Do You Still Need a Website If You Have a Google Business Profile?
Your Google profile gets you found. Your website is where people decide to call. Here is what each one does and why most businesses need both.
Usually yes. Your Google profile gets you onto the map, but it can’t explain your services, take bookings or quotes, or stay fully under your control. After reading reviews, the most common next step people take is visiting the business’s website.
Key points
- Set up your free Google profile first; it’s where local searches start.
- A website explains each service, takes bookings and quotes, and shows up for “service + town” searches.
- The best setup is both, with your profile linking to a fast site that has your number at the top.
In this guide
A lot of owners run their whole business off a Google Business Profile, Facebook and word of mouth. It works for a while. So the question is fair: if people already find you on Google Maps, what does a website add?
What your Google Business Profile does well
Your profile is the box that shows up in Google Maps and in the map results when someone searches “lawn care near me.” It is free, and it is often the first thing a new customer sees. It shows:
- Your name, phone number, hours and service area
- Your star rating and reviews
- Photos of your work
- A link to your website, if you have one
If you don’t have a profile yet, set one up before you do anything else. It costs nothing and it is where local searches start.
What a profile can’t do
The profile is a listing. It is built the same way for every business, and Google decides how it looks. That leaves gaps:
- No room to explain your services. There is no good way to show what a full yard clean-up includes, how you price a house wash, or which towns you cover.
- No booking or quoting your way. Customers can call or message, but they can’t pick a time slot, send photos for a quote or pay a deposit.
- Nothing that is fully yours. Google changes the layout, and anyone can suggest edits to your listing.
That last point is not hypothetical. Google used to let businesses build a simple website straight from their profile. It shut those sites down in March 2024, and from June 2024 the old addresses stopped working altogether. Businesses that relied on them had to start over.
What customers actually do
In BrightLocal’s 2026 survey of US consumers, 97% said they read reviews for local businesses. After reading positive reviews, the most common next step was visiting the business’s website (54%), ahead of reading more reviews or visiting in person.
So the profile and reviews get you onto the shortlist. The website is where people check that you’re real, look at your work and decide whether to call. If there is no website, many of them move on to the next listing that has one.
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Build your quote →Profile versus website, side by side
| Google Business Profile | Your own website | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | One-time build plus hosting |
| Shows up in Google Maps | Yes | Through your profile |
| Explains each service in detail | No | Yes |
| Online booking and quotes | Limited | Yes |
| You control the design and content | No | Yes |
| Shows up for “service + town” searches | Sometimes | Yes, with service-area pages |
The best setup: both, linked together
The two work best as a pair. Your profile gets you seen, and your website turns that attention into booked work. Google says local results depend partly on how well known a business is, based on information from across the web, and your website is part of that picture. A site with clear services, your contact details and your service area supports the profile instead of competing with it.
How we handle it
Every site we build comes with local search set up: your business details marked up so Google reads them correctly, Google Maps on the site and your opening hours. If you don’t have a Google profile yet, we can set it up as part of the build, and our Get-found pack adds pages for each town you serve plus local keyword research.
Not sure what you need? Build a quote and see the price straight away, or book a free 30-minute call and we will look at your profile with you.
Questions owners ask next
Is a Google Business Profile free?
Yes. It costs nothing to set up and keep.
Can I use Google’s free website builder instead?
Not any more. Google shut down the websites built from Business Profiles in March 2024, and the old addresses stopped working in June 2024.
Will a website help me show up on Google Maps?
It helps. Google says local results depend partly on how well known a business is across the web, and your website is part of that. It supports your profile rather than replacing it.
Can you set up my Google profile?
Yes. Google Business Profile setup is an add-on, it’s part of our Get-found pack, and it’s included in Premium.
Keep reading
How Much Does a Website Cost for a Local Business in 2026?
Why Your Website Isn’t Getting You Calls: 7 Fixes
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