How to Get More Clients for Your Renovation Business

Most renovation businesses run on word of mouth, and it works: a client who comes recommended already trusts you and haggles less. The trouble is that it comes in waves. One month you have three jobs back to back, the next the phone goes quiet, and there is no telling when the next one will land.

If you are looking for ways to get more renovation clients, these are the channels that genuinely bring in work, what each one costs in money and in time, and what the people selling them tend to leave out.

First, decide what work you want

Filling the diary is not the same as filling it with the jobs you want. Decide what you want more of (bathrooms, kitchens, extensions, full refurbishments) and where, and say exactly that everywhere: on your Google profile, on your website and on the van. Someone searching for a bathroom refit does not stop at a firm that promises "all aspects of building work".

Your Google Business Profile and reviews

When someone searches for renovation work near them, Google shows a map with three businesses first, and those three take a large share of the calls. Getting in there depends more on your Google Business Profile than on your website, and it costs nothing:

• Your primary category, the most specific one that matches what you do most, with secondary categories for the rest.
• Your services, one by one: kitchens, bathrooms, extensions, full refurbishments. It is the field almost nobody fills in.
• Photos of finished jobs, before and after where you can. Add something new every time you finish a job.
• Your service area, with the address hidden if customers do not come to you.

One myth to drop: ticking twenty towns in your service area does not put you on the map in all of them. We go through what does move rankings in which Google Business Profile fields actually matter.

Reviews carry enormous weight in a trade where the customer is letting a team into their home for weeks. Ask on the day you hand the job over, while they are pleased, by WhatsApp or text with your direct review link. If they ask what to write, suggest they say what the job was: "they refitted our bathroom in two weeks and left it spotless" persuades far more than five stars and no words. Do not script the review or offer anything in return, which is against Google's rules, and reply to every review, bad ones included. The full method is in how to ask for Google reviews after every job.

A website that shows real work

Before asking for a quote, people look you up and look at your work. In renovation, what persuades them is not the website's design, it is the jobs:

• Finished projects with before and after photos, each with what was done, how long it took and the area.
• One page per service, so someone planning a new kitchen lands on your kitchens rather than on a generic list.
• How you quote: the site visit, the itemised quote and what happens when something changes mid-job. That is what reassures people who are worried about surprises.
• Easy contact: tap to call, WhatsApp and a short form that asks for photos and rough measurements.

We go through it page by page in what a renovation website needs to win work, and it is how we build websites for renovation companies. If you also take on new builds or extensions, have a look at our websites for builders and contractors.

Answer every quote request fast

People planning a renovation usually ask three firms for a quote, and the one that replies first starts ahead. You do not need to send a full quote the same day: reply straight away, book the visit, send the quote within a couple of days and follow up briefly if you hear nothing. We explain how to do that without losing your evenings in how to send quotes faster and win more work.

Look after the calls you miss while you are on site, too. A WhatsApp Business away message asking for photos of the job saves you wasted visits and tells the customer you will get back to them.

Lead sites: when they are worth paying for

In the UK the best known are Checkatrade, MyBuilder and Rated People, and they charge in different ways. Checkatrade is mainly a paid membership, usually on a twelve-month term. MyBuilder is free to join and charges a fee when a homeowner shortlists you. Rated People, now part of the Checkatrade group, charges for the leads you unlock or through a lead plan. With all of them, the homeowner is usually talking to several trades at once.

The upside:

• Work from day one, before you have a website or reviews.
• A way to fill gaps in the diary.
• You can narrow down the type of job and the area, and decide how much you spend.

The downside:

• You pay whether you win the job or not.
• You compete with other firms for the same customer, usually on price.
• Some enquiries come from people who are only comparing prices or have no real budget.
• The customer and their review stay on the platform, not on your Google profile or your website.

If you use them, reply within minutes, because the first trade to call has the edge; filter by job type and area; and work out what each job you win really costs, not each lead. Ask every customer you win through a lead site for a Google review too, so the platform helps you build something you own.

Past clients and referrals

Next year's best client has probably hired you before. People who had the bathroom done come back for the kitchen, and happy clients tell their family and neighbours. But only if they remember you:

• Keep a list of past clients, with the job and the date.
• Get in touch a month after you finish to check everything is fine. If something is wrong, you fix it before it turns into a bad review; if all is well, it is the right moment to ask them to recommend you.
• Ask for the referral in plain words: "if anyone you know is thinking about having work done, pass my number on". Hardly anyone asks, and it works.

Some people can send you work regularly: architects and architectural technicians, interior designers, estate agents (whoever buys an older house usually wants work doing) and kitchen and bathroom showrooms that do not fit what they sell. So can other trades, such as plumbers and electricians, who get asked about jobs they do not take on. Introduce yourself, look after the clients they send you and return the favour when you can.

Keep an eye on local Facebook groups and Nextdoor as well: neighbours ask for recommendations there every week, and a past client tagging you counts for more than any advert.

Your van and your jobs sell for you

• Get the van signwritten with your name, what you do and a phone number or WhatsApp that can be read at a glance. Parked outside every job, the whole street sees it.
• Put a note through the neighbours' doors before you start: an apology for the noise, how long the job will take and your number. It is courtesy and advertising at once, and it is not unusual for someone to ask whether, while you are there, you could look at their kitchen.
• A site board outside the job, with the client's permission.
• A tidy site and a team people can identify. The neighbours who pass your team every morning are deciding whether they would call you too.

Local SEO: by service and by area, without filler pages

Beyond the map, your future clients search for specific things: a bathroom refit or a kitchen fitter with the name of their town, what a loft conversion costs, how long an extension takes. Every one of those searches is an opportunity:

• One page per service, with what it includes, how long it usually takes and the areas you cover.
• Areas shown through real jobs. Each project published with its neighbourhood or town shows the customer, and Google, that you genuinely work there.
• Articles that answer the usual questions. What you get asked on every site visit is what other people are searching for.

What you do not need is a page for every town. Twenty identical pages with the name swapped compete with each other, convince nobody, and Google treats them as filler. Real jobs with their location do that work far better.

What about advertising?

Google Ads can bring in quote requests from day one, and in renovation a single job pays for a lot of clicks, even though they are not cheap. But the calls stop when you stop paying, and without reviews and a website that persuades, you are paying for visits that end up with a competitor. The sensible order is the foundations first (profile, reviews and website) and ads to speed things up. We compare the two in whether Google Ads or SEO pays off better.

Where to start

1. A complete Google Business Profile, with your services and photos of finished jobs.
2. A review requested at every handover.
3. Before and after photos on every job, without exception.
4. Same-day replies to every quote request.
5. A website with your jobs and a page per service.
6. A list of past clients and of professionals who could recommend you.
7. Lead sites and ads to fill gaps, measuring what each job costs you.

If you already have a website, run a free audit of your renovation website and in a minute you will see whether people can call you in one tap from a phone, how long your photos take to load and how your reviews compare with firms near you.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best way to get clients for a renovation business?

The one that does not stop when you stop paying: happy clients who recommend you, a Google profile with reviews and a website that shows your work. Lead sites and ads are useful for filling gaps, but it is better not to rely on them alone.

Are Checkatrade, MyBuilder or Rated People worth paying for?

They can be, especially when you are starting out or in a quiet month. The figure that matters is what each job you win really costs, counting the leads that went nowhere. If that eats your margin, it is not worth it.

How can I get renovation clients without paying for advertising?

A complete Google profile, a review for every job you hand over, photos of all your work, keeping in touch with past clients, contacts with estate agents and other trades, and your van and your jobs as a shop window. All of it costs time rather than money.

Do I need a website if I already have Instagram?

Instagram shows your work to people who already follow you. Someone searching Google for a renovation does not land on your profile; they land on websites and Google profiles. And when someone recommends you, the first thing the new client does is look you up.

How long before I see results?

Your Google profile and reviews show results within weeks. A new website takes months for its pages to rank, which is why it pays to start early, even if referrals and lead sites carry you at first.

If you would like us to look at your situation, send us your website and your Google profile and we will tell you for free what we would fix first to bring in more quote requests. Ask for the free review.