Does a website help my Google Maps ranking?

It can. Google ranks local listings by relevance, distance and prominence. A website with a page for each service helps Google see what you do, and links to your site from other websites add to your prominence.

Can I use a Facebook page instead of a website?

It’s better than nothing, but it has the same limits as your Google profile. You don’t control the layout, people scroll past old posts to find what you do, and there’s no page for each service for Google to show.

What happened to Google’s free Business Profile websites?

Google turned them off in 2024. Visitors were sent to the Business Profile for a few months, and then the addresses stopped working.

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

By Grady Truitt · Updated November 3, 2026

The short answer

Yes, if you want the profile to bring in work. Your Google Business Profile gets you onto the map and into local searches. Your website is where people check you out before they call, and Google reads it to decide which searches your listing should show up for. They do different jobs, and they work best together.

A lot of trade businesses get by on their Google profile alone, and it’s easy to see why. It’s free, your reviews show up there, and customers can call straight from the listing. But a profile can only say so much, and it looks exactly like the competitor’s listing right above or below yours.

What your Google profile does well

It puts you in the map results when someone nearby searches for your trade. It shows your reviews, hours and phone number, and people can call or get directions with one tap. For a lot of local searches, it’s the first thing people see. Keep it filled out and keep asking customers for reviews. Nothing on a website replaces that.

What a profile can’t do

Explain each service. The profile gives you a list of services and a 750-character description. A website gives drain cleaning its own page and water heater repair its own page, and Google can show each one for the searches that match it.
Name every town you work in. A profile lets you pick up to 20 service areas. A website can list the towns and neighborhoods people actually type into Google.
Ask the right questions. A quote form on your site can ask for the town, the kind of job and a photo, so you know what you’re walking into before you call back.
Look like your business. Every profile uses Google’s layout. Your website is the one place where your own photos and your own words come first.
Back up a referral. When a neighbor tells someone to look you up, they search your name. A real website makes you look established, and a bare listing makes some people keep looking.
Give AI tools something to quote. ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews and similar tools build answers from pages they can read. A profile gives them a few lines. A site with a page for each service gives them much more.

Google reads your website to rank your profile

Google says local results come down to relevance, distance and prominence. Relevance is how well your listing matches the search, and a website with clear service pages helps Google understand what you do. Prominence is how well known your business is, and part of that comes from what Google finds about you across the web, including links to your site. The website field on your profile is how the two connect.

Google’s free websites are gone

Google used to make a simple website from your Business Profile. It shut those sites down in 2024, and their addresses stopped working. If your profile still points to one, or has no website at all, you’re leaving that field empty for Google and for customers.

How to make them work together

Use the exact same business name, phone number and address on both.
Put your website’s address in the profile’s website field.
Show your Google reviews on your website, and link to your profile so happy customers can leave another one.
When you add a service, add it in both places.
Post photos of finished jobs to your profile as well as your website.

When a profile alone is enough

If you’re booked months out on referrals and don’t want more work, a filled-out profile may be all you need for now. The same goes for a side business you’re still testing. Once you want more calls, or more of the jobs you’d rather be doing, a website is usually the next step.

Quick answers

Does a website help my Google Maps ranking?: It can. Google ranks local listings by relevance, distance and prominence. A website with a page for each service helps Google see what you do, and links to your site from other websites add to your prominence.
Can I use a Facebook page instead of a website?: It’s better than nothing, but it has the same limits as your Google profile. You don’t control the layout, people scroll past old posts to find what you do, and there’s no page for each service for Google to show.
What happened to Google’s free Business Profile websites?: Google turned them off in 2024. Visitors were sent to the Business Profile for a few months, and then the addresses stopped working.