For years Google offered a free one-page website built straight from your Business Profile. Thousands of small businesses used it as their only web presence. In March 2024 Google shut the feature down, and every site on a business.site address went dark.
The part most owners do not know: the website link on their Google listing was never updated. It still points at the dead page. Customers who tap “Website” on your Maps listing land on an error, and Google notices when people bounce straight back.
Check yours in two minutes
- Search your business name on Google and open the listing.
- Look for the Website button. Tap it.
- If it opens a page that says the site is unavailable, or the address contains
business.site, you have a dead link.
We find this on a surprising share of listings for trades, auto shops, restaurants, and salons. Owners usually assume the site is still up because they have not looked at it in a year.
What to do today
Even before you have a replacement, remove the broken link. In your Business Profile, edit the website field and clear it. A listing with no website is better than a listing with a broken one.
What to do this month
Get a real site on a domain you own. It does not need to be big. A fast five-page site with your services, service area, photos, reviews, and a contact form does more for local search than the old Google page ever did, because you control the content and it can actually rank.
If you want us to check your listing and tell you what we find, book a short call. No pitch if everything looks fine.