Google Business Profile or a website? Short answer: both. The profile first.

Someone told you that you don’t need a website because “you’re on Google”. Someone else told you that you don’t need a profile because “you have a website”. Both pieces of advice are half right.

The profile and the site do two different jobs. The profile puts you on the map. The site is where people decide whether to call you. And this comes from people who build websites: if you only have the money and time for one, do the profile first. It’s free.

What a Google Business Profile does

It’s your card on Google Maps and in search results: name, category, number, opening hours, photos and reviews. When someone types “car repair Pula”, Google shows a map with three businesses — and those three come from profiles.

• Strength: free, quick to set up, and it gets you a spot on the map.
• Limit: it looks exactly like every competitor’s profile. Same format, same boxes. You can’t explain what you do better, or show your work the way you see it.

What a website does

A site is the only place online where you decide what people see. Exactly what you do, in which towns, photos of real work, prices “from”, and a number that calls in one tap — in the languages your customers speak.

• Strength: it persuades. People choosing between three businesses on the map tap “Website”. Whoever has a serious site there gets the call.
• Strength: it also shows up below the map, in ordinary results, for searches a profile doesn’t cover — “emergency plumber Vrsar”.
• Limit: it costs money, and Google needs a few months to rank it well.

Why they work better together

Google likes it when the details match. The same name, address and number on the profile and on the site are signals that you’re real and that you are where you say you are. A profile that links to the site and a site with a map that leads to the profile strengthen each other.

And people do what Google does: they see you on the map, tap through to the site, check you’re serious, and only then call.

How to set up your profile — steps for today

• Create or claim it. At google.com/business, type your business name. The profile may already exist — sometimes Google or customers create one — and you just claim it.
• Choose the exact primary category. “Plumber”, not “Services”. This is the single most important setting on the profile.
• Service area. Do you go to customers? List the places you work and hide your home address.
• Opening hours, including Saturdays and emergency call-outs if you do them.
• Photos. A dozen real photos of your work, your van, your workshop. Not images from the internet.
• Verification. Google will offer a way to verify — a short video, a call or a postcard. Until the profile is verified, it doesn’t work at full strength.
• Reviews. Copy the review link from the profile and send it to happy customers. Reply to every review, the good ones too.

When a website is the next step

Once the profile is set up and you’re still not among the three businesses on the map — or you are, but people call your competitors — a site is what you’re missing. See what that looks like for your town or your business.

Frequently asked questions

Is a Google Business Profile free?

Yes. Creating, verifying and running the profile costs nothing. Only Google Ads cost money, and they’re a separate thing.

Do I have to show my home address on the profile?

No. If you go to customers rather than them coming to you — plumber, electrician, AC service — set a service area and hide the address. Google still shows you in the places you list.

How long does verification take?

It depends on the method Google offers — a short video, a call, a message or a postcard. Some profiles are verified the same day; others take a few days to a couple of weeks.

Can I have just a website, without a profile?

You can, but you lose the map — and on a phone the map with three businesses is often the first thing people see. The profile is free and works together with the site, so there’s no reason to choose.