Google has announced plans to close down basic websites made with Google Business Profiles in March, leaving customers with nowhere else to go but your Google Business Profile - unless you take action.
The change affects websites ending in business.site and negocio.site, and from March 2024, Google will automatically redirect customers from those sites to your Google Business Profile.
This temporary fix will be in place until June 10, 2024, giving business owners less than six months to update their online presence.
Google Business Profiles websites shutting down
In an announcement, Google said: “In March 2024, websites made with Google Business Profiles will be turned off and customers visiting your site will be redirected to your Business Profile instead… We recommend that you update your Google Business Profile to point to a new website.”
After June 10, customers will see a “page not found” error when attempting to visit your Business Profile website, which by then will have been killed off for around three months.
Google continued: “If you’d like to continue having a website for your business, consider creating a new website using other tools and updating your Business Profile with the new website address.”
Besides the obvious changes, Google also highlighted some behind-the-scenes admin that business owners should do, including managing Ads campaigns connected to the website and managing third-party domains.
More broadly, a Google Business Profile is a place to share updates and links to websites and social media platforms, as well as photos and contact details.
Interestingly, in Google’s suggestion of six website builders, Squarespace came in second place behind Wix. GoDaddy, Google Sites, Shopify, and WordPress were also included.
Google sold its Domains business to Squarespace in 2023, and has been redirecting Google Domains customers to Squarespace ever since.
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