Google Reviews vs Checkatrade Reviews. Which Matter More?

Two Platforms, Two Very Different Jobs

If you are a tradesperson in the UK, you have almost certainly been told to get more reviews. What nobody seems to agree on is where those reviews should live. Google or Checkatrade? Both or neither?

The answer matters more than most people realise. Where your reviews sit affects who sees them, how much trust they carry, and whether they actually bring you new work. A plumber with fifty Checkatrade reviews and three Google reviews is in a very different position to one with fifty Google reviews and no Checkatrade presence at all.

Let us compare the two platforms properly, look at what each one actually does for your business, and work out where your time and effort should go.

Where Each Type of Review Actually Shows Up

This is the single biggest difference between the two, and it is the one most tradespeople overlook.

Google reviews appear directly inside Google Search and Google Maps. When a homeowner in Llandudno searches "electrician near me," the businesses that appear in the map pack show their star rating and review count right there in the results. Those reviews are visible before the searcher clicks anything. They are part of the decision-making process from the very first second.

Checkatrade reviews only appear on the Checkatrade website and app. A homeowner has to be on Checkatrade already, either browsing or searching within the platform, to see them. If someone finds you through Google, they will not see your Checkatrade reviews unless they go looking for them separately.

This distinction is critical. Google is where the vast majority of local searches happen. According to industry data, well over 80% of UK consumers start their search for a local tradesperson on Google rather than a trade directory. Your Google reviews are working for you in the place where most of your potential customers are already looking. Your Checkatrade reviews are working in a smaller, more contained environment.

That does not make Checkatrade reviews worthless. It means they serve a different function. We will come back to that.

The Compounding Effect of Google Reviews

Here is something that surprises a lot of tradespeople when we explain it during a free audit. Google reviews do not just sit there looking nice. They actively push your business higher in local search results.

Review signals, which include your total number of reviews, your average star rating, the frequency of new reviews, and the words people use in their review text, are one of the most important local search ranking factors. A builder with 60 genuine reviews mentioning "extension," "renovation," and "Wrexham" is sending Google constant signals about what they do and where they do it.

Every new Google review strengthens those signals. The effect compounds over time. Ten reviews helps. Thirty helps more. Sixty starts to create a gap that competitors find very difficult to close. This is why we talk about the number of reviews needed to rank. it is not about hitting a magic number, it is about building momentum that keeps working month after month.

Checkatrade reviews do not have this effect. They do not feed into Google's ranking algorithm. They do not help you appear higher in the map pack. They live entirely within Checkatrade's own ecosystem.

Trust and Verification: Where Checkatrade Still Wins

Now, Checkatrade does have genuine strengths that are worth understanding.

The platform verifies tradespeople before they can join. There are background checks, qualification checks, and insurance checks. Homeowners know this, and it creates a layer of trust that Google reviews alone cannot replicate. When a customer sees a Checkatrade profile with verified credentials and dozens of positive reviews, it carries a specific kind of authority.

For trades where trust and safety are paramount, gas engineers, electricians, anyone working on structural elements, that verification badge matters. A homeowner hiring someone to rewire their house is not just looking for someone with good reviews. They want proof that the person is qualified and insured. Checkatrade provides that in a way Google does not.

Google reviews are unverified in the sense that anyone with a Google account can leave one. Google does have policies against fake reviews, and they do remove some, but the system is not as tightly controlled as Checkatrade's. This means that while Google reviews carry massive weight in search rankings, individual reviews may carry slightly less trust in the mind of a cautious homeowner.

The Cost Question

Checkatrade charges a monthly membership fee. Depending on the package and your trade, this can range from around thirty pounds a month to well over a hundred. You are paying for a listing on their platform, access to leads, and the verification badge.

Google Business Profile is completely free. Setting up your profile, collecting reviews, posting updates, adding photos. none of it costs a penny. The process of getting more reviews takes effort and consistency, but there is no platform fee.

For many tradespeople, particularly those just starting out or operating on tight margins, the cost of Checkatrade is significant. If you are a painter and decorator doing two or three jobs a week, that monthly fee needs to generate at least one or two jobs to justify itself. Some tradespeople find it does. Others find that their Checkatrade profile sits there generating very little because the real action is happening on Google.

This is where you need to be honest about your numbers. Track where your enquiries actually come from. If Checkatrade is delivering consistent leads at a cost that works, keep it. If most of your work comes through Google searches, word of mouth, or your own website, question whether the subscription is earning its keep.

What About the Homeowner's Journey?

Think about how a typical homeowner finds and chooses a tradesperson. In most cases, it starts with a Google search. "Roofer near me." "Kitchen fitter Colwyn Bay." "Emergency locksmith Rhyl."

Google shows the map pack. The homeowner sees three businesses with star ratings and review counts. They click one, scan the reviews, maybe look at photos. If they like what they see, they call or message. The whole thing takes less than five minutes.

Now compare that with the Checkatrade journey. The homeowner needs to go to the Checkatrade website or app, enter their postcode and trade, browse through profiles, read reviews, check credentials. It is a more thorough process, but it is also a longer one. Many homeowners, particularly younger ones, skip it entirely because Google gave them a good enough answer in thirty seconds.

This matters for your visibility. Being where the customer already is will always outperform asking the customer to come to you. Google is where they already are.

The Verdict: Both, But Weight Your Effort Toward Google

If you have the budget, there is no harm in maintaining both. Checkatrade can work as a supporting signal of trust, and some homeowners, particularly older demographics, do use it as their primary search tool. Having a verified Checkatrade profile with good reviews is not a bad thing.

But if you have to choose where to put your energy, Google wins. Every time.

Here is why that matters practically. If you spend twenty minutes after each job asking for a Google review, following up with a link, and making it easy for the customer, that effort feeds directly into your local search ranking. It helps you appear higher in the map pack. It brings in more clicks, more calls, more jobs. The return compounds.

If you spend those same twenty minutes on Checkatrade, you get a review that lives on one platform and has no impact on your Google visibility whatsoever.

For tradespeople in North Wales, whether you are a roofer in Rhyl, a heating engineer in Llandudno, or a landscaper in Wrexham, the competition on Google is still manageable. Many businesses in this area have fewer than twenty reviews. Getting to forty or fifty puts you in a commanding position. That opportunity will not last forever.

How to Manage Both Platforms Effectively

If you do decide to use both Google and Checkatrade, here are some practical ground rules.

Prioritise Google reviews for every job. Make it your default. Send every happy customer a direct link to leave a Google review. The review request process should be baked into your workflow.

Use Checkatrade for trust reinforcement. Link to your Checkatrade profile from your website. Mention your verified status when quoting for larger jobs. Use it as a credibility signal, not as your primary lead source.

Track your actual lead sources. Ask every new enquiry how they found you. If Google is delivering 80% of your work, that tells you where to invest your time. If Checkatrade is delivering meaningful leads, keep it running but do not let it steal focus from Google.

Keep your Google profile fully optimised. Reviews are one piece of the puzzle. Your categories, your service area settings, your photos, your Google Posts. all of these affect your visibility. A profile with great reviews but poor optimisation is leaving opportunities on the table.

The Bottom Line

Google reviews and Checkatrade reviews are not competing for the same job. Google reviews drive visibility and the majority of local search traffic. Checkatrade reviews provide verified credibility within a specific platform.

If you want to be found by more customers, Google is the priority. If you want an extra trust signal for cautious homeowners, Checkatrade can supplement that. But pound for pound, minute for minute, Google review effort delivers a bigger return for UK tradespeople in 2026.

Want to see where your reviews and profile stand right now? Run a free audit and we will show you exactly what your customers see when they search for your trade.