Checkatrade for UK local SEO

Checkatrade is the UK's leading trades directory, and the most expensive citation in our 55+ list. Annual membership runs £600-1,200 depending on trade and location. For trades businesses, it's also one of the most ROI-positive citations available.

Why Checkatrade is worth the cost (for trades only)

Checkatrade's traffic profile is genuinely different from a generic directory. The visitors are:

• Already in buying mode — they're looking for someone to do specific work, not browsing
• Vetted — Checkatrade enforces a complaints process that filters out tyre-kickers
• Local-intent heavy — most searches are postcode-driven, which matches the trade-business model perfectly

For a UK plumber, electrician, builder, or other home-services trade, Checkatrade leads typically convert at 15-25% — far higher than generic directory leads (2-5%). The membership pays back in 2-4 jobs for most trades.

For non-trade businesses, Checkatrade is irrelevant. Don't list.

What you need to qualify

Checkatrade vets every applicant. The process takes 2-4 weeks and includes:

• Public liability insurance (minimum £2M, £5M for some trades)
• Trade qualifications where applicable (Gas Safe for gas, NICEIC or equivalent for electrical, etc.)
• References from 3-5 recent customers — Checkatrade contacts them directly
• A site visit or phone interview with a Checkatrade vetter
• Companies House check for limited companies

This vetting is what makes the listing valuable. It's also what filters out a lot of casual applicants — which is good for the businesses that do qualify.

Setting up the listing properly

Once approved, the listing setup matters:

• Trade categories should be specific, not broad — "Boiler installation" beats "Plumbing" for SEO and conversion
• Areas covered should be realistic — Checkatrade's algorithm penalises businesses that claim massive coverage areas and then decline jobs within them
• Photos of completed work — Checkatrade's most successful members have 30+ photos, captioned with location and job type
• Respond to every review — Checkatrade's review-response rate is a ranking factor inside their internal search

The Checkatrade-Google interaction

Checkatrade listings rank well in Google for branded queries ("[trade] [city] checkatrade") and for general trade queries in competitive UK markets. The DR-75 backlink is also one of the higher- authority trade-specific citations available.

For a UK trades business, the Checkatrade listing typically ranks above their own website for some long-tail trade-and-area queries — which sounds bad but is actually fine, because the lead still comes through to you.

Membership economics

At £600-1,200/year, Checkatrade only makes sense if you're getting at least 4-8 leads per year that convert. Most trades businesses do — but some don't. If you're in a low-competition rural area, the lead volume through Checkatrade may be low, and you'd be better off investing the membership cost in Google Ads instead.

We recommend the 6-month trial for any trade considering Checkatrade for the first time. Track conversion specifically against Checkatrade- sourced enquiries before committing to the annual fee.