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

Quick answer: a Google Business Profile is the most important free listing a local business can have, but it works best with a website. The profile gets you seen on Google Search and Maps. The website gives customers the details, answers and trust they want before they call, and it's the one place online you fully control.

What a Google Business Profile does well

• It shows your business on Google Maps and in local search results.
• It shows your phone number, hours, reviews and photos in one place.
• It's free, and you can update it any time.

What a website adds

• Room to explain. A page for each service, your prices or how you price, your service area, and answers to common questions.
• Trust. Many customers check the website before they call. No website can look like no business.
• Something you own. Google controls how your profile looks and can change the rules. Your website is yours.
• A link for your profile. Your Google profile has a spot for a website. Filling it with a real site that matches your profile gives Google and customers the same, consistent information.

The best setup: both, saying the same thing

The name of your business, your phone number, your services and your service area should match on your website and your Google profile, word for word. When they match, customers see the same information everywhere, and there's less confusion about who you are.

Start here

1. Claim or create your free Google Business Profile, and finish Google's verification.
2. Pick the right main category. See how to pick a Google Business category.
3. Add a simple website with a tap-to-call button, and put its link on your profile.
4. Ask happy customers for honest reviews. See how to get your first Google review.

If you'd rather not do it yourself, the Open Sign Setup covers both the website and the Google profile, in accounts you own.