The Three Platforms Every Tradesperson Gets Asked About
If you are a tradesperson in the UK, you have almost certainly been cold-called by Yell, pitched by Checkatrade, or told by a mate to "get yourself on Google." These three platforms, Google Business Profile, Yell, and Checkatrade, dominate the conversation around getting work online. But they work in very different ways, they cost very different amounts, and the quality of leads they generate is not even close to equal.
This is not about bashing one platform over another. Each has a place. But if you are going to invest time or money into getting leads online, you need to understand what you are actually getting from each one and where your effort is best spent.
Google handles 8.5 billion searches per day — Yell and Checkatrade combined don't come close
GBP is 100% free while Checkatrade costs £50-120 per month
Google Business Profile. The One You Cannot Ignore
Your Google Business Profile is free. Completely free. You create a listing, verify your business, fill in your details, and you appear in Google Search and Google Maps when people search for what you do in your area.
That might sound too simple to be powerful, but consider this: when someone in Rhyl searches "plumber near me," Google shows a map with three businesses. Those three listings get the vast majority of clicks. If you are one of them, you are getting free leads from the biggest search engine on the planet. If you are not, you are invisible to the people actively looking for your services right now.
The cost to be there is zero pounds. The catch is that you need to earn your position. Google ranks local listings based on relevance and prominence. We have broken down exactly how that works in our guide to how Google ranks local businesses. The short version: a complete profile with strong reviews and regular activity will outrank a neglected one.
For a plumber, electrician, or builder, Google Business Profile should be the foundation of your online presence. Everything else is secondary.
Yell. The Directory That Used to Be King
Yell was the Yellow Pages. Every household in Britain had a copy. If you needed a tradesperson, you opened the book and found one. Those days are long gone, but Yell has transitioned online and still has a significant web presence.
What Yell costs: Yell offers free listings, but the real pitch is their paid packages. These range from roughly £30 per month for a basic enhanced listing to several hundred pounds per month for their premium packages that include website building and social media services. The sales team will push hard for the higher tiers.
What you get: A listing on yell.com with your business details and photos. Paid tiers add things like priority placement in Yell search results and digital advertising managed by Yell.
The reality for most trades: Yell's search traffic has been declining for years. Most people do not go to yell.com to find a tradesperson. they go to Google. The main value of a Yell listing in 2026 is as a business citation, not as a lead source. Having a consistent listing on Yell helps Google verify your business details, which can marginally improve your Google ranking.
A free Yell listing is worth having for the citation value alone. Paying £50 or more per month for a premium Yell package is a harder sell when that money could go toward improving your Google presence, getting better photos, or encouraging more reviews.
Paying £100 a month for Checkatrade while ignoring your free Google profile is like buying newspaper ads while your shop sign is blank.
Checkatrade. Paying for Trust
Checkatrade is a different model entirely. It is a vetted directory. You pay a membership fee, Checkatrade verifies your credentials (insurance, qualifications, references), and in return you get listed on their platform with a trust badge.
What Checkatrade costs: Membership starts at around £60 to £120 per month depending on your trade and area. Some trades report paying significantly more for premium placement. On top of the membership, Checkatrade has introduced a pay-per-lead model in some categories, where you pay for each enquiry you receive.
What you get: A profile on checkatrade.com with verified reviews and a trust badge you can use on your van and marketing materials. Checkatrade also does its own advertising, driving traffic to the platform.
The reality: Checkatrade leads can be genuinely good quality. The vetting process means customers trust the platform, and people who come through Checkatrade are usually serious about hiring someone. The reviews on Checkatrade carry weight because they are from verified jobs.
The downside is cost. At £100+ per month, you need to win enough work from the platform to justify the spend. For trades with high job values, bathroom fitters, kitchen fitters, builders doing extensions, a single job can cover months of Checkatrade fees. For lower-value trades or those in less populated areas, the maths might not work.
Lead Quality: Where the Real Difference Lies
Not all leads are equal. A phone call from someone who has read your reviews and specifically chosen to contact you is worth far more than a mass enquiry sent to six tradespeople simultaneously.
Google leads tend to be the highest quality for one simple reason: the customer chose you. They searched, they saw the map pack, they looked at your listing and they called you. That is a warm lead. They have already done their research and they are ready to book.
Yell leads are becoming rarer as the platform's search traffic declines. When they do come through, they are often price-comparison shoppers who are contacting multiple businesses from the directory. These are cooler leads that require more selling on your part.
Checkatrade leads sit in the middle. The customer trusts the platform, which helps, but they are often comparing two or three Checkatrade-listed tradespeople at once. The pay-per-lead model means you are charged whether or not you win the job, which can get expensive if your conversion rate is low.
The average cost per lead also varies enormously. Google leads cost you nothing beyond the time you invest in your profile. Yell leads, if you are on a paid plan, might cost £10-50 each depending on your monthly fee and enquiry volume. Checkatrade leads can cost £20-80 each when you factor in membership plus any per-lead fees.
Invest your time in GBP first (free, highest reach), then consider Checkatrade only if you need short-term lead flow while your Google presence grows.
Which Trades Benefit Most from Each Platform
Google Business Profile: Every trade. There is no trade that should not have a well-maintained GBP. But trades with emergency or urgent work, plumbers, locksmiths, heating engineers, drainage engineers, benefit the most because their customers search and act immediately.
Checkatrade: Trades where trust is the primary concern. Gas engineers (Gas Safe registration matters hugely to customers), electricians and builders doing large projects. The vetting badge reassures customers spending thousands of pounds.
Yell: Honestly, the main benefit in 2026 is the citation. A free listing on Yell helps your Google ranking indirectly. Paid Yell advertising may still work for trades in highly competitive urban areas, but test it with a short commitment before signing a long contract.
MyBuilder: Worth a mention here because it comes up in the same conversation. MyBuilder works on a bidding model. you see a job, you pay to express interest, and the customer picks from the responses. Good for newer tradespeople building a reputation, but the bidding model can be costly and competitive.
Why Google Business Profile Should Be Your Foundation
Every minute and pound you invest in your Google Business Profile compounds over time. A Yell listing does not improve if you ignore it for six months. A Checkatrade membership expires if you stop paying. But your Google profile, well maintained, builds authority month after month.
Reviews accumulate. Photos get indexed. Posts keep your profile active. Your ranking improves as Google sees consistent signals that your business is real and trusted. After a year of steady effort, a well-optimised GBP generates leads passively. people find you and hire you without any ongoing cost.
None of the paid platforms offer that kind of long-term return. They are rented audiences. The moment you stop paying Checkatrade, your profile vanishes. The moment you cancel Yell, your listing drops to a bare-bones free version buried below paid competitors.
Your Google Business Profile is owned visibility. You control it and it stays.
The Citation Benefit of Being Everywhere
There is one strong argument for being listed on multiple platforms even if they do not generate many direct leads. Each consistent listing of your business name and phone number, a citation, signals to Google that your business is legitimate and established.
Having listings on Yell, Checkatrade, Bark, MyBuilder and local directories creates a network of citations that supports your Google ranking. The key word is "consistent." Your business name and phone number must be identical everywhere. We covered this in detail in our guide on business citations.
So even if Yell sends you one lead per year, the free listing still has value as a citation. Just make sure the details match your Google Business Profile exactly.
A Practical Approach for Most Tradespeople
Here is what we recommend to the tradespeople we work with at Local Markers:
Priority 1: Google Business Profile. Get it fully set up. All categories correct. All services listed. Photos of your work. A proper business description. Ask every happy customer for a Google review. Post updates regularly. This is where the majority of your online leads will come from and it costs nothing.
Priority 2: Free listings on major directories. Create free profiles on Yell, Thomson Local and any trade-specific directories for your sector. Keep the NAP details identical to your GBP. This builds your citation network.
Priority 3: Evaluate paid platforms on a trial basis. If you want to try Checkatrade, commit to a three-month trial and track every lead carefully. Calculate your cost per lead and your cost per won job. If the numbers work, keep going. If not, redirect that budget toward improving your Google presence.
Priority 4: Never stop building your Google profile. Even if Checkatrade is working well for you, keep investing in your GBP. The goal is to reach a point where Google generates enough work on its own that paid platforms become optional rather than essential.
The Bottom Line
Google Business Profile is free and builds long-term authority. Yell is worth a free listing for citations but rarely justifies paid packages in 2026. Checkatrade works well for trades where trust matters and job values are high, but the cost adds up and the leads stop the day you stop paying.
If you can only focus on one thing, focus on Google. Get your profile right and get visible in the map pack for your trade in your area.
Not sure where your Google profile stands compared to competitors? Local Markers offers a free GBP audit for tradespeople across North Wales and beyond. We will show you exactly what needs fixing and where your biggest opportunities are. No payment required, no strings attached. just clear, honest advice on how to get more work from Google.