What's your view on Check a Trade and similar sites?

[Root 66 Woodshop]

CheckaTrade and Trustatrader have brought A LOT of business to us and having their websites backlinking to your website is always a positive plus in terms of SEO for your business website...

Says enough to me TBH

Avoid Avoid Avoid!

Simple reason - and this is only because I'm in the same trade as this Locksmith - A Locksmith can not be certified as BSI - like what this company claim to be associated with. This company is using the BSI kitemarked logo illegally on their website.

BSI is the standard of which a product is tested too - so much so, BSI is tested at the offices of the MLA (Master Locksmith Association) an organisation that we're a part of.

You don't need to pay stupid fee's from rip off companies like checkatrade.com to advertise YOUR services you do this very easily yourself with your own website and by sticking to what you know, keeping your business at the forefront of the game and ensuring your customers are happy with what you say and what you do for them.

 

[Daveyon]

Low and behold a leaflet through my door of one of these websites. I did a search and this new site seems different but they hold the money until the tradesmen complete the job. They called themselves Ottitia - I can't pronounce it hahaha ottitia . com

 

[jamier.smith]

Hello everyone this is my first post on the forums and found it doing some of my own research on Checkatrade.

Firstly I must mention that I do work for an online format that from an outsiders view, could be seen as very similar to Checkatrade but offers much more than just a page with a reviews system for customers. in fact we don't have reviews at all, we know it is flawed and a simple google search makes that very clear.

I wanted to ask a question to anyone that has used or paid to advertise on such directories - Do you think asking all businesses to provide a picture of the owner/team for their page would help filter out the rogue traders from joining in the first place? Also from a public point of view would this give them some confidence that they are choosing a company that is happy to be associated with the service they offer?

I only ask as these questions as it is a requirement for the directory I work for and I have always thought this hold much more weight than any reviews or rating system as its honest, transparent and the public can see exactly who they are dealing with.

Also just out of interest from a business point of view if you were the only business being advertised for your areas of work with not categories/competition, being exposed exclusively on Google with a listing boasting your local area numbers (believe it or not its very rare to see and attracts potential customers in your local area), would you feel you were getting more value for money?

Very interested to hear what you all think as have my own views, good and bad. I also wonder how much of a USP this could be for us.

Thanks for reading and this is genuinely not a post to boost interest in our directory but something I would like the public and business owners views on.

Jamie

 

[Talay]

I think all these Cheat a trade sites are a scam where you can pay to get listed which fools gullible punters into thinking that you are somehow affiliated or checked or trusted or certified or whatever but it is meaningless.

Worse so, the lack of ability to publish real bad reports clouds the issue. The punter thinks that those they see only have good reports and thus the bad apples are not shown but that isn't true. The bad reviews just don't get published and fraudsters and cowboys get a bill of health they seriously fail to honour.

However, if I was in need of business and had no word of mouth, you might have to weigh up whether punters were so stupid as to believe this shite, which they are and offset the extra business against the very high costs.

What is needed is a real subscription site, like Which have tried to do but not manages to get into the wider domain.

These cheat a trade sites are the Wonga of the review game and should be shut down.

 

[jamier.smith]

Thanks for your reply Talay.

I agree with you that the industry needs a place for the public to go for honest reviews.

Do you think a rogue trader would happily put a picture of themselves online where their target market can see them? In my experience we have businesses that do turn away when this is mentioned as a requirement so it seems to work well. As a small family run business we do NOT want rogue traders and often turn away businesses if we believe we are not promoting a respectable service.

Also, we do not pose to be a a site that vets businesses etc and is really designed for exposing our businesses on Google so the public can easily find them without SEO or using Adwords. I feel this gives better value for money to businesses especially if they do not have a website and are targeting the commercial work. Often business owners do not have time to SEO their own sites and maintain a website. Time is money!

Is it fairer that there are no reviews as bad reviews cant be held back giving a false impression to the public? Would you feel happier if you knew the business you were calling were happy to display a picture of the business owner?

It really is a tricky one and unfortunately I speak to business owners each day that have been stung in the past and do our best to help them, sometimes we even create website for free when we we speak to business owners that have their domain names held at ransom by Yell. We have spent years tweaking our platform and tried to add much more value than other directories by not having categories and getting businesses on the first page of Google.

I have seen a few posts explaining it is easy to get a website but in my experience that is only ever going to be as good as it is being seen and that going to be on Google where your potential customers look for the services they require.

There are genuine directories out there that do want to help businesses. I guess you have to research them before you decide to join and consider what you are getting for your money and put yourself in the public's point of view.

 

[UKSBD]

One of my number one tips for tradesmen/service providers is to display pictures of themselves and their vans on their websites.

I (as a potential customer) find it reassuring to see what they look/dress like and what than they drive before having them round.

Even better if they have a local number on their van or a van I have seen locally.

It's the main reason I set this up - https://www.uksmallbusinessdirectory.co.uk/tradesmen/gallery/
Not many take advantage of it though, people are too cynical nowadays and always think there is a catch

 

[jamier.smith]

HI UKSB.

Great to hear you also push for companies to promote their pictures.

I did have a look at the website you own and its a great Idea. Is there a way to search for businesses in each area of the UK?

Is there a gap in the market for a directory that offers exclusive advertising on Google as part of their service along with the other points I mentioned above? Would this be something you feel businesses would benefit from? It will save them time and money creating a website, paying for SEO etc. The local number actually shows on the google listing before even clicking to the business page which when links to a page on our website landing on a picture of the business owners bypassing all categories and offering only one business.

I am really interested in this market and no company can GUARANTEE to put businesses on 1st Page of Google. One thing we do offer is keyphrases for their areas of work which will include all towns etc. Is there a massive market being missed by companies that have 5 or 6 keyphrases? for example. 'Plumber in Dorset' could be broken down to 'Plumber in Poole' 'Plumber in Bournemouth' etc. as having done some research the public do like to search for businesses that are local to them.

I think we have something special here and a proud son as my mother has gone from not being able to send a text lol to creating something very unique that businesses seem to love and also works well for the public

Thanks again!

 

[UKSBD]

HI UKSB.
Is there a gap in the market for a directory that offers exclusive advertising on Google as part of their service along with the other points I mentioned above?

Sorry, don't really know what you mean by "that offers exclusive advertising on Google"

The other stuff you say is basically how my directory was before it got too big.
Follow the links on my directory and they all effectively lead towards an end page for each business. It was the end pages I used to optimise rather that the routes to the end page.

My biggest problem with that was, I provide free and upgraded listings and sometimes free listings outranked the upgraded ones.

You then have to decide whether you want an individual end page to rank or a category/location page to rank.

What you're describing isn't really a directory it's a site of landing pages, this works well on a small scale, the bigger the site gets though the harder it gets.

Would this be something you feel businesses would benefit from? It will save them time and money creating a website, paying for SEO etc.

The thing is, by doing that they are paying someone else to improve their own website. Short term it may be OK, long term they are better paying for their own website.
It's like saying pay £** for us to build a web presence but you never have control over it, if it starts doing really well, the person can up the price or give it to someone else.

The local number actually shows on the google listing before even clicking to the business page which when links to a page on our website landing on a picture of the business owners bypassing all categories and offering only one business.

Are you talking about Google My Business Listings?
If so, it is against the TOS for directories to set up listings on behalf of others on directory type sites, otherwise every directory out there would be setting up Google My Business Listings and linking them back to their own sites.
Don't think it's a new idea, others have done it ;-)

I am really interested in this market and no company can GUARANTEE to put businesses on 1st Page of Google. One thing we do offer is keyphrases for their areas of work which will include all towns etc. Is there a massive market being missed by companies that have 5 or 6 keyphrases? for example. 'Plumber in Dorset' could be broken down to 'Plumber in Poole' 'Plumber in Bournemouth' etc. as having done some research the public do like to search for businesses that are local to them.

lots of directories already do this, Google Maps and My Business do it better though

I think we have something special here and a proud son as my mother has gone from not being able to send a text lol to creating something very unique that businesses seem to love and also works well for the public
Thanks again!

Don't get too excited about having something special, too much cynicism out there, you may have something which is free and great for a small business owner, 99.9% will think there is a catch in it somewhere though unless it is really sold to them.

 

[jamier.smith]

Thanks UKSBD. I really do appreciate your views and definitely take them on board.

By exclusive advertising I refer to only offering our services to one business in each area of the U.K. The only reason we do this is because joining a category means it can be hit and miss if the public choose you over other companies. This is just a way of adding value from the business point of view. Yes it means we limit our earning potential but it means we can look after all businesses we take on with a more personal service.

Regarding the SEO and an interesting subject. We don't provide an SEO service but the landing pages we create that are linked to our site hit page 1 of google within 48 hours. We don't build websites and don't touch existing websites. We never increase the price our businesses pay and only take a small deposit up front, taking any outstanding payments once our director and themselves are happy with their web presence. They are always in control and this makes it much easier for us in the long run.

The telephone number shows on the organic Google listing and definitely not a My Business listing or Google maps. I do find it surprising that you don't often see this. I just searched for a plumber in my area and only saw 1 local telephone number. I really do think this helps to draw people to click on your link as they are drawn the their local area code.

I appreciate there will be companies that have all of their areas covered but I rarely come across this. I recently dealt with a solar panel company that joined us and they used an SEO service and showed for their county i.e 'solar panel installer Dorset' but as search for the towns within the county they didn't show up at all. It turned out he only had 5 key-phrases and only joined us to cover all the other areas and we did this successfully. The public do like to know they are dealing with a local company in their area.

I might be wrong but I believe Google Maps does change so you are never guaranteed to always be on top. Definitely something we recommend all business to do as its free and increases their web presence.

I appreciate what you also say about there being a lot of cynicism but business join us from Checkatrade/Yell and absolutely love it! Yes there are a few that it doesn't work for but that will always be the case as with any business and they will always deal directly with the director to come up with a solution. 80% our new business comes from recommendation and do have a waiting list at some locations for when a space becomes available. We do genuinely want to help out businesses and the reason for my posts is to find out if there are ways we can add value to businesses whilst making it easy for the public to find a company online that are proud of the service they provide. I haven't yet found something that does quite what to do and I am excited/apprehensive about what the future holds for us. You are definitely right that you cant give anything away anymore!


I thank you for the time you have already taken to reply and look forward to your response.

Jamie

 

[Oliver Wild]

I think they're all great for getting your business off the ground, getting leads and enquiries, I would imagine that after the first year, many companies cancel their subscription.