Websites made with Google Business Profiles will be turned off in March.
Customers attempting to visit your website will then be automatically redirected to your Business Profile until June 10. Beyond this date, visitors will encounter a “page not found” error, Google announced.
Why we care. Businesses wanting to maintain their own website must create a new site using alternative tools, then update their Business Profile with the new site address before the deadline to ensure a smooth transition.
Alternative tools. Google suggested using one of the following platforms to build a new website for your business:
- Wix.
- Squarespace.
- GoDaddy.
- Google Sites.
- Shopify.
- WordPress.
Ad campaign issues. If your Ads campaign is linked to a website from Google Business Profile, either change the link before March 1 to keep your ads running or choose to pause your campaigns.
Third-party domains. If you’ve set up a custom domain to direct traffic to your Google Business Profile website, visitors to this domain will be redirected to your Business Profile until June 10. To manage this transition, log in to your hosting company account and select the “Redirect” option or a similar feature to reroute your third-party domain to a different website before the specified date.
What Google is saying. A Google spokesperson told Search Engine Land:
- “Websites made with Google Business Profiles are basic websites powered by the information on your Business Profile.”
- “Domains that end with business.site and negocio.site will be removed from the website field on your Business Profile in March. We recommend that you update your Google Business Profile to point to a new website.”
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