Google Business Profile and a website — why you need both

Your Google Business Profile is the first thing a customer sees when they look for a service nearby. It tells them you exist, where you are and how to reach you. Your website answers the next question, which is why they should pick you. You get the most out of both when you have both, and when they say the same thing.

I’m writing mainly for businesses that already have a profile and wonder what a website would add. If it’s the other way round and you have a website but no profile, this post is for you too.

What a Business Profile does on its own

A Business Profile is a free way to manage how your business appears on Google Search and Maps. It’s meant for businesses that meet their customers in person, such as a garage, a clinic, a salon or a tradesperson who visits customers at home.

It puts you where people search most often, in results like “mechanic near me”. Customers see your opening hours, photos and other people’s reviews. Reviews do two jobs here. They help a new customer decide, and Google says that more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking. You can ask for reviews with a link or a QR code. One thing you should never do is offer a discount or a freebie in exchange for a review. Google treats that as fake engagement and strictly prohibits it.

Your profile also shortens the way to contact. A customer can call you or get directions in one tap, and the profile’s performance insights show you how many calls, direction requests and website clicks you got.

You can also publish posts that customers see right on Search and Maps. There are three types. An update is news about your business, such as a new service or changed hours over the holidays. An offer promotes a sale or a deal and needs a title and the dates it runs. An event promotes something happening at your business, like an open day, and also has a start and end date. You can add a photo or a video to a post, and a button that takes people straight to your website. A post without a date range is archived 6 months after you publish it, so a profile that looks active needs a new post now and then.

What a profile can’t do and a website can

Tell the full story of your offer

The description in your profile is limited to 750 characters, and Google asks you to focus on your business rather than promotions, prices or sales. That’s enough for a few sentences. A customer comparing two businesses wants more, though. What it costs, how working with you looks, what you’ve done for others, what happens if something goes wrong. A website is where all of that fits.

Belong to you and no one else

You’re not the only one who can change your profile. Google accepts suggested edits from users, for example different hours or a different phone number. When that happens you get a notification and have 4 days to accept or reject the suggestion. Nobody but you edits your website. You decide what’s on it and how it reads.

Answer questions beyond “business near me”

A profile answers who offers a service and where, and it’s worth helping it do that. Google advises you to provide complete and detailed business information so it can understand your business and match it to the right searches. The services section is a good place for that, since you can add descriptions and prices, and when local customers search for a service you offer, it may be highlighted on your profile. Next to services, the panel also opens the product editor, a catalogue of items with a name, category, price, description and a link to your website, shown on your profile in Google Search. Google describes it with shops selling physical goods in mind, but the panel offers it to service businesses as well, which can use it for packages with a photo. Services and products cover what you offer all year round, while current deals go into offer posts. A profile with only a name and a category gives Google fewer reasons to show it for a specific search than one where every service has its own description.

People also search for answers, though, such as “how much does a timing belt replacement cost” or “can any mechanic service a hybrid”. Google’s SEO guide suggests you think about the words a user might search for to find your content. A website with a well-written offer and answers to questions like these reaches customers your profile alone never sees.

What you gain by connecting the two

Customers move from one to the other

You add your website address to your profile. A customer who found you on Maps checks your offer in one click. It works the other way too, when your website links to your profile and a customer wants to read reviews before calling. It also helps to know that Google’s view of how well known a business is takes into account how many websites link to your business, so your website is an address that local portals or your partners can link to.

Your details back each other up

Your name, address, phone number and hours should be identical in both places and match the real world. Your website can also pass them to Google in code, through local business structured data that customers don’t see but search engines read. According to Google, businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up in local results.

There’s a less obvious reason too. If someone suggests an edit to your profile and you don’t respond within 4 days, Google may publish it if it’s supported by other public information, such as your website. An up-to-date website works as a reference point for Google. An outdated one does the same, just against you.

You see what works

Profile insights show calls, directions and website clicks. You can also connect your profile to Google Analytics so this data sits in one place with your website traffic. It’s worth adding UTM parameters to the website link in your profile. These are a few tags in the address that let Analytics show how many visits came from your profile. Without them it’s hard to tell whether your profile brings in customers at all.

Where to start

If you only have a profile, fill it in completely and add your website address once the site is live. If you only have a website, create a profile and use exactly the same details as on the site. Either way, finish by checking that your name, address, phone number and hours match character for character, and tag the website link in your profile with UTM parameters.

Frequently asked questions

Is a profile enough without a website?

It’s enough for a customer to find you and call. It isn’t enough to show your offer, prices and past work, because the profile description has 750 characters and isn’t meant for prices or promotions. If customers compare you with competitors, a website gives them a reason to choose you.

Does a website improve my position on Google Maps?

Google doesn’t say so directly. It does say that ranking depends on relevance, distance and prominence, that prominence is based on things like how many websites link to your business, and that businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up. A website doesn’t guarantee a higher position, but it gives you a place that confirms that information and that others can link to.

Can Google change my profile without me?

Yes. Other users can suggest edits, and if you don’t respond within 4 days, Google may publish them as long as other public sources, such as your website, support them. That’s why it pays to respond to notifications and keep your website up to date.

How much does it cost to keep both?

A Business Profile is free. The cost of a website depends on its scope and on whether you run it yourself or hand it over to someone. Either way, the most expensive thing is outdated information, such as a customer calling during hours that changed long ago.