Checkatrade vs Your Own Website: Where South London Plumbers Should Split Their Marketing
Checkatrade finds you customers; your website turns them into booked jobs. Most plumbers over-invest in one and under-invest in the other. Here's a straightforward way to split the spend.
The question we hear most from South London plumbers isn't 'should I do marketing?' It's 'should I stay on Checkatrade?' Usually asked with some frustration about fees, and usually expecting us to say leave. Our honest answer is almost always: stay — but stop being dependent on it.
What each one is actually for
Directories solve a discovery problem. Homeowners go to Checkatrade because they want a shortlist of vetted options fast, and being listed puts you in front of people you'd never otherwise reach. That's real value, and for many plumbers it's a genuine source of work.
What a directory can't do is tell your story. Your Checkatrade profile sits in a list beside three competitors, formatted identically, with the same review widget and the same badge. Every click you pay for there can bounce straight to a competitor one row down. A directory profile is a listing. Your website is yours.
Your own website solves a different problem: conversion and ownership. It's where someone who's heard of you — from a neighbour, a van at the school run, your Google profile — checks whether you're legitimate and finds a phone number. It's where your service areas, your emergency/planned split, your certifications and your reviews all work together without a competitor an inch away.
The maths worth doing
Directory fees for a plumber taking it seriously run to a meaningful amount every month, every year, indefinitely. A conversion-focused website is a one-off cost — for most trades, £1,500–£2,000 — that you own permanently. We're not saying the website replaces the directory; we're saying that after a couple of years, the website has usually cost less than one more year of directory dependence, and unlike the directory, it keeps working for you at no ongoing platform fee.
The split that works in practice
- Keep the directory while it generates work at a cost per job you're happy with. Track that number — most plumbers never have, and it's the only way to judge.
- Build the website so directory leads have somewhere real to land. A profile that links to a half-finished site wastes the fees you're already paying.
- Push your own channels: Google Business Profile reviews, repeat-customer follow-ups, and the local reputation that eventually means people search for you by name.
- Review the balance annually. The goal isn't to leave Checkatrade — it's to reach the point where losing the listing would hurt, not finish you.
That last point is the real one. Two South London plumbers can have identical turnover and completely different risk. The one whose work all arrives through a platform he doesn't control is one price rise or algorithm change away from a very bad quarter. The one with a working website, a well-reviewed Google profile and a repeat-customer base has options.
We build one-off conversion-focused websites for South London trades from £1,500 — no ongoing retainer required — and we'll tell you honestly if you're not ready for one. Book a free 20-minute audit and we'll look at where your work actually comes from before recommending anything.
Get the split right.
We help South London plumbers build a website that converts the leads directories generate — from £1,500 for a one-off build. Book a free 20-minute audit and we'll tell you honestly whether you need one yet.
