Checkatrade, Rated People, MyBuilder, Airtasker, Bark, TrustATrader, Yell — every listing is a local tradesperson who is already vetted and already rated. Unlike the no-site channels, the hard part (does this person exist, are they any good?) is done for us: name, trade, town, star rating and review count are on the public profile. The play isn't to harvest the directory — it's to use it as an intelligence layer to find rated trades with a weak site (→ Evaluator F→A) or no site of their own (→ free preview), then reach them through our compliant channels.
Many use the directory profile as their only web presence — they pay the platform for leads and own nothing. That is the pitch: "you're renting your reputation on Checkatrade — own it." A rated trade with no site is a warm no-site lead with proof-of-quality already attached.
🟠 Has a weak site → run the Evaluator; lead with the F→A rebuild.
🟢 No site of their own → the free-preview OzDreamSites pitch; they already have reviews to feature.
Either way we can pull their real reviews onto the new site — instant trust.
| Signal | Usually public? | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Business / trade name | Yes | Identify + qualify |
| Trade & town | Yes | Match to a target patch/niche |
| ★ rating + review count | Yes | Proof to feature on the rebuild |
| Linked own website (if any) | Often | Public site → run Evaluator |
| Phone / email | Usually gated / paywalled | 🔴 the platform's paid product — don't scrape |
The directories sell leads — the contact details are their revenue, deliberately behind a wall. So the number is not ours to take. We use the public signals to build a qualified target, then reach the person the compliant way.
Trade links their own site from the profile → it's public. Run the Evaluator, generate the F→A report, reach them via a compliant touch. 🟢
Rated but no site of their own → build a free preview featuring their real reviews; reach out via local FB groups or a postal + QR-to-claim touch. 🟢
Match the qualified name to a public source (GBP, their own site, a classified) — then postal only, never the gated directory contact. 🟠
Highly-rated locals also surface in "can anyone recommend…" group threads — an inbound, consent-inherent way in. 🟢
| Action | Rule | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Manual research — read public profiles to qualify | Public rating/trade/town; no automated harvesting | 🟢 |
| Run Evaluator on a linked public site | Public URL; standard audit | 🟢 |
| Reach via FB "recommend" thread / postal + QR | Inbound or postal → consent inherent | 🟢 |
| Reach via a number found on a separate public source | Postal only; a listed number ≠ phone consent | 🟠 postal-only |
| Scraping the directory / bulk-pulling listings | Breaches site ToS; automated processing of personal data | 🔴 avoid |
| Harvesting gated phone/email from the platform | That's the platform's paid product + GDPR | 🔴 avoid |
| Cold call / SMS to any sourced number | PECR (UK) / UWG §7 (DE) — no consent | 🔴 avoid |
Same design rule as every other channel: however we identify the trade, we only ever use a compliant touch that ends in them self-initiating (inbound comment, QR scan, phone us). The directory is a qualification lens — it tells us who's good and whether their web presence is weak — not a contact database to lift.
This is the warmest of the sourcing channels — the prospect is pre-vetted and carries visible proof — but the contact path is constrained, so it pairs best with the Evaluator (for the weak-site half) and the postal + QR spine (for reaching them). Best run as a targeted, manual, high-intent list per town/trade, not a volume play.