Google Business Profile vs a Website: Do You Need Both?

If you run a local service business, your Google Business Profile is probably the first thing a new customer sees. It's the box with your reviews, your hours and a call button that appears when someone searches for your trade near them, and it's free. So it's fair to ask whether you need a website at all.

For most service businesses, the honest answer is yes, eventually, but not because the profile is bad. They do different jobs. The profile gets you noticed. The website is where someone who's comparing you with two other businesses makes up their mind. And each one makes the other work better.

What your Google Business Profile does well

It shows up where people are looking. When someone types "emergency plumber" or "house cleaning near me" into Google on their phone, the map results often come before any website. Your profile is what appears there.

It answers the quick questions. Are you open? How far away are you? What do other people say? Can I call right now? For a lot of searches, that's all the customer needs to pick up the phone.

Reviews live there. For many local customers, your star rating and the last few reviews matter more than anything you write about yourself.

It costs nothing. Setting it up and keeping it current takes time, not money.

Google is clear about how those map results are chosen. Its help pages say local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence, and that prominence takes into account things like how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have. They also say there's no way to pay for a better local ranking.

What it can't do

It can't explain your services properly. A profile has a short description, a services list and some photos. That's enough to say you're a plumber. It isn't enough to explain the difference between your emergency call-out and a planned bathroom refit, what each includes, or how you price them.

You don't control it. Google decides the layout, what's shown and in what order. The public can suggest edits to your details. If Google changes a feature, you adapt.

It doesn't come with a website any more. Google used to let businesses build a basic free website from their profile, on a business.site address. Those sites were turned off in March 2024, and by June 2024 the old addresses stopped working altogether. If your profile's website field still points to an old address like that, or nowhere, visitors who tap "Website" hit a dead end.

It's the same box as your competitors'. Every business in the map results gets the same layout. A website is the one place where you decide what a customer reads first.

When a profile alone is enough, for now

Some businesses can run on a good profile for a while:

• You're just starting and most work comes from referrals
• You do one simple service in one area, and customers rarely need more than your hours, reviews and a phone number
• You're fully booked and not trying to grow yet

If that's you, spend an hour making your profile complete and accurate, and come back to the website question when you want more or different work. When you do, a single well-made page is often enough to start. I've written about one page versus several.

Signs you need the website too

• Customers ask the same questions on every call: what's included, how much, do you cover my area
• You offer several services that people search for separately
• You want better jobs, not just more calls, and need room to explain why you're worth it
• You quote larger jobs where the customer compares three businesses before deciding
• You want to run ads, which need a page to send people to

How to make them work together

This is the part most businesses skip. A profile and a website that disagree with each other confuse customers, and they don't help Google either.

1. Use the same name, phone number and area everywhere

Google's guidelines say your profile name should be your business's real-world name, the one on your van, your invoices and your website. Adding extra words like "Best Plumber Leeds" to the name isn't allowed and can get a profile suspended. Use one phone number on both, and describe your area the same way on both.

2. Point the website link at the right page

Your profile's website link should go to a page that matches what the profile says. For most small businesses that's the homepage. If you have several locations, link each profile to its own location page. Tap the link on your phone and check it works. It sounds obvious, and it's often broken.

3. Handle your address properly if you travel to customers

If you go to your customers and work from home, Google's guidelines say you should hide your address on the profile and set a service area instead. Your website should then say where you work in plain words, for example "Cleaning in Leeds, Horsforth and Headingley", on the first screen. That's where customers look for it.

4. Keep categories narrow, let the website give the detail

Google asks you to pick the fewest categories that describe your core business, as specific as possible. The detail belongs on your website: a section or a page for each main service, with what's included and who it's for. Google says it can also pick up category information from your website, so the two should tell the same story. If you offer several distinct services, service pages give each one room.

5. Ask for reviews the right way

Ask every customer, after the job, with a direct link to your review form. Don't offer discounts or gifts in exchange for reviews, and don't only ask the customers you know were happy. Google's review policies don't allow either. On your website, link to your Google reviews, or show a few real ones near your contact button. Never write your own.

6. Use the same real photos

The photo of your van, your team or your finished work should appear on both. A customer who sees the same faces on the map and on the site is more likely to believe both. Stock photos on either one undo that.

7. Make the next step easy on both

If people book online, add the booking link to your profile if your category offers it, and put the same link on your website. If most work comes by phone or WhatsApp, the call button on your website should be as easy to find as the one on your profile. My page on plumber websites shows how I'd handle a call-first business.

8. Know which visits come from the profile

If your site has analytics, add a tracking tag to the website link on your profile (a link ending in something like ?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp). Then you can see how many website visits actually come from your profile, instead of guessing.

A 15-minute check you can do today

1. Search your business name on your phone. Does your profile appear, and is everything on it current?
2. Tap "Website". Does it open your site, on the right page?
3. Compare the name, phone number, hours and area on your profile with your website. Do they match exactly?
4. Read the first screen of your website. Does it say what you do and where, as clearly as your profile does?
5. Look at your last five reviews. Have you replied?
6. On your website, can someone find your reviews and a way to contact you without scrolling?

If two or more of those fail, start there before spending money on anything else. If your website itself is the weak link, my article on whether you need a redesign or a few fixes has a longer phone test.

Where I can help

I design websites for small service businesses. A good site should say the same thing your profile does, then go further: the detail, the proof and the reasons to pick you. If you don't have a website yet, my starter one-page website starts at US$800. Redesigns start at US$1,200 and custom multi-page service sites at US$2,000, all on my pricing page. The website cost calculator shows which one fits your project in a minute.

Not sure where you stand? Send me your website, or just your Google Maps link if you don't have a site, and I'll do a free website audit. You'll get 3 to 5 practical improvements, and if the fix is in your profile rather than your site, I'll tell you. When you're ready to build, start a project.