What is a Google Business Profile?
Google Business Profile formerly, Google My Business, is a free marketing tool that helps businesses manage how they appear on Google. Even if you do not have a traditional brick and mortar business, you can boost your local SEO. It enables your business to appear in location based searches, appearing at the top of search results, increasing your visibility for without spending money on ads. As well as useful business information, you can add photos, posts and customer reviews to your listing, providing a great way to build trust with your audience and maintain a positive reputation.
Up until recently, users could build a free, single-page website, automatically populated with information from the Google Business Profile. In a significant shift, Google will sunset the option for free websites through Google Business Profile. This announcement has left many business owners and entrepreneurs scrambling to understand the implications and make the necessary adjustments.
If you created a website via your Google Business Profile, you can still continue to edit the site, however the creation of new websites is no longer available.
Key Dates & What You Need to Know About Them
Come March 2024, existing websites created with Google Business Profiles will no longer be live. Visitors attempting to access these websites will be automatically redirected to the associated Business Profile instead. However, these website redirects, will only remain active until 10 June 2024.
Learn more about the websites made with Google Business Profiles being turned off.
The transition requires careful planning as visitors will potentially interact with your Business Profile instead of a dedicated website. Now would be the ideal time to optimise your profile with vital information about your business. Add posts and social media links so customers can learn more about your products or services. Next, will be designing and building a new website.
Start the process of building a new website
In light of these impending changes, it’s crucial for businesses to adapt swiftly. To safeguard your visibility and maintain a professional image, consider investing in a new, fully optimised website. One of the most popular ways to build a website is to use a site builder such as Wix, Squarespace, Shopify, or WordPress.
Did you purchase a custom a domain name? You can transfer it to the web host or site builder of choice or choose to buy a new one.
The team at Berry Creative Co. understand the challenges posed by this transition and are ready to help you get your new website up and running by March.
Get in touch with us today, and let’s ensure your online presence continues to thrive in this evolving digital landscape.