You have created your Google Business Profile, and it shows your address, opening hours and a few reviews. Someone told you that you also need a website, and someone else said the profile is enough. You do not have time to settle it by reading dozens of pages.
The answer depends on your business, not on a general rule. This article explains what the profile alone does well, where it stops, when it really is enough, and what to set up first, whether or not you get a website.
What your Google Business Profile does very well
A well-kept profile answers the question customers ask most often: “is it open, and where is it?”. It appears in search and on the map, at the moment someone is looking nearby. It costs nothing and you can manage it from your phone.
- The address, with directions in one tap.
- The opening hours, including public holidays if you fill them in.
- The phone number, which customers can call straight from the profile.
- Your customers' reviews and your replies.
- A few photos, a short description and a list of services or products.
For a customer walking past your door or looking for somewhere open at 7pm, this is often all they need. The information still has to be accurate: see how keeping your Google listing updated really changes footfall.
Where the profile alone stops
The profile is a fixed format designed by Google, with boxes to fill in. You choose neither the layout, nor the order, nor the amount of space you get. This causes four concrete problems.
Presenting your services in detail
You can list your services with a short description. You cannot give each one a page, explain how a job unfolds, answer the questions customers always ask or detail what is included.
Showing your prices with context
A price on its own in a box says little. A “from” price does not say what makes the cost vary. On a website, you can explain your packages, your terms and your usual lead times, and so avoid calls about a simple question of price.
Showing your work
The photos on your profile get mixed in with those posted by customers. For a tradesperson, a hairdresser or a florist, a tidy gallery with a few words on each piece of work is more reassuring than a wall of photos without captions.
Being found outside your town
Google states that, for local results, it takes into account relevance, distance and prominence. Distance plays a large part: a profile shows up first near its address. If you are looking for customers in neighbouring towns, the profile alone does little to help. A page dedicated to a trade or a town can answer those searches, although no particular ranking can be promised.
When the profile alone is genuinely enough
Let us be clear: many businesses do not need a website to get started. If you recognise yourself below, concentrate on the profile.
- Your customers come from your street or your neighbourhood, and you do not expect customers from elsewhere.
- Few competitors are close to you, or you are the only one of your kind in town.
- Your customers already know you and mostly come by word of mouth.
- You have nothing to explain: customers know what you sell and do not need to compare.
- Your services fit in a few lines and your prices are displayed in the shop.
In these cases, a website would add little for now. Your time is better spent looking after the profile and collecting reviews.
When a website really makes a difference
A website becomes useful once customers need to compare, to be reassured or to find you without knowing your name.
- You have several competitors in the same town and customers compare before they call.
- Your services are numerous or technical and need explaining.
- Your trade is judged on results: building jobs, haircuts, floral arrangements, dishes.
- You work in several towns, or you have no premises open to the public. In that case, also read the article on local SEO for a business without a storefront.
- You want a web address of your own, to put on your business cards, your vehicle or your quotes.
A website guarantees neither customers nor a position on Google. It gives you a place of your own to say precisely what you do. A showcase website does not sell online: it presents your business and gets people to phone you.
The three profile settings that matter most
Before considering a website, do these three things. They take less than an hour and weigh more than everything else.
1. Choose the right primary category
The primary category tells Google which trade you belong to. Choose the most precise one available: “Plumber” rather than a general tradesperson category. Then add secondary categories for your other activities. A badly chosen category makes you appear alongside searches that do not concern you, or keeps you out of those that do.
2. Fill in the list of services or products
This is the section most often left empty. List each service with a clear name and a line of description, and a price if you can stand by it. It is your only space for detail on the profile, and it matches the words customers type.
3. Add real photos, and keep adding them
Frontage, interior, team, finished work: photos taken by you, recent and sharp. They reassure people before their first visit. A phone is enough, as the article on good photos of your business shows.
If you decide to get a website
SiteServi builds a showcase website from your Google Business Profile. There are three plans, all with no commitment: Showcase at €2.99 per month, Pro at €9.99 per month (with a domain name registered in your name, a customer area and the SiteServi mention removed) and Visibility at €19.99 per month (Pro, plus up to five service or town pages, a professional email address for receiving messages only and priority support). The trial lasts 14 days, with no bank card needed, and two months are free if you pay annually.
One limit to be aware of: the website does not update itself from your Google Business Profile. If your opening hours or your phone number change, you need to let us know at [email protected]. To choose between the three plans, the article Showcase, Pro or Visibility sets out the differences.