The problem with word of mouth

It works, right up until a quiet month. Then you have no way of reaching anybody who has not already heard your name, and you take whatever comes in, including the jobs you would rather not.

A site does two things about that. It catches people searching who have never heard of you, and it filters out the work you do not want before it reaches your phone.

Filtering matters more than you think

Most trades sites list everything they can possibly do. The result is enquiries for tiny jobs miles away that cost more in travel than they earn. Then the owner concludes websites bring rubbish leads.

Say plainly what you do and what you do not. Name the areas you cover. If you have a minimum job size, say so. You will get fewer enquiries and more of them will be worth answering.

What actually convinces people

Photos of your own work, taken on your phone, before and after. That beats any professionally shot stock image. Reviews with a first name and a town. Your accreditations if you have them, because people do look.

And a phone number that is impossible to miss. Trades enquiries happen by phone far more than by form.

The local part

Claim your Google Business Profile and get the category right. Add photos every few weeks. Ask every satisfied customer for a review, steadily. For trades, that map listing often brings more work than the website itself.

Keep it small

You do not need eight pages. What you do, where you do it, proof, and how to reach you. Done clearly, that outperforms most of what your competitors have.