- A builder's best free channels are visual and local: a Google Business Profile full of finished-project photos and recent reviews, and the street where the last job was. A site board and a neighbour letter drop outperform most paid channels for extensions.
- Architects, designers and planning applications are the professional pipeline: slow to open, steady once open. Directories and MyBuilder work but the fees scale with job size (£50 or more per shortlist on large projects, examples of £540 and £940), paid win or lose.
- For extensions, conversions and renovations the job is won at the site survey, so the booked survey is the unit to pay for. Judge every channel by what one costs.
1. Answer every call and enquiry (this week)
A homeowner planning an extension rings three builders and goes with the two who answered. Divert the phone to someone who can speak, add a missed-call text-back, or use an AI receptionist that asks about the project, the timing and the budget range and books the site visit. Reply to web enquiries the same day; the second day is too late.
2. Google Business Profile with project photos (two weeks)
"Builders near me" ends in the map box, and for building work the photos decide. Twenty before-and-after photos of real projects, every category filled (builder, extension, loft conversion), the service area you actually cover, and a review request after every handover. A builder with ten recent reviews and real photos beats a firm with forty old ones and a logo.
3. The street where the last job was (weeks, nearly free)
Extensions are contagious. A site board during the job and a short letter to the surrounding streets at handover ("we have just finished number 14; here is what it cost and how long it took") produce enquiries for years. Ask the client for a review and a photo on the day of handover, while they are pleased.
4. Architects, designers and planning applications (months)
Architects and interior designers need builders they can recommend without embarrassment. Two or three of those relationships fill a diary. Planning applications are public: your council's planning portal lists every extension applied for in your area, and a polite letter to the applicant beats any directory lead because nobody else has it yet.
5. Directories and MyBuilder (days, shared, fee scales with the job)
Checkatrade and MyBuilder both send building enquiries. MyBuilder charges per shortlist and the fee follows the job size: typically £5–£35, £50 or more on large projects, with examples of £540 and £940 recorded on two big jobs, paid whether or not you win, and several builders shortlisted per job. Checkatrade is a monthly membership (£60–£500 a month reported). Both work for a builder who answers in minutes and quotes fast; both punish the one who quotes on Friday. The maths: MyBuilder fees, Checkatrade vs MyBuilder, Checkatrade cost.
6. Other trades (months)
Plumbers, electricians and kitchen fitters see building work before builders do: the customer mentions the extension while the boiler is being fitted. Two or three trades who send you those conversations, and to whom you send yours, are worth more than any listing.
7. Your own ads (weeks, needs step 1)
Ads for extensions and conversions work with a landing page that asks one question and a call back in minutes. They fail when the enquiry waits. The lead generation guide covers the setup; decide who answers before you decide the budget.
8. Booked site surveys, not shortlists
For extensions, conversions and renovations the job is decided at the site survey, so the booked survey is the unit worth paying for rather than a place on a shortlist of five. MyTradeBuddy generates demand for one building firm per area, qualifies each homeowner on project, timing and budget signals, chases until it books, and bills per booked survey with no monthly fee and no contract; how it works for builders. Whatever you run, track what a booked survey costs you from each channel. The general version of this list is how to get more work as a tradesman.
Read next
Frequently asked questions
Answer every enquiry the same day, fill the Google Business Profile with project photos and reviews, work the street where the last job was, build relationships with architects and other trades, and use planning applications. Add directories or ads only with a fast response behind them.
It can be for a builder who responds in minutes and tracks cost per won job, but the shortlist fee scales with job size (£50 or more on large projects, with examples of £540 and £940) and is paid win or lose, with several builders per job.
Google Business Profile with photos and reviews, site boards and neighbour letters, architects and designers, planning applications, other trades, your own ads, and exclusive booked-survey systems.
Google maps and search, referrals and neighbours, architects and planning portals, directories (Checkatrade, MyBuilder), Local Services Ads, their own ads, and outcome-priced systems like MyTradeBuddy.