[Katy]

Update: 13th November 2020

Your feedback is really important to us - we've received questions in this thread, and have answered them in this new post here >>

If you have more questions please share them in the new thread - we've closed this one now to help us make sure we see all your questions and feedback in one place 🙂

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Your position in the search listings is important. The higher you appear in the listings, the more likely you are to be seen and chosen by a customer. However, we’ve listened to member feedback and agree that some of our members are getting a higher share of the visibility than others.

Following successful trials, we’re rolling out a further improvement which will ensure that the top positions in the search listings are spread more evenly amongst our members.

As a result of these modifications you may see changes in the search rankings and where you appear in the search results.

You already know that frequent and regular reviews are important to driving credibility and ranking, and this won’t change.

Your search results position still requires you to have reviews in the areas and trade categories assigned to your profile, so it remains vital to continue to ask for a review for every job you do. Ask your customers for reviews regularly. You can also use the ‘Remind your customer’ function in the Trade App or Member Area. Find our guide on how to collect customer feedback here.

You should also make sure that:

1. You're getting frequent and regular feedback every month.
2. Your reviews are in the areas you want to work in
3. Your reviews are for the trade category you have selected. If for example you have the Plumbing and Heating categories, you need frequent and regular reviews in both categories.

Alongside reviews, your profile is an important part of your search result position.

• Location: Pick the postcode that’s closest to the areas you want to work in (you can change your home postcode free of charge).
• Trade category & sub category: Check you have the right main trade category - and that the subcategories within it reflect the services you offer
• Search Description & Profile Page: Make sure your profile is complete and regularly updated - it's your shop window.

Respond to any enquiries you receive quickly; we know that the quicker your response the more likely you are to win the work. If you can’t respond straight away set up a voice mail or an email autoreply.

We recognise that some multi-van and multi-skilled business will require more visibility than a sole trade business and therefore members can choose to be visible in additional areas and for further services by buying extra post codes, additional trade categories, or paying to be included in your local paper directory (subject to availability). If you are interested in adding new categories to your membership, please give us a call on 02392 120 123 or email [email protected].

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More from the community:

Find all our Guides here >>
Network with other trades in your area here >>
See the latest updates and news from Checkatrade here >>
Discuss work questions with other trades here >>

[just saying]

It doesn't look great when we pay a membership to drive costumers to your site to leave a feedback then we contractors get penalized to page 10 for example because we done what you ask us to do and the enquires stop because of you decide to change how it works, i think is better not receiving feedback at the moment so we have the chance of been on 1st page in our area... Just saying

[Bathfit]

Feedback means virtually nothing now. That’s plain for everyone to see. I’ve been on page 4 when I’ve had lots of regular feedback and the companies on page 1 have hardly any and don’t even live in the area. I’ll then jump back to position one for a bit and then back to page 4. Took too many members on and the customer and us are worse off for it.

[Carl]

I think checkatrade will be losing my custom very soon! This current system places pressure on members to pursue customers for reviews (including those customers reluctant to give reviews). Checkatrade has become more self-focusing at the expense of its members. The greatest mistake that local Trading Standards made was to go into partnership with checkatrade. Once checkatrade established itself across the country it broke away from this partnership in July this year leaving Trading Standards to remodel and relaunch itself locally. Checkatrade is in my opinion pursuing a business model that penalise long-serving and loyal members.

[QPM]

So making it even harder to multi trade businesses like mine. I can’t afford to pay to be listed in multiple categories so most of my feedback now won’t help maintain our position on Checkatrade. Final nail in the coffin, will not be renewing.

[Chichester Locksmith]

Originally Posted by QPM

So making it even harder to multi trade businesses like mine. I cant afford to pay to be listed in multiple categories so most of my feedback now wont help maintain our position on Checkatrade. Final nail in the coffin, will not be renewing.

Checkatrade is not what it was and going downhill every day, they make me feel as if I am the provider and them the customer, this year will be my last after 1

2 years

[Sean]

I would like to know more about the successful trials??

[DAN HTG ENG]

We are extremely disappointed with this new proposal. As a company that has worked tirelessly the past few years to establish ourselves at the top of the search criteria, We now feel that we are being unfairly punished for all these efforts. I completely understand others disappointment that they are not being found at the top of the search criteria but like them, we too started at the bottom and worked our way up to the top with our hard efforts. I don’t see how this is fair to now have that position removed from us. Hard work should rightfully be rewarded with merit. The system that has been in place the past few years has worked well for so many and this new system was suggested a few months back, but after complaints from your longest serving customers, was rightfully scrapped. Is there no loyalty to those that have worked so hard to build the Checkatrade name and put in the work to establish their companies on your site? I do hope this new suggesting is scrapped again because if it remains in place we will strongly be reconsidering our subscription to your services.

[Garry Sibbald]

Originally Posted by just saying

i think is better not receiving feedback at the moment so we have the chance of been on 1st page in our area... Just saying

I like the idea that the feedback needs to be relevant to the category listing (which hasn't always been the case in the past) and this will help the customer find someone relevant for their requirement but 'Just Saying' has a point - it sounds like we will become victims of our own hard work. I.e: Get calls from customers, Get feedback posted, Get penalised to page 2 or lower?

[Digital Solutions NE]

Checkatrade are penalising members who drive their business through customer feedback aiming to be near or at the top of their search category,
doing all that is asked of them within their membership criteria.

Then finding themselves pushed to “ROCK BOTTOM” of page 2
(for on average a week !)

While your main competitors within your search category “constantly“ show up within the top 3/4 spaces every day because they have less reviews than you.

Checkatrade new fair share concept is anything but “FAIR” ....!

I for one will be cancelling my membership.

(We noticed this 8 weeks ago & have been working along side one of your support team trying to find out the reasoning behind such an unfair drop in placing without any acceptable answer to date).