Costs and pricing
Getting a trades business mentioned online: 6 UK services for local articles and links
Six UK services that get plumbers, builders and electricians listed, linked and written about online, grouped by published price from free to quote-only.
What to take away
- A trades business gets mentioned online in three waysdirectory listings, local news coverage and links from other websites.
- The six services below are grouped by the prices they publish, from free to quote-only.
- Start with the free and per-listing options before you commit to a monthly fee.
- Any paid article or link must be marked as paid. Google's spam policies treat unmarked paid links as link spam.
Why does a sole trader need mentions beyond its own website?
Most trades firms are small and compete with many others nearby. The government's business population estimates for 2025 put 885,000 small and medium-sized businesses in construction, 16% of all SMEs. About 75% of all UK private sector businesses have no employees.
The ONS counts a smaller, registered core. Its construction statistics release, published in October 2026, found 376,518 VAT and PAYE registered construction firms in Great Britain in the third quarter of 2025, up 1.6% on 2024.
When a customer searches "boiler repair near me", your website is one result among many. Listings, reviews and a local news story give search engines and customers more places to find the same name, address and phone number. A complete Google Business Profile comes first, and it costs nothing.
How were the six services grouped?
We read each provider's own website in October 2026 and grouped them by the price it publishes. Where a provider quotes in US dollars, we kept the dollars. Prices are shown where published, and VAT may apply on top, which our guide on VAT and Making Tax Digital for marketing spend explains.
Digital advertising budgets are moving fast. IAB UK put UK digital adspend at £40.5bn in 2025, with £17.9bn of that in search. A local trader cannot outbid that, which is why cheaper mentions and links still matter.
Free: what can you get without paying?
1. Nextdoor business page
Nextdoor lets a local business create a free business page and post to its community. Neighbours use the network for local recommendations, which suits trades that live on word of mouth. Nextdoor says it has over 10 million neighbours in the UK and that 1 in 4 UK households are on it. Paid ads exist, but no prices are published.
Ask happy customers to recommend you there, and follow the same rules you use for review requests to UK trades customers.
A few dollars per listing: where do citations fit?
2. BrightLocal Citation Builder
BrightLocal's Citation Builder is a managed service: its specialists submit your business details to directories and niche sites by hand. The UK is one of the 20 countries covered. Prices start from $2 per citation with bulk credits and $3.20 without. Data aggregator networks cost $30 each, or $120 a year to renew all five.
Citations are not articles, but they put your name, address and phone number on many sites at once. Fix your details before you pay, or the errors spread.
From about £300 a month: who manages it for you?
3. Yell
Yell sells managed digital marketing to UK small businesses. Its Amplify plan starts from £299 per month and covers organic visibility across Google, Maps and AI search. Local search work, covering local SEO and managed social, starts from £300 per month, and Accelerate adds advertising from £699. The FAQ quotes solutions from £249 a month.
Ask what you keep if you cancel, such as the website and listings. Our checklist of hidden local marketing costs lists the lines a quote often leaves out.
£200 to £450 per placement: who sells links and coverage?
4. Bulldog Digital Media
Bulldog Digital Media, based in London SE1, publishes its prices. Pay-per-backlink costs £200 per link, and a package of 10 links is £1,800 per month. Digital PR placements cost £450 each, charged only once live. A combined package of 10 links and 2 PR placements is £2,600 per month.
For a single-van business this is a big step up. Before you sign, run the agency through a vendor due diligence check and ask to see placements on local or trade sites.
Price on request: how do local news groups sell coverage?
5. Reach Solutions
Reach Solutions sells advertising across the news brands of the publisher Reach. Its menu includes sponsored content, hyper-local advertising, newsletters, search marketing and local and regional newspapers. It says it has 130+ print and online titles and 42m monthly unique visitors. No prices are shown; buyers download a media pack or get in touch.
6. LOCALiQ
LOCALiQ is part of Newsquest Media Group. It sells website design, SEO, PPC, paid social, content marketing, print and display advertising, video and local business listings. Its content marketing work is described as reaching audiences alongside news brands, with 200+ news brands mentioned. No prices are published.
A sponsored story in a local paper must be marked as paid, and the claims in it still need to stand up. Our summary of ASA and CAP Code rulings for local service ads shows where trades firms have gone wrong.
How do you know if the mentions are working?
Pick one number per channel before you spend: calls from the listing, clicks from the article or enquiries that name the paper. Our guide to local service marketing measurement sets out a simple monthly sheet.
Give each route three months. If a paid placement brings no calls and no ranking change, stop it and move the money to the free and low-cost options above.
Common questions
Is a directory listing a link?
Often yes, but not always. Either way, it repeats your details where customers and search engines look.
Do I have to label a paid article?
Yes. Paid articles and links must be marked as paid, and the publisher normally adds its own label.
Which option should a new trades firm try first?
The free Nextdoor page and a complete Google Business Profile, then a small batch of citations.
