There is a real difference between a website that wins call-outs and one that wins extensions. The first needs a phone number and to load fast. The second has to convince somebody to hand over a large sum and let you take the back off their house. If the bigger work is the goal, the site has to do a different job.
Show finished work, properly
Most trade websites have a gallery of untitled photographs. That is a missed opportunity, because the customer is trying to picture their own project. What works is fewer projects, each shown properly: what the job was, what it involved, roughly how long it took, where it was, and photographs from before as well as after. Six to ten of those beat forty thumbnails every time.
Be clear about what you take on
Saying you do everything reads as available rather than expert. Naming what you specialise in, and what you do not take on, saves you quoting work you did not want and makes the enquiries that do arrive far better. Someone planning a loft conversion wants a builder who does loft conversions, not a general list.
The trust signals for a big spend
- Insurance and the relevant certifications, shown rather than implied.
- Any guarantee or warranty, in plain words.
- Real reviews, ideally on your own Google Business Profile where they belong to you.
- Faces and names, because a large job is a relationship for months.
Make the enquiry fit the job
A one-line contact form is fine for a leak. For a project, ask a few useful questions: what the job is, roughly when, whether there are drawings, and the budget range. It filters the time-wasters, it makes your first call far more useful, and serious customers do not mind answering. It also sets you apart from the trades who reply with a bare quote and nothing else. If you are still weighing up the directories, we compared them in Checkatrade or your own website.
The short version. Show fewer jobs in more detail, say what you specialise in, prove the boring things like insurance, and ask better questions on the enquiry form. That is how a trade website moves up the value of the work it brings in.
More on the sector on our page for trades and home improvement.