A few months ago, I drilled a log of wood full of 6mm holes 10cm deep, attached it to the south-facing wall of the tool shed, four feet off the ground, just like the entomologists recommend. Leafcutter bees, I was told, would find it irresistible. They’d move in, lay their eggs, seal up the holes, and get on with the business of being bees.
Nothing happened. No bees. Just a very tidy, very empty log of holes.
It took me a while to realize I’d made the classic beginner’s mistake of small business owners everywhere: I’d built the thing and assumed the audience would simply appear.
Sound familiar? It’s exactly what happens with websites. You commission a nice-looking site, get the copy right, add a contact form and a gallery of your best work, hit publish… and then wait. And wait. The visitors don’t come. The phone doesn’t ring. The inbox stays quiet.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: a website, like a bee log, is not a magnet. It’s an invitation, and invitations only work if somebody receives them. Bees don’t scan the neighborhood for freshly drilled wood. They find nesting sites because they’re already foraging nearby, following scent trails, cues, and established flight paths. If none of those lead to your yard, your beautifully drilled log sits empty no matter how perfect the holes are.
Your website needs the same kind of “flight path” leading to it. That means:
- Search visibility — showing up when someone searches for what you offer
- Social presence — posting where your customers already spend time
- Word of mouth, digitized — reviews, referral links, shared posts
- Paid promotion — ads that put you directly in front of the right eyes
- Local listings — making sure Google Maps and directories know you exist
None of this is optional extra credit. It’s the flight path. Without it, your site is just a log of very nice, very empty holes.
The good news? Unlike wildlife, your customers can be actively directed to you. You don’t have to hope they wander by. Build the site, yes — but then treat promotion as part of the build, not an afterthought. That’s the difference between an empty log and a thriving colony.
