Do You Need a Website If You Have a Google Business Profile? (Utah Trades, 2026)

Illustration: a business listing card with stars, hours and a Website button, with an arrow to a simple website page with a Call now button.

The short answer

It depends. A free Google Business Profile puts you on Google Maps and local results. A website is the page you control: your services, your towns and a way to call. For new customers, it's somewhere to look next. In BrightLocal's 2026 survey of US consumers, 54% said they check a business's website after reading positive reviews.

A Google Business Profile is Google's free listing for your business on Search and Maps. A website is a set of pages you control, at your own address.

Checked November 2026.

What a Google Business Profile does well

It costs nothing. Google says creating a Business Profile and listing your business on Google is free, and the profile shows up on Google Search and Maps.

The profile gives you a place for your reviews, photos, hours and a call button. If you travel to your customers, Google lets a service-area business set its service area by cities, zip codes or other places. If you don't meet customers at your address, you can choose not to show it.

Google says local results are mainly based on three things: relevance, distance and prominence. Relevance is how well your profile matches what someone searched for. Distance is how far you are from the searcher or the place they typed. Prominence is how well known your business is. Google says prominence also reflects how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have.

Google also says there's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.

What a profile can't do on its own

Google caps the business description at 750 characters and doesn't allow URLs or HTML in it. It asks you to focus on details about your business instead of promotions, prices or sales.

A profile has no separate page for each service or town. Google sets the layout. Your reviews stay inside Google.

That last point matters for AI tools. Myles Anderson, BrightLocal's co-founder and CEO, said in BrightLocal's March 2026 AI report that "the likes of ChatGPT and other LLMs and AI search tools can't see inside Google's walled garden of reviews." That is his view, not a Google statement.

You can add your website to your profile, and Google says to make sure Googlebot isn't blocked on it.

Google Business Profile vs website: side-by-side

Google Business ProfileYour own website
Cost to start Free (Google)Varies. See our Utah website cost guide
Shows on Google Maps Yes. Google says the profile shows on Search and MapsThe profile is what shows on Maps. You can add your website to it
A page for each service No. One profile, and Google sets the layoutYes, you can write a page for each service
A page for each town No separate pages. You can list the cities or zip codes you serve (Google)Yes, a page for each town you really serve
Who controls the wording You, within Google's limits: 750 characters, no URLs, and Google asks you to keep out promotions and pricesYou
Reviews Live inside GoogleYou can link to them from your pages
If Google changes a product Up to Google. Its free business.site websites were shut down in March 2024 (CBC News)A site on your own domain is yours to move

What happened to Google's free websites (business.site)

From 2017, Google let businesses make a simple website, ending in "business.site", from their Business Profile information. CBC News reported on March 4, 2024 that Google was shutting them down that month "due to low engagement," according to a Google spokesperson.

Visitors were redirected to the business's profile until June 10, 2024. After that date, they saw "page not found."

The lesson is short: a site on your own domain is yours to move, even if a product changes.

What customers do after they find you

These numbers come from BrightLocal's Local Consumer Review Survey 2026, which asked 1,002 US adults.

  • 97% said they read reviews for local businesses.
  • After reading positive reviews, 54% said they check the business's website. BrightLocal reports that was 32% when it last asked, in 2019.
  • After a positive review, 66% said they do more research and 34% said they're ready to buy or book.
  • 47% said they won't use a business with fewer than 20 reviews.

So your profile gets you found, and a website is one of the places people look next. These numbers describe how people shop. They aren't a promise of more calls.

Where AI assistants fit

BrightLocal's March 10, 2026 report found that 45% of consumers had used AI tools for local business recommendations, up from 6% the year before. In the last 12 months, 31% used ChatGPT for business recommendations and 23% used Google AI Mode.

The same report found that 88% of AI users fact-check reviews cited by AI tools, and 97% sometimes double-check AI recommendations against real reviews.

Here are things that make your details easy to read: the same name, phone and towns everywhere, and a page for each service. Google Search Central also says LocalBusiness structured data lets you tell Google about business hours and more, and to use the most specific type, such as Plumber or Electrician. It adds that Google does not guarantee that features using structured data will show up in search results.

These figures show how people use AI tools. They don't mean any one business will be recommended.

When a profile alone is enough, and when a website makes sense

A profile alone can be enough for now if you:

  • are fully booked from referrals and not looking for new customers,
  • are winding down, or
  • subcontract only.

A website is worth a look if you:

  • want new customers who don't know you yet,
  • offer several services or cover several towns,
  • run ads,
  • want quote requests, or
  • lost a business.site page.

Either way, claim and verify your free profile first, and keep your details the same everywhere.

To see numbers, read what Utah small business websites cost.

A Utah trade website checklist

Use this as a one-screen check on any trade website, yours or someone else's:

  • A tap-to-call button at the top.
  • A page for each main service.
  • The towns you really serve, by name.
  • Real photos of your jobs.
  • A link to your reviews.
  • A short request form.
  • The same name and phone number as your Google Business Profile.
  • Your own domain, in your name.

For more, see websites for Utah plumbers, HVAC companies and electricians and what a working local website includes.

FAQ

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

It depends. A free Google Business Profile puts you on Google Maps and local results. A website is the page you control: your services, your towns and a way to call. For new customers, it's somewhere to look next. In BrightLocal's 2026 survey of US consumers, 54% said they check a business's website after reading positive reviews.

Is a Google Business Profile free?

Yes. Google says creating a Business Profile and listing your business on Google is free.

Can a plumber or contractor show up on Google Maps without a website?

The profile is what shows on Google Maps. Google says local results are based on relevance, distance and prominence, and that links to your business from other websites count toward prominence. If you have a website, you can add it to your profile.

What happened to my free Google website (business.site)?

Google shut those sites down in March 2024, according to CBC News. Visitors were redirected to the business's profile until June 10, 2024.

Is a Facebook page enough instead of a website?

A Facebook page works like a Google Business Profile in one way: someone else owns the platform and sets the layout. A website on your own domain is the place where you control the wording and the pages.

Do customers still look at websites?

In BrightLocal's 2026 survey of US consumers, 54% said they check a business's website after reading positive reviews, up from 32% when BrightLocal last asked in 2019. The same survey found that 97% read reviews for local businesses.

Do AI assistants like ChatGPT recommend local businesses?

In BrightLocal's March 2026 report, 45% of consumers said they had used AI tools for local business recommendations, and 31% had used ChatGPT for them in the last 12 months. That doesn't mean any one business will be recommended.

Can I pay Google to rank higher on Maps?

Google says there's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.

Sources

Checked November 2026.

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