Website not bringing in inquiries? Find your customers' real questions and turn them into pages that answer them

1. What you end up with

You collect the questions your customers actually ask: on the phone, by email and on Google. An AI sorts them with you and tells you which ones your website doesn't answer yet. At the end you have:

• a content plan: every question in one table, scored by fixed rules. Where does the question come from (customers, Google's suggestions, or just a guess)? How close is it to a job? Does your website already answer it? Can you answer it honestly? That gives each question a label: "Write now", "Later", "Not now" or "Already there".
• page plans for the most important questions: the heading, the answer in two sentences, the subheadings, what you still need to provide, and whether it should be a service page, a guide or just an entry in your FAQ.
• a first draft for the question ranked first. The answer sits right at the top, not in the third paragraph.
• a checklist for before you publish: anything in the draft that didn't come from you is marked [CHECK]. Anything missing is marked [PLACEHOLDER].
• a simple way to measure it: not how many articles you've got, but whether inquiries come in.

What the AI never does: it gives you no search numbers, no visitor numbers, no Google rankings and no forecast of how many inquiries a page will bring. It doesn't know those numbers. A question only gets called a "Google suggestion" if you copied it from Google's suggestions yourself. And it publishes nothing: you read everything, fix what's wrong and approve it yourself.

What this guide deliberately isn't: automation. In the video I talk about how this runs for us: the AI looks at search queries, competitors and our own pages, writes drafts, checks the important claims and puts them up for approval. Here you do the same thing by hand in an AI chat, once a month for example. Follow-up e helps you work out what it would take to have it run regularly on its own.

• Who it's for: business owners and freelancers with a website that brings in hardly any inquiries. No coding needed. It doesn't matter whether you put the page up yourself or hand it to your web agency.
• Time: plan on about an hour the first time. Half of that is collecting, before you even open the chat. The AI then asks you 12 questions at most.
• What you need:
  • an AI chat, such as Claude (claude.ai) or ChatGPT (chatgpt.com). Both have a free version. According to its pricing page, Claude's free version has a usage limit that resets on a rolling five-hour window.
  • Google in your browser, for the search suggestions.
  • a notes app for what you collect.
  • optional: Google Search Console, a tool from Google that shows you which searches bring people to your site. According to Google, it's free. If you haven't set it up: you don't need it for this guide.

2. Step by step

1. First, make sure what you type isn't used for training.
   • Claude: open claude.ai/settings/data-privacy-controls and turn off "Model Improvement". Or use an Incognito chat: according to Anthropic, those aren't used for training.
   • ChatGPT: Settings → Data controls → turn off "Improve the model for everyone". Or use a Temporary Chat: according to OpenAI, those aren't used for training and may be kept for up to 30 days.
2. Collect your customers' questions. Go through your recent emails, texts and phone notes, and ask your team: what do people want to know before they hire you? Write each question the way the customer says it, not the way you'd put it. "How much does something like that run?" beats "pricing". No names, no phone numbers. If you only think people ask something, add "(guess)". Eight to fifteen questions is a good start.
3. Collect Google's suggestions.
   • Open a private window in your browser and go to google.com. According to Google, your location and past searches play a part in the suggestions, so use a private window where you're not signed in.
   • Type what your customers would type, and stop after a word or two: your service, then your service with "cost", with your city, with "how long", with "vs", with "diy". For example "[service] cost", "[service] [city]", "how long does [service] take".
   • Copy down the suggestions that appear under the search box and fit your business, word for word, lowercase and all. Don't reword them. That's the only way the AI is allowed to call them a "Google suggestion".
   • According to Google, the suggestions reflect real searches but don't simply show the most common ones. So a suggestion tells you someone searches for this. It doesn't tell you how many people do.
4. List the pages on your website. Go through your site's menu. One line per page: the title and what it answers. For example: "How it works: measuring on site, design, install. No timeline given." The "what's missing" part matters: that's how the AI spots the gaps.
5. Only if you already use Search Console: according to Google, it shows you which search queries bring people to your site. Copy the list of queries into your notes. If you paste numbers along with them, the AI may repeat them, but it never makes up its own.
6. Copy the AI instruction from section 3 into your notes app and fill in the "What you already know about me" block. Replace everything in [SQUARE BRACKETS] with your details. Anything you leave empty, the AI will ask about.
7. Open a new chat and paste the whole instruction as your first message. Send it.
8. Answer the questions. One at a time, short notes are fine.
   • When the AI asks for your customers' questions, the Google suggestions and your pages, paste what you collected.
   • Near the end it asks for your honest answer to the most important question. Only give prices and timing if you're happy to see them on your website.
   • Then it asks you to type that question into Google once and say what the top results answer and what's missing. It's quick, and it shows you what your page has to do better.
   • "skip" skips a question. "done" ends the conversation right away, and you get the results with whatever is there.
9. Check the table. Do the points add up? Is a question marked "Already there" that your site doesn't really answer clearly? Or marked "Write now" when a page already answers it? Tell the AI in the same chat and it re-sorts.
10. Work through the draft with the checklist. Settle every [CHECK] yourself or cut the sentence. Fill in every [PLACEHOLDER]. Read the text out loud once: does it sound like you? Only then does it go on your website or to your agency.
11. Publish the page and link to it from the right place on your site, your service page for example.
12. Start measuring the same day. Ask every new customer "How did you find us?" and write down the answer, including the page if they mention one. Put a date in your calendar to check back. Then take the next question from the content plan (follow-up a).

4. Follow-ups

Keep going in the same chat so the AI already knows your questions and your website. Follow-up c goes in a new chat.

a) Draft the next page

Take the next question from the content plan that's labeled "Write now" or "Later" and doesn't have a draft yet. First ask me for my honest answer in two or three sentences, one question per message. Then write the draft by the same rules as the first one: the answer in the first two sentences, only what I told you about my business, [CHECK] on every factual claim that didn't come from me, [PLACEHOLDER] for anything missing. Then the checklist. No search numbers, no promises.

b) Improve a page you already have For every question labeled "Already there", or when a service page buries the answer.

Here's the text of my page [PAGE NAME], with no customer details: [PAGE TEXT].
1) Tell me which questions from the content plan this page answers, and where exactly. If the answer is far down the page, say so.
2) Write me a new opening for the page: the most important question as the heading, the answer in two sentences.
3) Suggest up to three FAQ entries for this page, only for questions from the content plan, two to four sentences each.
Don't change prices, services or anything about my business. Anything that didn't come from me gets [CHECK].

c) Have a second AI check the draft In the video, important claims get checked before anything goes live. This is the by-hand version. Open a new chat and paste this:

You're checking website copy that another AI wrote, before it goes live.
What I told that AI about my business: [MY DETAILS, FOR EXAMPLE THE FILLED-IN BLOCK AND MY ANSWER].
The draft: [DRAFT].
1) List every factual claim that doesn't come from my details: numbers, prices, timing, rules, properties of materials or methods. For each one, say what I need to check.
2) Is there a promise anywhere (more customers, guaranteed, the best, fastest), or anything that reads like legal or tax advice?
3) Do the first two sentences actually answer the heading?
4) What would someone without trade knowledge not understand?
List first, then an improved version. Don't add anything.

d) The instructions for your team

Turn this process into one page of instructions for my team: who collects customer questions (phone, email, in person) and where they write them down, who copies down the Google suggestions once a month, who runs the AI chat, who checks and approves the draft, who puts it on the website, and how we note for every new inquiry how the customer found us. Also: what never goes into the AI chat (names, phone numbers, email addresses, addresses). Only use the responsibilities I give you. Where something's missing, put a [PLACEHOLDER]. Plain language.

e) What would I need to connect to have this run regularly on its own? In the video, this runs for us every night. This helps you work out what that would take for you.

I want this process to run regularly without me collecting everything by hand: customer questions and search queries get collected, the AI suggests topics, writes drafts with check marks, I approve, and once a month I see which pages brought in inquiries. List the steps: where the information comes from (for example my inbox, my phone notes, Search Console, my website), where it needs to go, who does it today, who checks and approves. For each step, say whether an AI chat alone can do it or whether programs need to be connected. Don't claim that a specific program can do it. Instead, write down the questions I need to ask my web agency or website provider. Privacy: check with an expert. Don't make up any numbers.

5. Example: what it looks like

MADE-UP EXAMPLE. This business doesn't exist. All questions, prices and timings are invented, and so are the Google suggestions: we didn't copy them from Google, we made them up for the test. They only show how the instruction works.

The filled-in block:

- What I offer: Custom built-in closets and wardrobes, mostly for attic rooms with sloped ceilings and awkward nooks, also mudroom benches. Small cabinet shop, me and two cabinetmakers.
- Who for: Homeowners and condo owners
- Where: Columbus, Ohio and about 25 miles around
- How customers reach me: Phone and the contact form on my website
- Tone of my website:
- Today's date: Oct 15, 2026

What was collected. A few traps are built in on purpose: a customer's name with a phone number, a legal question (renting), a question that's only a guess, a DIY suggestion, and a question the "How it works" page partly answers already.

Customer questions:

How much does a built-in like that cost, roughly?
How long does it take from measuring to install?
Can you do it under a sloped ceiling with a knee wall?
Do you come out to measure?
I'm renting, am I even allowed to put in a built-in?
Can I take the closet with me if I move?
Mrs. Berger asked last week if we do sliding doors with mirrors, call her back at 614-555-0100
Isn't a cabinetmaker way more expensive than an IKEA closet with some tweaks? (guess)

Google suggestions (made up):

built in closet cost
custom built ins columbus ohio
diy built in closet
can renters install built ins
how long do custom built ins take

Pages on the website:

Home: who we are, photos of closets, phone number
Built-ins: project photos, materials white oak and paint, no prices
How it works: measuring on site, design, built in our shop, install. No timeline given
About: shop since 2004, me and two cabinetmakers
Contact: form and phone

How the conversation went. Test run with Claude on Oct 15, 2026. A second AI played the made-up owner, working from a profile. The AI asked 10 questions, each in its own message with example answers: tone, customer questions, Google suggestions, pages, Search Console ("No, don't use it."), then three follow-ups (Does any page say in words that you build under sloped ceilings? Can a built-in move with the customer? Does the "How it works" page say whether measuring costs anything?), then the owner's honest answer to the cost question and what the top Google results say.

The made-up owner had tacked onto his customer questions: "And how many people actually search 'built in closet cost'?" The reply:

A customer's name and phone number don't belong here, so please leave those out from now on. I won't use them anywhere. I'll keep the sliding-doors-with-mirrors question itself.

I don't know how often anything is searched. Only your own numbers, like Search Console, can show that.

His honest answer on cost: "Built-in under a sloped ceiling, about 10 feet wide, painted, usually $4,000 to $7,000 installed. Depends on width, height, material (painted or white oak) and doors (hinged, sliding, flip-up). Exact price after measuring on site, and measuring is free within 25 miles."

Excerpt from the results. Shortened, otherwise unchanged.

As of Oct 15, 2026. Only from what you told me. No search numbers, no promises. Nothing goes live without your approval.

1. All questions at a glance

#10, Already there: your "How it works" page already says you measure on site. Put "free within 25 miles" right at the top of that page.

(Merged questions, the AI's own ideas marked "no evidence", and the order shortened)

3. Page plan for #1 (excerpt)

• Page type: Service page
• Where: New page, linked from "Built-ins" and "How it works"
• The answer: A painted built-in under a sloped ceiling, about 10 feet wide, usually costs $4,000 to $7,000 installed. The exact price comes after measuring on site, which is free within 25 miles.
• Subheadings: What makes the price go up or down? · Why can't you name an exact price over the phone? · What happens after I call? · What about a ready-made closet from a store? · How do I get a price for my room?
• What's missing on Google (your notes): The top results are two furniture stores and a home improvement article, with prices only for IKEA and ready-made closets. Nobody explains what a cabinetmaker charges for a sloped ceiling or what drives the price.

4. First draft for #1 (excerpt)

How much does a built-in closet under a sloped ceiling cost, roughly?

A painted built-in under a sloped ceiling, about 10 feet wide, usually costs $4,000 to $7,000 installed. You get the exact price after we measure at your place, and measuring is free within 25 miles of Columbus.

That's the usual range, not a quote. Here's what moves the number.

(price factors and two sections shortened)

What about a ready-made closet from a store?

Ready-made closets come in standard sizes, so they usually don't follow a sloped ceiling. [CHECK: that standard store closets usually don't fit under sloped ceilings] We build ours to fit the room. We're a small shop, me and two cabinetmakers, and we've been at it since 2004.

How do I get a price for my room?

Call us at [PLACEHOLDER: phone number] or use the contact form at [PLACEHOLDER: link to contact form], and we'll set up a time to measure.

5. Checklist before you publish

1. [CHECK: that standard store closets usually don't fit under sloped ceilings]
2. [PLACEHOLDER: how much white oak adds, or delete the line]
3. [PLACEHOLDER: which door type usually costs more, or delete the line]
4. [PLACEHOLDER: phone number]
5. [PLACEHOLDER: link to contact form]
6. "Check with an expert": nothing in this draft. It will come up if you write the renting page (#6).

(Sections 6 and 7 shortened. Under "Visibility on Google": "You don't use Search Console, so there's nothing to measure yet." Section 7 lists every call the AI made so you can correct it, for example: renting gets Answer 1 "because lease and landlord rules are for an expert".)

Self-check: all points met

Every total adds up and every label follows the rules. The renting question has two sources but lands on "Later" because of the legal side. The IKEA question is only a guess, so it can't be "Write now". Mrs. Berger's name and number appear nowhere. The draft has no price or timing the owner didn't give, and "since 2004" comes from his own About page.

One call that's yours to make: "Do you come out to measure?" landed on "Already there" here, because the "How it works" page says "measuring on site". In the German test run with the same details, the same question landed on "Write now", because the page doesn't say that measuring is free or how far you travel. Both fit the rules. It depends on whether "measuring on site" is already a clear answer for your customers. That's what step 9 is for: you go through the table and tell the AI where it's wrong.

Then the question about inquiries. The made-up owner wrote: "So how many inquiries a month will that page bring me, roughly?" The reply:

I don't know, and I can't estimate it. Only your own numbers can show that, which is why section 6 starts with [YOUR INQUIRIES LAST MONTH] and asking each new customer how they found you.

The run with "done". In a second run, half the block was empty. The made-up owner gave his area, skipped the tone question with "skip", pasted five customer questions, skipped the Google suggestions with "skip", and wrote "done" when asked about his pages. The results came right away. Since no pages were given, every Gap was 3 with "to check". Since no Google suggestions were pasted, no question was labeled "Google suggestion". The points were right. The draft for #1 ("How long does it take from measuring to install?") was mostly placeholders, for example:

From the measuring visit to the finished install, it takes [PLACEHOLDER: total time]. Most of that time goes to [PLACEHOLDER: longest step].

No price, no timing, nothing made up about the shop. Section 7 listed what was still open: tone, Google suggestions, website pages, timing and prices. The self-check said plainly that the draft stays under 300 words until the placeholders are filled in.

What we changed afterwards: In the first run, when asking for the Google suggestions, the AI showed made-up suggestions as example answers, such as "built in closet cost per linear foot". Anyone reading that could easily take it for a real one. And the draft switched between "we" and "me". The instruction now asks for examples only as patterns in square brackets, like "[service] cost", and for "I" or "we" throughout. The second German run showed only patterns. The second English run still showed one real-looking example, and the draft made a commitment on the owner's behalf that he never gave ("If something affects your timeline, we'll tell you before we start."). So the instruction now says "never a suggestion that looks real" and "no commitment I didn't make". In a third English run with that final version, the AI showed only patterns, labeled "not real suggestions", and made no commitment in the owner's name.

6. How to tell it's working

In the chat:

• The table holds only your questions, in your words. The AI's own ideas sit separately below it, without points.
• "Google suggestion" appears only on questions you copied from Google yourself.
• Nowhere does it say how often something is searched, how many visitors you'll get or where the page will rank.
• The points add up, and a question your website already answers clearly lands on "Already there".
• The draft answers its heading in the first two sentences. It says nothing about your business that you didn't say.

Afterwards, on your website: only your own counting shows whether the page brings inquiries. Watch three things, in this order:

1. Inquiries: when you ask new customers how they found you, do they mention the page or the question? That's what this is all about.
2. Visitors to the page: if you have website stats.
3. Visibility on Google: if you use Search Console. According to Google, it shows how often your pages appear in Google Search and how often they get clicked.

Fifty new blog posts aren't a result. One page that makes a customer pick up the phone is.

Common problems and what to do:

7. Limits and privacy

• Nobody can promise you a spot on Google. Not the AI, not an agency. This guide makes sure your website answers the questions customers actually ask. Whether Google shows the page, and whether it turns into inquiries, only shows up when you measure.
• The AI doesn't know search numbers. A Google suggestion shows that someone searched this way, not how many people did. If an AI chat gives you an exact search number, it made it up.
• Volume doesn't help. In its guidance for site owners, Google says content should be made for people, not to manipulate search rankings, and that using AI to produce large amounts of text without human oversight shows little to no effort. So: a few pages you've checked yourself, rather than lots of pages nobody has read.
• The AI hasn't checked any source. The instruction doesn't have it look things up; it has it mark them. Everything in the draft that didn't come from you is marked [CHECK]. You settle it yourself before the page goes live, even if your AI chat can search the web.
• Legal, tax and health questions don't get answered; the AI marks them "check with an expert". If your customers ask that kind of thing, a page can still make sense. Then you go over the copy with an expert. This isn't legal advice.
• What doesn't belong in the chat:
  • names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of customers or staff
  • whole emails or message threads with customers. Copy out only the question.
  • quotes, invoices or contracts with customer details
  • passwords and login details, including the ones for your website or Search Console
  • anything covered by professional confidentiality (for example at an accounting firm, a medical practice or a law firm)
• Questions yes, customers no. "What does a closet under a sloped ceiling cost?" is a question. "Mrs. Berger on Main Street wants …" is a customer. Only the question goes into the chat.