How the platforms make money
Onlinetradesmen, MyBuilder, Bark and Tradesmen.ie all work on a version of the same model. A homeowner posts a job. The platform sells access to that job to several tradespeople, either as a subscription, a per-lead fee, or credits. The platform gets paid whether or not you win. Their pricing changes often and varies by trade and county, so we won't quote numbers here. Log in, look at what you paid last month, and use that.
The sum that matters: cost per job you actually win
Take last month's fees. Divide by the number of jobs you won from the platform. That's your real cost per won job, and it is usually a shock. Here is the calculation for a made-up plumber in Cork paying €120 a month and winning one in four leads:
- Fees: €120 a month, €1,440 a year.
- Leads bought: say 8 a month, 96 a year.
- Jobs won at one in four: 24 a year.
- Real cost per won job: €60. Every job. Forever.
And the jobs you win on a platform are the price-sensitive ones, because the customer posted the job specifically to collect quotes. You are competing on price from the first message.
What the platforms are actually good for
To be fair to them, they work in three situations. You're brand new and have no reviews or word of mouth yet. You've moved to a new county. Or you have a gap in the diary this week and need something, anything, to fill it. In all three cases you're renting demand, and rent is fine as a short-term thing.
What they can never give you
- The customer. On a platform the customer belongs to the platform. The review goes on their profile page. If you leave, it goes with them.
- Being chosen rather than compared. Someone who searches "RGI plumber Carrigaline", finds your site and rings you has already picked you. There's no quote race.
- The high-value jobs. A €12,000 heat pump install or a €40,000 extension rarely gets posted on a lead site. Those customers ask around and then look you up. If the look-up finds a Facebook page from 2014, they move on.
What your own site costs, for the same sum
Our One-Pager is €400 once, and about €39 a year after that for the domain and hosting. Put that against the €1,440 a year in the example above. The site is cheaper than four months of the platform, it's yours, and the enquiries it brings in are people who wanted you specifically.
It isn't instant. A new site takes a few weeks to start ranking for your trade in your town, faster if your Google Business Profile is set up properly and you have reviews there already. So the sensible move is not to cancel the platform on Monday. Get the site live, keep the subscription for a month or two while the site starts working, then look at the diary and decide.
A fair checklist before you decide
- Work out your real cost per won job on the platform.
- Count how many of last year's best jobs came from it. Usually none.
- Search your own name and your trade plus your town. Look at what comes up. That is what your next big customer sees.
- If the answer is a Facebook page or nothing, that is the problem to fix first, before you spend another month on leads.
Want this done for you by Friday?
Websites for plumbers in Ireland: €400 once, free mockup first, live in five working days.
Is Onlinetradesmen worth it in Ireland?
It can be, short-term, if you're new or have gaps in the diary. Work out your cost per job won, not per lead. For established trades the same money usually buys a website that brings in customers who chose you rather than compared you.
Should I cancel my lead platform when my website goes live?
Not straight away. A new site takes a few weeks to rank for your trade in your town. Keep the platform for a month or two, watch where the enquiries come from, then decide.
Why do lead platforms send the same job to several tradespeople?
Because that's the business model. The platform is paid by each tradesperson who buys the lead, so selling it four times earns four times as much, regardless of who wins the job.