What happened to Google Business Profile websites, and what can I use instead?

What did Google change, and when?

Google used to let a business make a website with its Business Profile. That ended on 1 March 2024. Google gave its reason in one line: Due to low engagement, we are winding down websites made with Business Profiles.^1,2 Since June 2024 the old addresses have answered with a “page not found” error, a 404, instead of the site.³

Other things changed too. Chat on profiles ended on 31 July 2024, and so did the call history owners could see.⁴ Here is what changed, in order.

None of this changes how people find you on Google. It changes where your profile can send them, and how they can reach you once they have found you.

Does my Business Profile still work?

Yes. The profile carries on and costs nothing. It is still Google's listing for your business in Search and Maps, with a way to call you, directions, your opening hours and your Google reviews.¹ Keep it, keep it up to date, and keep asking customers for reviews.

What the profile does not give you any more is a page of your own. Since chat ended it has no enquiry form and keeps no list of the people who got in touch,⁴ though in some regions it can show a WhatsApp or text option. Booking works through links and partner services, with no step where you say yes or no to a request.

Do I need a website if I have a Google Business Profile?

Not always. If most of your customers ring you straight from Google and that works for you, the profile may be enough for now. A page of your own earns its place when customers want to know more before they get in touch, or when you want them to be able to reach you in more than one way:

• they want to see your prices, your work or the area you cover before they ring
• they would rather write than call, for example in the evening or while you are on a job
• you take bookings and want requests to arrive for times you can do
• you want one link to put on your van, your cards, your social media and your messages
• you want an address of your own that stays the same when a listing changes

If you already have a website, make sure your profile's website box points at it, and that the page it opens shows your phone number near the top on a phone. The profile and the page do different jobs: the profile gets you found, and the page is where the profile sends people, so it should make getting in touch as easy as finding you was.

What can I use instead?

Here are four kinds of page a profile's website box can point to. Each suits a different business, and you can change your mind later by putting a new address in the box.

• A full website

  As many pages as you need, a blog or a shop if you want them, and usually your own domain name. You build it with a website builder, or pay a designer to.

  To weigh up: building it and keeping it up to date takes time, or money if someone does it for you. Check that it shows your phone number and a way to get in touch near the top of the page on a phone.

• A link-in-bio page

  One page of links to the places you already are online, made for the bio on your social media profiles. Some add booking or contact forms.

  To weigh up: it is built around links. Check whether it shows what local customers look for, such as your opening hours and where you are.

• A social media page

  A Facebook Page or something like it, with your posts, photos and messages where your followers already are.

  To weigh up: the platform decides how your page looks and what it can do, and a customer who does not use that platform may not look there.

• A one-page site for local businesses

  One mobile page with buttons to call, get directions and get in touch, your opening hours, photos and reviews. Some, Blinx among them, can fill it in from your Google listing.

  To weigh up: one page rather than many, so it suits a business whose customers want to reach it more than read about it.

Our comparisons set named products side by side, with their prices and the dates we checked them: see every comparison.

How do I point my profile at my new page?

Whatever you choose, put its address in your profile's website box. That is how the profile sends people to it.

1. Sign in to the Google account that manages your Business Profile, and open the profile's editing screen.
2. Find your contact details, paste the full address of your page into the website box, starting with https://, and save it.
3. On your phone, search for your business, open the profile and tap its website button to check it lands on your page.
4. Put the same link in your social media bios and your WhatsApp Business profile, and print it as a QR code for your van, your cards or your window.

If your old Business Profile website address is printed anywhere, on cards or on a van, swap it for the new one: the old address now shows “page not found”.³

What should the page do for my customers?

Whatever kind of page you use, check it does these things on a phone:

• calls you with one tap, with nobody copying a number
• shows where you are, or the towns you cover, with directions
• says whether you are open right now
• shows your prices, or what you offer and from what price
• shows photos of your own work
• takes a written enquiry, and booking requests if you take bookings
• shows your Google reviews, so the trust you have earned comes with you
• loads quickly on a phone, away from wifi