Google Business Profile websites shut down: what to do now
The free site Google built from your profile is gone. The profile is not. Here is what Google published, and what to do next.
For a while, Google would generate a simple website from a Business Profile. The address often ended in business.site or negocio.site, or a domain you owned merely forwarded there. A lot of local businesses used that page as their only site. Google turned the product off. If you still send people to it, they are not seeing a website.
This guide repeats only what Google's own help page says, then explains a practical next step. It does not guess at rankings, traffic loss, or a date beyond the ones Google printed. Our offer, if you need a replacement site, is $0 down and $249/mo hosting, live in less than a week.
What Google's help page says
Google's help article, Websites made with Google Business Profiles are turned off, says that as of 5 March 2024 those websites are no longer available. Customers who visited them were redirected to the Business Profile, and that redirect lasted only until 10 June 2024. After that date, Google says customers get an error that the page is not found. The article says domains ending in business.site and negocio.site were removed from the website field on the profile, and that you should add a new website address.
The same article is explicit about what did not shut down. If you never had one of these sites, the change does not apply to you. Other than the website product, Business Profiles are not affected. Google still expects the profile itself: it tells owners the profile is where customers see contact options, photos, updates, and links.
Ads and custom domains, still from that page
Google says that starting 5 March 2024, ads linked to a website made with a Business Profile may be disapproved and stop running, because the address shown on the ad and the address people land on no longer match. The article points owners to Google's ads destination rules, and it says you can also pause the campaigns. This guide does not restate ad policy beyond that.
If a custom domain only forwarded to the Google-made site, Google says visitors were redirected to the Business Profile, and that this redirect worked only until 10 June 2024. The fix they describe is at your domain host: set the domain to forward to a different website. That date has passed. If the domain still points at the old destination, it is not serving a site.
What to do now
These steps follow the help page. They are not a ranking plan.
- Check whether you ever had one of these sites
Look for an address ending in business.site or negocio.site, or a domain that only forwarded to one.
- If you already have a real website, put that address on the profile
Google's article says to update the Business Profile with the new website address.
- If you do not have a site, get one you control
Google lists several builders as options. A builder is one path. A studio is another. The profile is not a replacement website.
- Point a custom domain at the new site
Do that at the company where the domain is registered, which is what Google tells owners to do.
- Look at ads that used the old address
Google says those ads may be disapproved. Update the destination or pause them.
- Leave the profile in place
Google says the profile itself is not what was turned off. Keep the hours, the category, and the photos current.
A new site, if you need one from us
Google's article names builders, including Wix, Squarespace, and GoDaddy, as ways to create a replacement. Those are real options if you will build it. Dated comparisons are here: Wix, Squarespace, and GoDaddy. We do not claim Google prefers one of them.
If you want it done, you pay $0 down and $249/mo hosting. 12-month ownership terms: 12 months of hosting at $249/mo, then month to month. Leave earlier and the remaining hosting or a buyout of the build is due. The site is fully custom and fully turnkey: we write, design, build, launch, and host it, live in less than a week. Google Business Profile setup is included, which means the profile points at the new site and matches it. The team is 100% US-based, made in the USA, in Yardley, PA. We reply within one business day.
What we will not claim
We will not say your profile dropped in Maps because the old site shut down. Google's article does not say that. We will not invent how many businesses were affected. We will not promise that a new site restores a rank, a call volume, or a revenue number.
The useful fact is narrower. The generated website is gone. The profile remains. A website you control is how you publish services, towns, and a next step that the profile's short description cannot hold. How that build is priced is in the cost guide. How the week goes is in how a no-upfront site works.
Questions we get asked
Did Google shut down Business Profiles?
No. Google's help page says the websites made from Business Profiles were turned off. It says the profiles themselves are not affected.
When did those websites stop working?
Google says they were no longer available as of 5 March 2024. Visits were redirected to the profile until 10 June 2024, and after that the old address returns an error.
What happened to business.site addresses?
Google says domains ending in business.site and negocio.site were removed from the website field on the profile. Add a new website address if you have one.
I never used that free website. Do I need to do anything?
Google says if you do not have a website made with a Business Profile, the changes in that article do not affect you.
Can Artol replace it?
Yes. The offer is $0 down and $249/mo hosting, live in less than a week, including Google Business Profile setup so the profile links to the new site.
