By Surinder Ahitan · Independent SEO Consultant · United Kingdom The site I'd build a locksmith and the site I'd build a kitchen fitter share almost no front page. One customer is stood outside their own house at eleven at night; the other has been thinking about it since Christmas and wants to see photographs. Same package underneath, very different page at the top.
01The split that matters Emergency trades and considered trades.
Nearly every trade falls into one of two camps, and it decides how the whole site is built.
Emergency trades: roofers in a storm, locksmiths, gas engineers in January, drainage. The customer has a problem right now, they're searching on a phone, and they'll ring the first firm that looks like it will actually turn up. Phone number enormous and permanent, reviews near the top, service area obvious in the first screen.
Considered trades: kitchen fitters, landscapers, double glazing, fitted bedrooms. Thousands of pounds, weeks of deliberation, three quotes. Photographs of finished work carry the page, the call to action is a survey or a quote rather than a call, and the job is to still be in the running by week three.
Get that wrong and everything downstream is wrong. A beautiful gallery-led site for a locksmith is useless at eleven at night.
02The directory Trades I build for.
Where there's a page, there's a link. A page only exists where that trade has something genuinely its own to say, which is a smaller list than the one I build for.
- Roofers, Emergency leaks, re-roofs, storm work
- Electricians, Rewires, consumer units, EICR and landlord work
- Electrician websites, The build itself, three audiences on one site
- Plumbers, Boilers, emergencies, bathrooms and annual services
- Plumber websites, The build itself, designed for the emergency call
- Builders, Extensions, loft conversions and renovation work
- Locksmiths, Lockouts, insurance-standard locks, night work
- Landscapers, Garden design and build, patios, grounds maintenance
- Architects, Planning applications, extensions, listed building consent
- Carpenters and joiners, Site carpentry, bespoke joinery, fitted furniture
- Cleaning companies, Domestic rounds and commercial contracts
- Gas engineers, Boilers, servicing, landlord safety certificates
- Tree surgeons, Felling, pruning, storm work, protected trees
- Pest control, Rodents, wasps, bed bugs, commercial contracts
Also built for, without a page of their own:
Plasterers · Kitchen fitters · Painters and decorators · Glaziers · Scaffolders · Removals · Flooring · Window cleaners · Garage doors · Security installers · Handyman · Air conditioning.
Those aren't a lower tier of customer, and the build is identical. They don't have a page because I checked the search data and there wasn't enough that was true only of them to justify one. Writing near-duplicate pages with the trade swapped is how a site like this gets worse, so I'd rather tell you that than pad the list.
03What doesn't change The same package behind every one.
Whichever trade you're in, the build is the same: a site written for your work and your towns, missed-call text-back, a review funnel, follow-up on every enquiry, one inbox on your phone, and a business number that isn't your mobile. £297 a month, no build fee, no contract.
What changes is the shape of the front page, which accreditations go where, and which two or three things I'd fix first. That part is genuinely different every time, and it's the bit worth talking through, twenty minutes on a call and I'll tell you what I'd do for yours.
04Common questions Questions I get asked about trades.
01 Do you only work with the trades listed here?
No. The list is where I've done the most work and know the search patterns best. If your trade isn't on it, ask me on a call, the mechanics are the same and I'll tell you honestly whether the searches are there for your line of work.
02 Is a roofer’s website really different from a plumber’s?
The plumbing is the same, so to speak, but what goes at the top changes a lot. A locksmith needs the phone number visible before anything else because the customer is locked out. A kitchen fitter needs photographs, because the customer is choosing with their eyes and taking three weeks over it.
03 What if my trade has almost no search volume?
Then I'll say so. Some trades genuinely aren't searched for in a way that pays back. I checked bedroom fitters recently and there was nothing there at all. It's a better conversation to have before you spend money than after.
04 Do I get a different price for a smaller trade?
No. It's £297 a month whichever trade you're in, because the build is the same amount of work either way. There is no smaller package for smaller trades and no discount for asking.
If you want to know what I'd build for your trade specifically, that's twenty minutes, and I'll tell you honestly whether the searches are there. Book a call. Tell me what's going on.