Your Google Business Profile website link should point to a page you control that shows the same name, phone, hours, services, and address or service area as the profile. Google turned off the websites owners made with Business Profiles in 2024, so replace any old business.site address, put booking and menu links in their own slots, and tag each link. Judge the setup by links that open the right page and website clicks you can follow to real inquiries.
The website link is the one URL you enter in the Website field of your Business Profile. It is separate from social media links and from the booking, ordering and menu links some categories can add.
Retire any old business.site address
Until 2024, owners could publish a basic website from their profile, on an address ending in business.site or negocio.site. As of March 5, 2024, those sites were no longer available, and visitors were sent to the Business Profile instead. That redirect lasted only until June 10, 2024. After it ended, visitors got a "Page not found" error (archived Google help notice). Google has since removed the notice from its help center.
The same notice made three more points:
- the old domains were removed from the website field;
- the rest of the profile was not affected;
- you could build a new site with other tools, then add its address to the profile.
For that step, the notice suggested a site builder and listed nine examples, including Google Sites. Whichever tool you pick, publish on a domain you control, so the address outlives any one product.
If you used an old site, check where its address still appears:
- business cards, flyers, vehicle wraps and yard signs;
- QR codes, social bios and email signatures;
- old ad campaigns, which the notice warned might be disapproved because the display URL domain would no longer match the final URL.
If your own domain forwarded to the old site, it sent visitors to the profile only until June 10, 2024. Google's advice was to set a redirect to a different website at your hosting company. Type your domain into a phone browser to see where it lands.
Choose the page that goes in the website field
Google's instructions for the field are short (Edit your Business Profile). Enter the full URL, including http:// or https://. Make sure Googlebot isn't blocked on your site, and use Search Console to check for possible penalties.
The Guidelines for representing your business on Google ask for a phone number that connects to your individual business location, or a website that represents that location. They also say not to provide URLs that "redirect or 'refer' users to landing pages ... other than those of the actual business, including pages created on social media sites."
Following these guidelines is one of Google's conditions for avoiding suspension. If your profile is already suspended, prepare a clear suspension appeal.
| Your situation | Put in the website field | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| One location with a site | The homepage, if name, phone, hours and address sit near the top; otherwise the contact page | A blog post or a seasonal promo |
| Several locations | Each profile's own location page | One shared homepage |
| Service-area business | A page listing the towns you serve and how to book | A page showing the home address you hid |
| No website yet | Leave it empty; keep the phone accurate and add social profiles where offered | A shortener, or a directory, marketplace or other third-party page |
In select regions, you can add one social media link per platform under Social profiles, in the Contact part of Edit profile. That keeps the website field for your own domain. Keep URLs out of the business description: Google says not to include URLs or HTML code there.
Put booking, menu and order links in their own slots
A profile can carry a single link to a menu or a list of services (Manage your local business links). It can also hold up to 10 links per category for booking an appointment, making a reservation, placing a food order or placing a shopping order. With several links in one category, you can mark one as "Business preferred."
On Google Search, open your profile, select Booking, Food ordering, or Pickup and delivery, then Add link, enter the URL and save. On Google Maps, select Edit profile and the transaction type.
- Booking link. Send it to the booking page itself, not your homepage, the same idea behind the salon advice to make booking one step from every place you post.
- Menu link. Google's guidelines say menu URLs can't be direct links to third-party ordering or delivery services, so link your own menu page. Restaurants can follow a weekly profile check for hours, menu and ordering links.
- Order links. These may go to your ordering provider. Google's links page mentions first-party and third-party ordering links that owners add.
- Links you did not add. Google says links to certain services can appear automatically, supplied by third-party partners or automated data. You can remove a specific booking provider, and providers need to remove their links within 5 days of a removal request.
Make the landing page match the profile
Someone who taps your website link is checking what the profile said. Different hours or towns on the page leave them guessing.
| Profile detail | What Google's help says | What the page should show |
|---|---|---|
| Business name | Exactly as on your signage, stationery and other branding | The same name in header and footer |
| Hours | Main hours, plus special hours for holidays and temporary periods | The same hours, holiday changes posted the same day |
| Address or service area | The full, accurate address, or the cities, ZIP codes or other places you serve | The same address, or the same towns or ZIP codes |
| Phone | A primary number plus up to 2 more | The primary number, tap-to-call |
| Services | Where available, keep services and prices accurate in the services editor | The same service names |
Google says it reviews profile edits before they go live. Update the website page first, then the profile, and check both once the edit shows. For the rest of profile setup, from photos to reviews, work through the local SEO checklist for small businesses.
Tag the link and read website clicks
Add a UTM tag to the address in the website field so profile visits show up separately in your analytics. One common pattern:
https://www.example.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp-website
Give the booking link its own campaign value, such as gbp-booking, when the booking page sits on your own site. A tag only helps if the landing page runs your analytics. Parameter names, case rules and testing are covered in the guide to building and naming UTM tags.
Google's own count sits in your profile's Performance view. The performance help page defines Website clicks as the number of times people clicked the website link on your Business Profile. The data covers verified profiles only, includes activity from organic results and Google Ads, and can be set to a date range.
Your analytics counts tagged visits, a different event, so the numbers will differ. Record both monthly and watch the direction. To tie them to customers, ask each new inquiry how they found you with neutral "How did you hear about us?" answer options and log the answer next to the job.
Website link checklist worksheet
Copy the blank table into a spreadsheet and fill it in with the profile open on a phone. N/P/H/S/A means the page shows the same name, phone, hours, services, and address or service area as the profile.
| Link slot | URL and where it lands | UTM source / medium / campaign | Matches N/P/H/S/A | Owner | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Website field | |||||
| Booking or appointment | |||||
| Menu, services or order link | |||||
| Old or forwarding domain | |||||
| Printed QR codes and signs |
Hypothetical example: a hair studio with a storefront in Northfield. Clients come to the studio, so A means its street address. Domain, roles and dates are placeholders, not a real business.
| Link slot | URL and where it lands | UTM source / medium / campaign | Matches N/P/H/S/A | Owner | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Website field | example.com/, tagged; homepage, hours and phone at top |
google / organic / gbp-website | yes / yes / yes / yes / yes | Owner | / |
| Booking or appointment | example.com/book/, tagged; booking calendar |
google / organic / gbp-booking | yes / yes / yes / yes / n/a | Front desk lead | / |
| Menu, services or order link | example.com/services/; services from $___ |
google / organic / gbp-services | yes / yes / n/a / yes / n/a | Owner | / |
| Old or forwarding domain | Old business.site address; error page, removed from cards | none | n/a | Owner | / |
| Printed QR codes and signs | Window decal QR; homepage | qr / window-decal / window-qr | yes / yes / yes / yes / yes | Owner | / |
The decal uses its own source, medium and campaign, so walk-by scans are not counted as Google profile visits. Any "no" is fixed before the next monthly check by the person in the owner column.
Before you save the profile
- [ ] No
business.siteornegocio.siteaddress remains in print, QR codes, bios or ads - [ ] The website field holds a full
https://URL on a domain you control - [ ] That page shows the same name, phone, hours, services, and address or service area as the profile
- [ ] Booking, menu and order links sit in their own slots and open on a phone
- [ ] Links that appeared on their own have been reviewed or removed
- [ ] The business description contains no URLs
- [ ] Each tagged link has its own campaign value
- [ ] Every worksheet row has an owner and a last-checked date
Frequently asked questions
Can Google still build a website from my Business Profile?
No. Google turned off websites made with Business Profiles in 2024 and removed the business.site and negocio.site domains from the website field. Its notice pointed owners to other tools, listing nine site builders as examples, including Google Sites, and said to add the new address to the profile.
How do I add a website to my Google Business Profile?
Sign in to the Google Account linked to your profile, open the profile on Google Search or in the Maps app, and select Edit profile. Enter the full URL, including https://, in the Website field and save. Google reviews edits before they show, so check the live profile later.
Do I need a website to have a Google Business Profile?
No. Google's guidelines ask for a phone number that connects to your individual business location or a website that represents it. A page on your own domain adds room for hours, services and booking in your own words.
Can I use my Facebook page as my Business Profile website?
Google's guidelines don't answer this directly. They say not to use URLs that redirect or refer people to pages other than the actual business's, and that sentence mentions pages created on social media sites. A page owned by someone else is out. Where your region offers social profile links, add Facebook there and keep the website field for a page on a domain you control.
Why don't my website clicks match Google Analytics?
Website clicks count clicks on the website link in your profile, while analytics counts visits that reached your site with your tag. They record different events, so compare each trend over the same dates instead of matching them line by line.
Fix the website field first
Open your profile on a phone today, tap the website link, and fill in the first worksheet row. Replace any dead or mismatched address, then work down the other slots and set a monthly check date for each.
Free SEO, GEO and SMM strategy, explained with examples of potential customers.