Do Contractors Need a Website If They Have a Google Business Profile?

The honest answer: it's not required

A Google Business Profile lives on Google Search and Maps by itself. To show up there, Google says you need to add or claim your business and verify it (source). A website isn't on that list. The website field on your profile is optional.

So if you're a one- or two-truck outfit booked solid off referrals, you're not doing it wrong. One of our own clients ran his shop for six years without a site. Here's what he said once he got one:

★★★★★

“I have owned a business for 6 years now and never made a website for two reasons, one I have been luck enough to stay busy and the other is because I'm extremely picky with work that I provide and received. Darren built me a website that was just perfect! Everything about it was exactly what I was looking for and more. I am glad it took me 6 years to get one. Any sooner and I would have missed out on his talent. Thanks again”

He didn't need a website to stay busy. He's picky about quality, and he waited until he could get a site that met his standard. That's the real question for most trades: not "do I have to," but "what would a website do for me that my profile can't?"

What your Google profile does well

• It puts your name, phone, hours, reviews and photos in front of people searching on Maps and Search. Google calls it the way to "manage how your business information appears across Google, including Search and Maps" (Google Search Central).
• It has a call button. Google counts how many times people tap it (source).
• It can list your services and service area (services, service areas).

For an emergency call ("water heater leaking, need someone today"), that may be all a customer looks at.

What a website adds

1. Room to make your case

A profile gives you a short description, a services list and photos, on Google's layout and Google's rules. Your business description can't include links, and Google doesn't allow it to focus on promotions or prices (source). A website has room for what customers check on bigger jobs like a new roof, a panel upgrade or a full AC system: what you do and don't do, the towns you cover, your license and warranty info, photos of finished jobs, and how estimates work.

2. Google reads it

Google says the info in Business Profiles is compiled from several sources, including "crawled web content (e.g., information from a business' official website)" (source). A site that clearly lists your services and towns gives Google one more place to learn what you do.

3. You show up in regular search results too

The map is one part of Google. Regular search results are made of websites, and Google says it finds most sites automatically: "You usually don't need to do anything except publish your site on the web" (SEO Starter Guide). Google also says nothing will "automatically rank your site first," so a website isn't a magic switch. It's just another way people can find you.

4. Referrals look you up

When a neighbor gives out your name, the customer may search it before they call. Your profile and your website are what they find. A clean site with real photos is a better first look than a listing with nothing behind it.

When it's fine to wait

• You're booked out for weeks and don't want more calls right now.
• Your Google profile isn't set up right yet. Fix that first; it's free. Start with why isn't my business showing on Google Maps and how to get more calls from Google Maps.
• You'd end up with a site you never update, with the wrong phone number or services you stopped offering. A wrong website is worse than none.

If you get one, what it actually needs

A trade website doesn't need to be fancy. It needs to answer "can you do my job, in my town, and how do I reach you?" fast. A practical checklist:

1. A tap-to-call phone number at the top of every page. Same number as your Google profile.
2. The same business name everywhere. Google says your name should match your real-world name "as used consistently on your storefront, website, stationery, and as known to customers" (source).
3. A services list that matches your profile. If your profile lists water heater replacement and drain cleaning, your site should have a section for each.
4. The towns you serve, in plain text. Write them out. Google's starter guide says to think about the words people search for and use text, not just images (starter guide, get on Google).
5. Real photos of your work, near the text that describes it. Google recommends adding high-quality images near relevant text (source).
6. Fast and readable on a phone. Google says most searches are now done from mobile devices, and recommends making sure your content loads quickly and displays properly on all screen sizes (source).
7. HTTPS. Google recommends securing your site with HTTPS (source).
8. Linked from your profile. Google says to enter the full URL, including "https://", and make sure Googlebot isn't blocked on your site (source).

Optional, for whoever builds it: Google supports LocalBusiness structured data, a bit of code that tells Google your business details like hours.

After it launches, give it time. Google says changes can take anywhere from a few hours to several months to show up in search, and suggests waiting a few weeks before judging (source).

Profile first, then website

If you're starting from zero, here's the order that makes sense for most trades:

1. Claim, verify and fill out your Google Business Profile.
2. Start asking every customer for a review. Here's how to do it by Google's rules.
3. Add a simple website that matches your profile and link it.

Want to see what a trade website looks like for your town? See our pages for plumbers in Seguin, electricians in New Braunfels, HVAC in San Antonio, roofers in Austin, welding shops and auto and diesel shops, the full list of trades and cities, or sites we've built. Details on what's included are on our services page.