Google Drops Free Business Profile Websites: What Now for Small Businesses?

Google recently announced that it will drop down all Free Business Profile Websites created through its Business Profile platform starting in March 2024. This has left millions of small business owners, who took advantage of the free website builder tool under Business Profile, in confusion and concern.

Since its launch as Google My Business and the subsequent rebranding to Google Business Profile, the free platform has been a blessing for small businesses to create an online presence. The most beneficial feature was the ability to create a one-page website to showcase necessary business information. As per Google’s estimates, over 150 million business profiles have been created globally. Even if we assume just 10% of them made use of the website builder, that still leaves 15 million basic websites that will go offline.

For small outfits working on tight budgets, this free tool acted as an online brochure for their products/services and contact information. It enabled customization with branding colors, fonts, layouts, and more. The promise of increased discoverability on Google Search and Maps was an added advantage. While not full-fledged, it did serve the purpose of thousands of mom-and-pop stores, local retail outlets, entrepreneurs, and service providers.

is my google business shutting down ?
Google announcement screenshot

ALTERNATIVES TO THIS PROBLEM:

With this exit, small business owners need to explore alternatives to retain their web presence urgently:

  1. Evaluate If You Still Need a Website:

Review if you truly require a website or if just maintaining it would suffice to share essential information like address, contact details, and operating hours.

      2. Shift to Other Website Builders:

If you wish to retain a website, shift your content to free website builders like Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress.com. They offer free single-page websites with limited space and features. But porting existing content and refining it would still be easier than starting anew.

       3. Upgrade to Paid Web Hosting Services:

For more customization flexibility and scaling needs in the future, opting for paid web hosting providers like Bluehost, Hostinger, GoDaddy and HostGator may be suitable. They charge a small monthly fee but offer domain name, hosting space, theme templates, and integration with Business Profile data.

        4. Migrate to Google Workspace Subscription:

Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite) provides professional business email, and cloud storage along with the option to create websites through Google Sites. It starts at $6 per month and if you have multiple email/tool needs for your business, it may serve as an efficient option.

 CONCLUSION:

In conclusion, small businesses must utilize the one month they still have before the March cutoff to evaluate alternatives and shift their free websites created under Business Profile to avoid disappearing altogether from the internet world. While Google’s decision is disappointing, luckily multiple web hosting providers offer easy tools these days to retain online presence at reasonable costs.

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