Do You Need a Google Business Profile If You Already Have a Website?

If you already have a website, it’s a fair question: do you really need a Google Business Profile too? The short answer is yes, and the two aren’t competing for the same job. They’re doing two different ones, and most local businesses need both to show up the way customers expect.

What a Google Business Profile Actually Does

A Google Business Profile is what shows up in the map pack and knowledge panel when someone searches your business name or “your service near me.” It surfaces your hours, phone number, directions, photos, and reviews directly in the search results, before the person has even clicked through to a website. Your website, on the other hand, is where someone goes once they’ve decided you’re worth a closer look.

For a lot of small businesses, especially anyone with a physical storefront or a service area, this is the very first impression a potential customer gets. Someone standing outside a shop in the Upper Peninsula, phone in hand, deciding whether to walk in, is looking at your Business Profile, not scrolling through your homepage. The same is true for someone searching from their couch, comparing a handful of local options before they ever pick up the phone.

They Work Together, Not Instead of Each Other

Think of your Business Profile as the storefront window and your website as what’s inside the shop. The window gets someone to stop walking and consider coming in. It doesn’t replace the shop itself. A complete, active Google Business Profile earns the click or the visit. A strong website is what turns that visit into an actual customer, answering the follow up questions the window alone can’t.

The Numbers Make the Case

This isn’t just theory. According to Google’s own data, customers are 70% more likely to visit and 50% more likely to consider purchasing from a business with a complete profile, and are 2.7 times more likely to consider that business reputable in the first place. Reviews matter just as much: research from BrightLocal’s 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey found that 97% of consumers read reviews for local businesses before deciding where to spend their money.

And yet a surprising number of small businesses skip this step entirely. BrightLocal’s 2025 SMB Marketing Report found that just 35% of small businesses have a Google Business Profile. If you’re one of the 65% without one, or yours is sitting there unclaimed and unmanaged, that’s a lot of easy visibility being left on the table.

Setting Yours Up the Right Way

Claiming a profile takes a few minutes. Making it actually work takes a little more: accurate hours, real photos of your business, a category that matches what you actually do, and a habit of responding to reviews. It’s also worth linking your profile directly to your website so the two reinforce each other instead of operating as separate, disconnected pieces of your online presence.

It’s also worth revisiting a profile you already have, not just setting up a new one. Businesses change hours, add services, and move locations, and a profile that hasn’t been touched in a year or two can end up quietly working against you instead of for you. A few minutes of upkeep every so often keeps it doing its job.

What’s Next

Search your own business name right now and see what comes up. If your profile is missing, unclaimed, or out of date, that’s a quick win worth fixing this week, and it’s one of the few marketing tasks that costs nothing but a little time.

Contact us if you’d like help getting your Google Business Profile and your website working as a team.