A strong Checkatrade profile and a quiet Google Business Profile can both be true at the same time.

For an established electrician, that mismatch is common: customers have already shown that they value the work, but most of the visible proof sits inside one directory. When somebody discovers the business somewhere else and checks Google, they may see a much thinner or older review history.

This is not an argument for abandoning Checkatrade. The two profiles support different customer journeys, and the sensible goal is to make sure your reputation is represented wherever a serious prospect checks.

What each review profile does

Checkatrade reviews support the directory decision

A customer using Checkatrade is already inside a trade-focused environment. They can compare profiles, read job-specific feedback and consider the checks or membership information presented by the platform.

Checkatrade says its current review categories focus on quality of work, reliability and communication. That can give a homeowner useful detail when they are actively comparing tradespeople on the directory.

Google reviews support a broader search

Google states that reviews appear next to a Business Profile in Search and Maps. A person may encounter that profile after:

In those situations, the Google profile may be the first independent-looking summary of the business they see.

Why the gap matters

Imagine an electrician with dozens of positive directory reviews but only a handful on Google, with the newest one posted a year ago.

The directory profile contains reassuring proof. The Google profile does not tell the same story. A prospect who only checks Google cannot see the full reputation unless they continue to another site.

That does not mean the business needs hundreds of reviews. It means the public evidence should look reasonably current wherever customers commonly verify the company.

Review recency also answers a simple practical question: “Are customers still having good experiences with this business now?” A steady trickle of genuine feedback usually communicates that more clearly than a burst followed by a long silence.

Do not try to transfer reviews between platforms

A review belongs to the platform and customer account through which it was submitted. You should not copy a customer’s Checkatrade comment into Google as though they posted it there.

Instead, ask customers with genuine completed-job experience whether they are willing to leave honest feedback on Google using your direct review link. The customer decides whether to post, what rating to give and what to write.

Google notes that a Business Profile may sometimes show reviews from trusted third-party sources, but that display is controlled by Google. It is not a substitute for a consistent first-party Google review request process.

Use the directory-to-Google gap as a diagnostic

A strong directory reputation is useful evidence that poor workmanship is probably not the main obstacle. It points to a distribution problem: satisfied customers are being prompted on one platform but not consistently on Google.

Audit the gap with five questions:

  1. How many reviews are visible on each profile?
  2. When was the most recent genuine review on each?
  3. Are recent completed jobs represented anywhere?
  4. Does the Google profile show the correct services and service areas?
  5. Is somebody responsible for sending and tracking Google review requests?

The review count is only one signal. Recency, accuracy and the consistency of the request process matter too.

Build both profiles without review gating

You can ask a customer to leave feedback on the platform most useful to your process, but the request should remain neutral. Do not ask a private satisfaction question first and send only happy customers to Google.

Google’s prohibited and restricted content policy says merchants must not discourage negative reviews or selectively solicit positive ones. Its guidance does allow businesses to invite genuine customers to review their real experience without incentives or attempts to influence the rating.

A practical completed-job workflow might be:

  1. close the job and confirm the customer has what they need;
  2. send the same neutral Google request to every eligible customer;
  3. include the direct review link;
  4. send one respectful reminder if appropriate;
  5. record the outcome and honour opt-outs;
  6. reply professionally when a new review appears.

Your directory process can continue alongside this. The goal is not to make the platforms compete; it is to stop your strongest reputation from being invisible outside one of them.

Keep the Google profile worth checking

Review requests work best when the surrounding profile is accurate. Check the business name, main category, phone number, website, hours, services and service areas.

For an electrician who travels to customers and does not receive them at the registered address, Google’s service-area guidance says the address should be removed from public display and accurate service areas should be used instead.

Add genuine photographs of recent work where you have permission to do so, and reply to reviews in a clear, human way. A tidy profile will not replace good reviews, but it prevents avoidable inconsistencies from weakening them.

The useful conclusion is “both”, not “either/or”

Checkatrade reviews can provide detailed proof inside a trusted trade directory. Google reviews can make that reputation visible when people find or verify the business through Search and Maps.

If the directory profile is strong and Google is stale, you already have the hardest part: customers who value the work. The next step is to install a fair, repeatable way to ask those customers for genuine Google feedback too.