If you have a Google Business Profile but no website, you have two honest choices for the website field: leave it blank, or link a real page that you control and that represents your business. Both are fine. What you cannot do is drop in a link shortener, a social media profile, or a page that redirects visitors somewhere else, because Google's current link rules reject those. A digital business card or hosted mini-website solves this cleanly, because it gives you exactly what the field is asking for: one crawlable URL, with your name, hours, services and a contact method, that you own.
Here is the quick version before the detail:
- You do not need a website to create, verify, or rank a Google Business Profile.
- Leaving the field blank is safe and better than linking the wrong thing.
- Google shut down its own free Business Profile websites in 2024 - if that old business.site URL is still in your field, it is now dead and should be removed.
- A page you control (a mini-website or digital business card) is the strongest thing to link, as long as its details match your profile exactly.
- No URL is a guaranteed ranking boost - treat this as giving customers a real destination, not as an SEO trick.
The short answer: leave it blank or link a page you actually control
The website field on a Google Business Profile is meant to send potential customers to a page that genuinely belongs to your business. If you do not have one, an empty field is perfectly acceptable and will not stop you appearing on Google Maps or in local search.
The moment you do add a URL, though, it has to be a page you control and that represents this specific business. As of its 2025 link-policy updates (in force and worth re-checking, since Google revises these rules), Google prohibits pointing the field at link shorteners, social media pages, or URLs that redirect or "refer" people to a landing page other than the business's own. A single, clean, self-owned page is what wins here - which is precisely the gap a digital business card fills for owners who will never build a full site.
Yes, you can create and verify a profile with no website
Google does not require a website to create, verify, or manage a Business Profile. The website field is optional when you fill in your business information, and you can verify by postcard, phone, or video instead. Service-area businesses can list the zones they cover rather than a public street address.
What you give up without any web presence is a place to send people once they find you. Your profile shows your name, phone, hours and reviews, but a customer who wants your full service list, portfolio, prices, or a way to enquire has nowhere to land. That is the practical reason to put something real in the field, even if it is a one-page card rather than a ten-page website.
What happened to Google's free Business Profile websites
For years Google would auto-generate a simple one-page website from your profile, hosted at a yourbusiness.business.site address. Google retired that feature: the sites were turned off in March 2024, and the temporary redirect that forwarded old visitors to your Business Profile ended on 10 June 2024. After that, those URLs stopped resolving.
If your website field still contains an old business.site link, it now points at an error page - which is worse than an empty field, because a customer who taps it hits a dead end. Remove it and replace it with a working page or nothing. Note that Google Sites (part of Google Workspace) is a separate product and still runs; only the Business-Profile-built sites were discontinued.
Five options for the website field, ranked
Not every link is treated equally. Here is how the realistic options compare, from strongest to weakest for the primary website field (link details verified September 2026; Google's link rules change, so confirm against its current help pages before relying on them).
| Option | What it is | Pros | Cons / risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mini-website / digital business card page | A hosted page you control, with your name, hours, services and contact form on one URL | Meets the "page you control" test; crawlable; can carry booking, gallery and enquiries | Must be kept accurate and match your profile |
| A dedicated booking link | Your own scheduling or appointment page | High intent; Google offers separate booking link fields for many categories | Thin on general business info; better as a secondary link than the main one |
| Leave the field blank | No URL at all | Fully compliant; no dead links; zero maintenance | No destination for customers who want more than the profile shows |
| A social media profile | Your Facebook or Instagram page | Free and already exists | Google's rules disallow social profiles in the primary website field |
| A link shortener or redirect page | A short URL or a hub that forwards elsewhere | Easy to share | Prohibited; redirect/refer links can be automatically removed |
The pattern is clear: the field rewards a real page that is your business, and penalises anything that merely points to one. This is why a general link-in-bio alternative for businesses matters here - a page that is a wall of outbound links to other platforms behaves like a redirect, whereas a proper business page hosts the information itself and satisfies the rule.
What the page you link has to contain to be worth linking
A page qualifies for the website field when it clearly and independently represents your business. At minimum it should carry the business name exactly as it appears on your profile, your service area or address, a phone number, opening hours, the services or products you offer, and at least one direct way to get in touch. If you want the background on what these pages are, our complete guide to digital business cards covers the format in full.
A digital business card built with the FollowMySite digital business card maker covers every one of those elements on a single URL, and adds a lead-capture form, appointment booking, a gallery and a WhatsApp Store on top - so the page you link is a destination, not a placeholder.
The NAP consistency checklist
NAP means Name, Address, Phone. Google and its users trust a business more when those details are identical everywhere they appear. Before you link any page, run it against this checklist:
- The business name on the page matches your Business Profile character for character (no extra keywords or taglines).
- The address or service area matches - same format, same spelling, same suite or unit number.
- The phone number is the same one listed on your profile, in a tappable format.
- Your hours on the page agree with the hours on your profile.
- The URL uses https, loads on a phone in a few seconds, and does not redirect anywhere.
- The page names your location or service area in the text, not only in an image.
Keep this honest: consistent details help customers trust you and reduce confusion, but do not assume any single link guarantees a ranking lift. Treat the field as a service to the customer first.
How to add or update the URL in your Business Profile
Once you have a page ready, adding it takes a minute:
- Sign in to the Google account that manages the profile, then search your business name on Google or open the Google Business Profile dashboard.
- Open your profile's editing controls and choose Edit profile, then the Contact section.
- Find the Website field. If an old business.site link is there, delete it first.
- Paste the full URL including https:// - for example, your digital business card link.
- Save. Google may take a short time to review and publish the change, and some edits are checked before they go live.
- Tap the live link from a phone a day later to confirm it opens the right page with no redirect.
Common mistakes to avoid
Most website-field problems come down to a handful of repeat errors. Linking a Facebook or Instagram page is the most common, and it is now disallowed in the primary field. Adding tracking parameters to the URL can make the link look like a redirect and invite removal. Leaving a dead Google business.site link in place sends customers to an error page. And linking a homepage that never actually names your city or service area weakens the connection between the page and the profile.
If you run a local trade or a personal-service business, a purpose-built page avoids all of these - see how contractors handle it in our guide to a digital business card for contractors, or how appointment-led businesses do it with a digital business card for salons and barbers.
Other free surfaces worth claiming while you are here
Your Google Business Profile is not the only free place your business can exist. While you are sorting out the website field, it is worth claiming a Bing Places listing and an Apple Business Connect profile so you show up in Bing and Apple Maps too. Relevant industry directories are also worth a listing. Each of these has its own website field, and the same page you control can go in all of them - which is another reason a single stable URL beats scattering different links across platforms.
A different question: will my card itself show up in Google search?
Some people searching this actually mean something else: whether their digital business card page appears in Google's normal search results. That is separate from the Business Profile website field. A hosted card page with a unique title and crawlable HTML can be indexed like any web page, and you can point people to it with a scannable code - our walkthrough on how to create a QR code business card covers that side. The website field, by contrast, is about giving your Maps and local listing a destination to link to.
If you have decided you will never build a full website, the cleanest fix is a page that does the website's job in miniature. A FollowMySite card gives you one owned URL - carrying your name, hours, services, photos, a contact form and a business-directory listing - to drop into your Google Business Profile and every other listing that asks for a site. It is a one-time Lifetime plan at Rs 1,450 rather than a monthly bill, which suits owners who want a real online presence without a subscription. (Just remember: a good page serves customers - never claim it as a ranking guarantee.)
Frequently asked questions
Can I have a Google Business Profile without a website?
Yes. Google does not require a website to create, verify, or manage a Business Profile. The website field is optional, and you can verify your listing by postcard, phone, or video instead. You will still appear on Google Maps and in local search. Adding a page you control simply gives customers somewhere to go for more detail.
What should I put in the website field if I don't have a website?
Either leave it blank, which is completely acceptable, or link a real page you control that represents your business, such as a digital business card or mini-website. The page should show your name, hours, services and a contact method that match your profile. Avoid link shorteners, redirects, and social media profiles, which Google's rules disallow.
Can I use my Facebook page as my website on Google?
No. Google's current link policies prohibit using a social media profile in the primary website field - it must point to a page that genuinely belongs to and represents your business. A Facebook or Instagram page does not qualify. If a page you own hosts your business information directly, link that instead, and keep social profiles for the separate social-links section.
Did Google shut down Business Profile websites?
Yes. Google retired the free one-page sites it used to auto-generate from Business Profiles. The sites were turned off in March 2024, and the temporary redirect to your profile ended on 10 June 2024, after which those business.site URLs stopped working. If that link is still in your website field, remove it and replace it with a working page or nothing.
Does adding a website URL help local rankings?
Adding a valid, consistent URL gives customers a real destination and can build trust, but treat it as a service to the visitor rather than a guaranteed ranking lever. No single link reliably moves local rankings on its own. Focus on accurate, matching business details, genuine reviews, and complete profile information, which matter more than the URL alone.
Can I use a link-in-bio page in the website field?
It depends on what the page is. A hub of outbound links that mainly forwards people to other platforms behaves like a redirect and risks removal under Google's rules. A page you control that hosts your own business information - name, hours, services, contact - is fine. In short, link a page that is your business, not one that merely points to it.