visitors exactly what working with you looks like and makes the whole thing feel achievable.
Step one is the easy first action - booking a call, filling in a form, whatever the starting point is for your business. Make it sound simple and frame it as a benefit to them.
Step two is working with you. You don't need to go into every detail here - something like "I'll support you throughout your journey" is enough.
Step three is the transformed state. This is them living their best life, having got the result they came to you for.
Give this section a heading - something like "Three Steps to Transformation" - and if you can add a small icon for each step, even better. It makes it visual and easy to scan. Then finish with a short paragraph summarising how easy it is to get started, followed by a clear call to action.
Short Testimonial Snippets Work Harder Than Long Reviews
Testimonials are one of the most valuable assets on your website, but long ones often go unread. People have short attention spans, and a wall of text - however glowing - is easy to scroll past.
Instead, look for the single most powerful line in each testimonial and use that. "Thank you for giving me my life back" does more work in seven words than a full paragraph ever will.
Place those snippets throughout your website, especially near your calls to action. Wherever someone is about to click a button, a short trust signal right next to it can be the thing that tips them over the edge.
On my own membership page, I have a single line in the hero section - a client result, just one sentence - and the full review sits further down the page. That snippet at the top does the heavy lifting.
If you have logos of professional bodies or organisations you're a member of, link them too. It adds credibility and shows visitors - and Google - that those affiliations are real.
Own Your Website Strategy, Even If Someone Else Builds It
This is the part of the conversation I feel most passionate about.
Sara ended up in this situation because she handed her website over to someone else without knowing what to look for. And she is absolutely not alone in that — I hear this story all the time. A new website gets built, something important gets missed, and three years later you're wondering why Google can't find you.
Even if you decide to get someone else to implement your website or handle your SEO, the strategy has to be yours. You need to know what you want to show up for, who you're trying to reach, and what your website needs to do for your business. That's not something you can outsource and forget about.
If you're thinking about handing your website over to someone, or if you've been paying an SEO agency without really understanding what they're doing or why, I'd encourage you to get a bit of basic knowledge under your belt first. It doesn't have to be complicated - but it makes an enormous difference to the decisions you make and the results you get.
For anyone who finds this kind of thing overwhelming, go back and listen to Episode 108 — The Three Brain Modes and Why Your Website Feels So Overwhelming. It explains exactly why trying to do the strategy, the copywriting, and the building all at once leads to paralysis - and what to do about it instead.
Resources Mentioned in This Episode
Download the Free AIOSEO Chrome Extension — Check Your Website's SEO in Seconds
Episode 108: The Three Brain Modes — Why Your Website Feels So Overwhelming
Visit Sara Southgate's Website — Naturopath & Perimenopause Specialist
Find Sara Southgate on LinkedIn
Find Sara Southgate on Facebook
Book a Free Website Potential Discovery Call with Jules
About Sara Southgate
Sara Southgate is a naturopath and perimenopause specialist who works with business owners experiencing perimenopause to protect their brain, their time, and their ability to earn. She helps clients understand how the food they eat and the lifestyle they live can support them through perimenopause — and come out the other side feeling in control again.
Sara runs a five-day Cortisol Detox programme and a six-month group programme called The Nourish Club.
Visit Sara's Website | Find Sara on LinkedIn | Find Sara on Facebook
About Jules White
Jules White is a website strategist and host of the Website Success Show. She helps small business owners — particularly those in health, wellness, beauty, and service-based industries — turn their websites into their hardest-working team member.
Jules is on a mission to make sure business owners, especially women, never have to make a bad website decision simply because they didn't know what to look for. Through her podcast, the Website Growth Club membership, and her 1:1 intensives, she teaches practical, sustainable strategies for getting found on Google and converting visitors into clients — without relying on social media.
