Google Listing and Website: One Plan, Not Two
Your Google Business Profile and your website are one plan, not two projects: the listing's job is to earn the click, and the website's job is to answer the questions and win the customer, says Conqueror Capital. Google's own rules now push in that direction, because the listing can't carry time-bound promotions, pricing or direct calls to action.
AT A GLANCE
By Conqueror Capital · Published
The short answer: Plan the listing and the website together. Keep facts such as name, address, phone and hours identical on both, link the listing to the page that matches the location, and put prices, offers and booking on the website, where Google's listing rules don't limit them. Google can even use your website to confirm suggested edits to your listing.
THE MYTH
Many owners treat the Google listing as a box to tick and the website as a separate job for another month, often with different people, different wording and different hours on each. Customers don't see it that way. They find you on Google, check the listing, tap through, and decide. If the two disagree, or the website doesn't answer what the listing made them curious about, the work on both is wasted.
WHAT GOOGLE'S RULES SAY
Google's Maps content policy says that, for merchants, the listing can't contain promotional or commercial content with time-bound promotions, pricing or direct calls-to-action. Offers and updates that may be seen as promotional are permitted in posts.1 Our article on Google's listing content rules covers what to change in each field.
Google's guidelines also tie the two together. They say your business name should reflect your real-world name as used consistently on your storefront, website and stationery, and that you should provide a phone number or website that represents your individual business location.2 And when someone suggests an edit to your profile and you don't respond within 4 days of being notified, Google may publish the update if it is supported by other public information, such as your business website.3 Your website is one of the sources Google checks your listing against.
HOW TO PLAN THEM AS ONE
- One set of facts. Write your name, address, phone, hours and service area once, then copy them to the listing, the website footer and the contact page. Change all three on the same day.
- Match services to pages. Each main service on your listing should have its own page on the website, using the words customers search for.
- Send the click somewhere useful. Link the listing to the page that matches it, and give that page one clear next step: call, book or request a quote.
- Move the selling to the site. Prices, offers, terms and booking belong on the website. Use Google posts to point people to them.
- Measure the handoff. Tag the listing's website link so visits from it show up separately in your analytics. Our guide to tracking where customers come from shows how.
FOR MULTI-LOCATION AND ENTERPRISE BUSINESSES
For a business with several sites, the same idea scales. Give each location its own page on the website with that location's address, phone and hours, and link each listing to its own page instead of the homepage, in line with Google's request for a website that represents the individual location. Keep one master sheet of location facts that both the listing manager and the web team work from, so an hours change reaches every listing and every page together. For larger groups, decide who approves changes and check every location against the sheet each quarter. Our multi-location Business Profile guide and enterprise page cover the wider setup.
FAQ
Should my Google Business Profile and website say the same thing?
The facts should match exactly: name, address, phone, hours and services. Google's guidelines say your name should be used consistently on your storefront, website and stationery.
Can I put prices or offers in my Google listing?
Not in the listing itself. Google's Maps content policy says the listing can't contain time-bound promotions, pricing or direct calls to action. Offers are permitted in posts, and prices can go on your website.
Where should my Google listing link to?
To the website page that matches the listing. For a business with several locations, that is each location's own page, which fits Google's request for a website that represents the individual location.
Does Google use my website to check my listing?
It can. Google says that if you don't respond to a suggested edit within 4 days, it may publish the update if it is supported by other public information, such as your business website.
SOURCES
- Google Maps User Contributed Content Policy, Prohibited and restricted content.
- Google Business Profile Help, Guidelines for representing your business on Google.
- Google Business Profile Help, Edit your Business Profile.
Platforms change often. Check the sources for the current version before acting.
KEEP READING
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