Use case · Web designers and developers
How to find businesses that need a website (and actually want one)
The usual trick, scrolling Google Maps for businesses with no website, finds owners who haven't bought one, which mostly means they don't want one yet. Two groups convert far better: people posting that they need a website right now, and businesses whose site you can say something specific about. Find the first in public threads and groups; write the second a short, personal email that mentions their actual page.
Why “businesses without a website” lists don't convert
A Maps listing with no website is a business that has managed without one, often for years. Cold-calling them means convincing someone of a need before you can sell them anything, and scraped lists of them get passed around to every agency doing the same thing.
The owners who are ready are telling people: “does anyone know a good web designer in Leeds?”, “my site looks awful on phones, who fixed yours?”. And businesses with an outdated or broken site reply to emails that prove you looked at it, not to “I noticed you need a website”.
How it works with Larvabot
- 1Tell Larvabot what you build and whereAdd your studio's site and, if you work locally, set your city. The analysis plans searches for both people asking and businesses in the niches you serve.
- 2Catch owners asking for a websitePosts like “need someone to build my website” or “recommend a web designer in Austin” in Reddit, Facebook groups, Threads, X and local forums, scored for how ready they are.
- 3Find businesses worth an emailEmail campaigns search for businesses in your niches, read their sites and score the fit. Each lead comes with the contact found on the site and a detail worth mentioning.
- 4Approve every messageReply drafts for the posts, personal email drafts for the businesses. Nothing goes out until you approve it, and emails send from your own domain, a few a day.
- 5Follow-ups stop on replyUp to two short follow-ups, cancelled the moment someone answers, with a one-word opt-out in every email.
Example
A two-person studio in Leeds
A studio building sites for trades and restaurants sets its location to Leeds, UK, and lists “restaurants, cafés, plumbers, electricians” as who it serves.
- Conversations surfaces a post in a Leeds community group: “Can anyone recommend someone to do a website for my café? Ours is ancient.” Score 91.
- Email campaigns find a family Italian restaurant whose menu is a scanned PDF that doesn't open on phones. Fit 78, contact found on the Contact page.
- The email draft mentions the PDF menu and offers to turn it into a mobile menu page, with one example from their portfolio. No “I noticed you need a website”.
- They post the café reply and approve three restaurant emails that week; each goes out from their own domain, a few a day.
An illustrative example of how the workflow runs, not a real business or result.
See it in Larvabot
Trattoria Rosa
trattoriarosa.example
- Why reach out
- Family restaurant in Leeds; menu is a scanned PDF that doesn't load on phones.
- Detail to mention
- Menu page links to menu-2019.pdf (4 MB)
Hi Rosa, I tried to look at your menu on my phone last night and the PDF took ages and opened sideways. Most people checking a restaurant are on their phone, so it's probably costing you a few tables. We build simple mobile menu pages for restaurants in Leeds, which you can update yourself when prices change. Happy to show you a quick mock-up of yours, no charge. Tom Northside Web
What Larvabot won't do
Worth knowing before you start:
- Larvabot doesn't scrape Google Maps or build lists of businesses with no website. It finds businesses through their websites, and people through public posts.
- Emails need a sending domain set up properly (SPF, DKIM, DMARC). Larvabot checks it, but you do the DNS setup once.
- It sends a few emails a day per campaign on purpose. If you want to blast thousands, this isn't the tool.
- Contacts come from the business's own site. When none is found, the lead waits for you to add one or skip it.
Send the leads where you work
Push every business that replies into Pipedrive, HubSpot or a Google Sheet with the Zapier or Make app, so your proposals and follow-ups live in one place.
Questions people ask
How do I find local businesses that need a website?
Set your city in Larvabot and it watches your local subreddits, community groups and forums for owners asking for a website, while email campaigns look for local businesses in the niches you serve. Posts from people clearly elsewhere are dropped.
Should I contact businesses that don't have a website at all?
You can, but expect a low hit rate: most have decided they don't need one. Businesses asking for help, or with a site that's clearly broken on phones, are already halfway to yes.
What should a cold email to a business about their website say?
One specific thing you noticed on their site, why it matters to their customers, and a small, free next step such as a mock-up. Skip compliments, skip “I noticed you need a website”, and keep it under 100 words.
Is cold emailing businesses legal?
Business-to-business email is allowed in most countries when it's relevant, honest about who you are and easy to opt out of. Larvabot adds a one-word opt-out to every email and stops follow-ups on any reply. Check your own country's rules.
Try it on your own business
Add your website and Larvabot works out who your customers are and how they ask for what you sell, then brings you the posts and businesses worth answering, with a draft for each. 14 days free, no card required.