Author:
Lorraine Terry
Until now, Google has offered single-page websites powered by the information in a company’s Google Business Profile.Â
From March 2024, Google will take these websites offline.Â
Any companies whose broader digital presence relies solely on its Google-Business-generated website will have to seek other means of creating and hosting a website – or go without.
So, if you have a Google Business website, what should you do? Read on to find out more.
Google Business websites are single-page websites generated from the information entered into a company’s Google Business Profile.
All contact information, as well as images, descriptions and reviews, are pulled through to the webpage automatically. Changes to a Google Business Profile are automatically reflected on the website.
The URL, typically ending ‘business.site’, is displayed in the Google Business Profile website field and can be used more widely in directory entries and advertising.
These simple websites have allowed businesses to achieve a marginally broader online presence without having to invest in web design or hosting.
Google is shutting down all sites generated by a Google Business Profile.
That means websites with the suffix ‘business.site’ or ‘negocio.site’.
You might have purchased a custom domain in order to forward traffic from a more appealing URL to your Google Business website. The underlying Google Business website will be affected in the same way. Eventually your custom domain will forward to a discontinued site.
Aside from the website field, from which the business.site URL will be automatically removed, Google Business Profiles won’t be affected.
From March 2024, Google will turn off the websites and temporarily redirect the URL to the company’s Google Business page.Â
On June 10 2024, Google will remove the redirect – that means users who visit the URL will receive a 404 error.
The consequences of Google Business shutting down your website are twofold…
First, your website will no longer appear in search results. Any SEO gains you made will be lost.
Second, users who visit the URL will receive a 404 error. If you’ve included the website in directories or on advertising collateral, such as business cards, prospective customers will be met with an error.Â
There are three options for companies who previously had Google Business websites.
The first option is to go without a website.Â
While an optimised Google Business Profile with lots of positive reviews can attract leads, the text and imagery are limited compared to a free-form website. Forgoing a website severely reduces the amount of information you can provide to customers regarding your unique offerings.
Your business will also no longer appear in the search results. It will be limited to the maps pack, which reduces the number of potential interactions with prospective customers. Any SEO gains you made will be lost.
Last but by no means least, you’ll find yourself in the minority of local businesses who don’t have a website. Some customers might find this off-putting.
The cheapest way to replace your business.site is to create a new website using a website builder, such as Wix or Squarespace.
Much like your old Google Business website, these website builders offer simple templates that display your company information and service offerings.Â
You’ll have to foot the bill for the website builder, as well as any additional domain and hosting costs. You’ll also have to build and maintain the website yourself, eating into your precious personal or business time.
While on the face of it, such websites can look passable, if you’re only performing a straight swap for your business.site, it will be short, simple and unlikely to feature high up in the search results.
Your online presence has been disrupted, so you need to adjust, reset or abandon your digital strategy. But instead of lamenting your old Google Business website and the challenges you now face, why not see this as an opportunity to forge a new path?
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the practice of building and optimising a website in order to appear at the top of the organic search results, thereby attracting traffic. When done correctly, SEO is a fantastic lead-generation strategy.
To take advantage of SEO, your company needs a comprehensive website offering useful content in a targeted manner and underpinned by a solid technical setup.
The abbreviated nature of Google Business websites makes them unable to compete with content-laden search competitors. Similarly, website builders have technical limitations, while it takes time and effort to build and optimise enough content for effective SEO.
Instead of going it alone, you could consider working with web design and SEO professionals, such as a digital marketing agency, to create and optimise an entirely new website.
The benefits of this approach include:
With a strong website and effective SEO, it won’t be long before your company appears at the top of the search results, generating new leads, business and revenue.
If you’re running paid ads linking to your Google Business website, you need to update the ads to link to a different website before March 1st – this will ensure the ads keep running.
You may have forwarded a more shareable ‘custom domain’ to your Google Business website. From March, this domain will forward to your Google Business profile, and from June, will result in a 404 error.Â
If you want to keep this custom domain operational, you need to forward it to a new website. You can do this via your hosting company.
If you’re facing the closure of your Google-Business-generated website, you will have to act quickly to maintain your broader digital presence.
Advance Online has years of experience building and optimising websites for local businesses. We create bespoke, appealing web designs and develop custom SEO strategies to get your company to the top of Google. The result? Increased traffic, leads and revenue.
If you have any further questions about the closure of your Google Business website or would like to enquire about our services, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We would love to hear from you.
It didn’t seem so long ago that you painted the living room and relaid the carpet, then all of a sudden you realise your house is looking a little tired. Once you’ve noticed it, you can’t un-notice it. It’s time to put on your overalls and get to work.
Running a business can feel like spinning plates. Accounts, marketing, recruiting, inventory, prospecting – the to-do list goes on and on (and on…). And then on top of it all, another problem lands in your lap; a one-star rating on your Google Business Profile.
You’ve invested time and money into your website, and you’ve dabbled in SEO. The homepage looks good and appears to be ranking okay for the right keywords. But you still have a nagging concern: Is the website generating enough leads?
It’s 9 am on a Tuesday. You’ve barely touched your morning coffee, and already your inbox has three new messages….
At times, a Google Business Profile (GBP) can feel like a website in its own right. It appears when someone searches your business, it displays your hours, phone number, directions, reviews and photos.
Between managing your fleet, sorting permits, handling logistics and juggling customer service, marketing can easily slip to the bottom of a skip hire company’s to-do list.
Get notified of the latest blog posts
