Marketing for trades & home service businesses
Get found by local homeowners, stop competing on price and build the kind of reputation that fills your diary. Marketing for plumbers, electricians, builders, cleaners and tradespeople across the UK.
50 of 60
AI Mode answers for a trusted tradesperson cited Checkatrade (Whito, August 2026)
30%
of 64 tradespeople found by ordinary search could not be verified at Companies House (Whito, July 2026)
35%
of 55 top-rated trades firms have no website at all for AI to read (Whito, June 2026)
1 of 12
identical questions where three AI engines agreed on the best tradesperson (Whito, June 2026)
Finding
Checkatrade was cited in 50 of the 60 Google AI Mode answers Whito collected for electricians, plumbers and roofers across 20 UK towns on 22 August 2026, 83%, while only 9% of UK homeowners rate a builder's website among their top three factors.
Source: Whito, whito.co.uk/research/uk-trades-marketing-statistics, August 2026. Free to quote with a link to that page.
Start, Build, Scale
The right order for trade businesses
Do the stages in order. Nothing in Build works while Start is missing.
Start, Build, Scale for trade businesses: the free foundations first, then systems and proof, then measurement. The three stages are listed in full in this figure.Start
- Companies House number in text
- Your trade scheme named
- Google Business Profile complete
Build
- One page per service and area
- Photos of real jobs
- Reviews by text after each job
Scale
- Track cost per job won by source
- Run the break-even maths on every lead platform
- Cut the one that loses money
The library
Every guide, study and tool for trades
11 guides · 11 studies · 3 tools. All specific to trades, every figure dated.
GuideGoogle Business Profile for UK Tradespeople: The Free Marketing Most Are Getting Wrong
GuideHow much should a UK tradesperson spend on marketing?
GuideLocal SEO for UK Trades Businesses: What Actually Gets You Found
GuideMarketing for Tradespeople UK: How to Get More Work Consistently
GuideTop 5 UK Trades & Home Services Marketing Breakdown (2026): Social Media, Email, SEO, Reviews and More
GuideUK Tradespeople Pay Thousands a Year for Leads. The Customers Were Searching for You Anyway
Guide10 Marketing Mistakes Costing UK Tradespeople Thousands Every Year
GuideStop Renting Your Customers. The Lead You Just Paid For Was Sold to Four Other Trades.
GuideWhy Most Tradespeople Waste Money on Marketing (And What to Do Instead)
GuideWill AI Recommend Your Trade Business? How Plumbers, Electricians and Builders Get Found
StudyAI engines agree on the best UK tradesperson just 8% of the time
StudyCan you trust Google’s AI to recommend a tradesperson? We checked 20 UK towns (2026 data)
StudyNobody can tell you who the best local tradesperson is. We tested nine UK cities to find out.
StudyHow Much Should a UK Trade Pay for a Lead? Break-Even Prices for 12 Jobs
StudyUK Trade Directory Costs 2026: Checkatrade, Bark, Yell and What They Really Charge
StudyWe checked 164 UK trade names against Companies House. 48 failed, and where the name came from predicted which.
StudyWhat UK trades cost in 2026: electricians, plumbers and roofers, job by job
StudyMost UK trade companies are missing from the ICO register. We checked 800 against it.
StudyA third of the best local tradespeople are invisible to AI. We checked 55 of them.
StudyUK Trades Marketing Statistics 2026, 92 Figures Every One Traced to Its Source
StudyWe checked 64 UK tradespeople against Companies House. 19 could not be verified.
ToolWhat Bark Really Costs in 2026: Credits, Leads and Cost Per Job
ToolWhat Checkatrade Really Costs in 2026: Fees, Contracts and Cost Per Job
ToolJob Management Software for UK Trades: The Real Monthly Cost in 2026
Whito need-to-know
- 70% of UK homeowners start their search for a tradesperson on Google. If you are not showing up, you are losing jobs every day.
- Your Google Business Profile is free and is the single most important marketing asset you have. A complete profile with 50+ reviews wins the call over competitors with fewer than 10.
- Lead generation sites like Checkatrade and MyBuilder are useful short-term, but you are renting visibility. Build your own presence instead.
- Most UK tradespeople generating consistent work spend £200 to £500 per month on marketing once the free foundations are in place.
Why most UK tradespeople struggle to grow
Feast or famine
One month you are turning work away. The next, the phone goes quiet. Without a steady pipeline of your own, income swings with the season and you are always one quiet month away from stress.
Paying for shared leads
Checkatrade, MyBuilder, Bark, Rated People. You pay per lead, that lead goes to three or four other tradespeople, and the homeowner picks the cheapest quote. The reviews you earn there do not belong to you.
Invisible on Google
70% of UK homeowners start their search on Google. If your Google Business Profile is incomplete, has no photos and fewer than ten reviews, you are invisible to the people in your area who need you right now.
What actually works for UK tradespeople
Practical marketing that fills your diary and builds a reputation that stops you competing on price.
Google Business Profile
Complete every field. Add photos of your work, set your service area, list every service you offer. This is where most of your new customers will find you. Free and takes 30 minutes.
Collect reviews systematically
Send a text or WhatsApp message with your Google review link after every job, the same day. At 5 new reviews per week, you will have 100+ within six months. Respond to every review.
Town-specific landing pages
Create separate pages for every town and service you cover. "Boiler installation in [town]" and "rewire in [town]" target the exact searches homeowners are making.
Before-and-after photos
Document every job with photos. Post them on your website, Google profile, Facebook and Instagram. Tag the location. A portfolio of completed work builds more trust than any sales pitch.
Google Ads for urgent jobs
Target searches like "emergency plumber [town]" and "electrician near me". Google Local Services Ads are particularly strong for trades: pay per lead with a Google Guaranteed badge.
Van branding
Your van is a moving billboard in your service area. Clean branding that matches your online presence creates recognition. Include your phone number, website, and Google review count.
Quick wins you can do this week
Complete your Google Business Profile
Add your services, upload photos of your work, set your service area and make sure your phone number is correct. This is free and takes 30 minutes. This alone can double your enquiries.
Ask for reviews after every job
Send a text or WhatsApp message with your direct Google review link the same day. Most happy customers will leave one if you ask while the job is still fresh.
Post a before-and-after photo
Take a photo of today's completed job and post it on Facebook and Instagram. Tag the location. Join your local community groups. This takes 2 minutes and keeps you visible.
Common mistakes tradespeople make with marketing
Relying on lead generation sites
Checkatrade, MyBuilder and Bark are useful as a bridge, but you are renting visibility and competing on price. Build your own Google presence and aim to reduce directory dependency to less than 20% of bookings within 12 months.
No website beyond Facebook
A Facebook page is not a website. You need a proper site with services, areas covered, pricing guidance, accreditations and reviews. When homeowners search Google, Facebook pages rarely appear in the top results.
Not asking for reviews
Most tradespeople do great work but never ask for reviews. Your competitors with 100+ Google reviews are winning jobs that should be yours. Make asking part of your process for every single job.
Trades marketing guides
The register that matters
Companies House first, then your trade scheme
Gas Safe, Part P, NFRC, FENSA, TrustMark. Whatever applies, the number goes on the site in text a machine can read. A badge image is invisible to the engines.
Ready to fill your diary?
Start with the free visibility check: Seventeen checks, about twenty seconds, no email, no sales call. It tells you what AI search and Google can actually read about your trade business, and what to fix first.
Check your site free