Do I Need a Website If I Already Have a Google Business Profile?
Short answer: yes.
Longer answer: yes, and I need you to sit down for this one, because someone’s clearly told you otherwise and I need to have a word with them.
Here’s the thing nobody tells you when you set up your Google Business Profile:
Google Business Profile gets you found. It does NOT get you chosen.
Those are two completely different jobs. And GBP was never built to do the second one.
“But it’s free, why would I pay for a website too?”
I hear this constantly. Usually from someone who set up their GBP on a Tuesday, got a call by Friday, and decided that was proof the job was done.
Look — I get it. A free thing that works feels like a win. I’m not here to tell you GBP is bad. It’s brilliant. It’s also not the whole story, and here’s why:
- You don’t own it. Google does. They can change the layout, hide your info, or bury you under three competitors overnight and there’s not a thing you can do about it.
- It only shows what Google lets it show. Hours, a few photos, some reviews. That’s your entire pitch.
- Everyone else in your trade has one too. So when three plumbers pop up for the same search, what’s actually making the customer pick you?
Spoiler: right now, probably nothing. It’s a coin flip.
What a website actually does that GBP can’t
A website is the bit where you get to make your case. Properly.
- Show the actual jobs you’ve done (not just a star rating — the work)
- Explain what makes you different, in your own words, not Google’s format
- Cover the questions people have BEFORE they call, so you’re not fielding the same “do you cover my area” text 47 times a week
- Prove you’re legit — quals, insurance, how long you’ve been trading, all the boring-but-essential stuff a GBP listing has no room for
Basically: GBP gets someone to your door. The website is what makes them knock.
The part almost nobody explains properly
Here’s what I actually do for a living, so bear with me for one nerdy paragraph.
When your website and your Google Business Profile say the exact same thing — same business name, same address, same services, word for word — Google stops seeing you as “a listing” and starts seeing you as a real, consistent business.
That consistency is a big chunk of why some trades show up in the map pack and others don’t. Not because they’re better at the trade. Because Google trusts them more.
This is genuinely the entire structure behind everything I build — the website and the GBP are never treated as two separate jobs. They’re built to work as one system, because that’s what actually moves the needle.
So… do you actually need one?
Depends what you’re going for.
If you’re happy with the odd call from someone who half-trusted a star rating, you’re probably fine as you are.
If you’d rather be the tradesperson someone picks before they’ve even rung you — because your site answered their question and the other two blokes’ GBPs didn’t — then yeah. You need one.
That’s genuinely the whole decision. No further wisdom required.
Quick answers to the stuff people always ask me next
Can’t I just skip the website and put everything on my GBP instead? You can. But you’re stuck with whatever format Google gives you. No control, no room to actually show your work, and you’ll look exactly like every other listing next to you.
Will having a website even help my GBP rank better? Yes — properly. When they’re set up to match each other, it strengthens how much Google trusts the whole package, not just the site.
How much does this actually cost? Less than you’d think, and a lot less than what one missed job costs you. Happy to give you an honest number, no pressure.
My website’s from 2016 and hasn’t been touched since — does that count? Kind of, in the same way a phone with a cracked screen “still works.” If it’s not built for mobile or hasn’t been updated in years, it’s probably doing more harm than good. Worth a five-minute look before you assume it’s helping.
Not sure if what you’ve got right now is actually working for you or just… sitting there? I’ll take a free look at your Google Business Profile and website (or lack of one) and tell you straight what’s missing. No sales pitch, no obligation — just an honest look.