In short: the three do not do the same job. Your Google Business Profile puts you on the map when people search for your trade nearby. A Facebook page keeps in touch with people who already know you. A website answers your customers' questions once and for all, and it is the only one of the three you own. For a small business, the recommended order is: Google profile, then website, then social media.
Many small businesses have a Facebook page, some have a Google profile, fewer have a website. The question comes up often: do you need all three, and which one first? This guide compares what each one brings, what it does not do, and how to make them work together.
What does each of the three tools do?
| Google Business Profile | Facebook page | Website | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Its job | Getting found on the map and in the results | Sharing news with your followers | Answering every question before the first contact |
| Who finds you there | Someone searching for your trade nearby | Mostly people who already follow you | People searching on Google, and those you send the link to |
| What you put there | Hours, address, photos, reviews | Posts, photos, messages | Services, prices, hours, frequent questions |
| Who owns the page | Meta | You | |
| Cost | Free | Free | A subscription or hosting |
What is a Google Business Profile for?
Its job: showing up when someone searches for your trade near them, on Google Maps and in the results. It shows your hours, directions, a call button and your reviews. It is often the very first contact between a customer and a small business.
What it does not do: it leaves little room to explain what you do, what it costs and how you work. Its format is set by Google, which changes it when it sees fit. And a customer torn between two nearby listings looks elsewhere for what sets them apart.
Google explains what moves a listing up: relevance, distance and prominence (Google help). To fill it in well, see our guide Local SEO: how a small business shows up on Google.
What is a Facebook page for?
Its job: sharing news, announcing an offer or a closure, showing your work in photos, answering messages from customers who know you. It is a relationship tool, useful for bringing people back.
What it does not do:
- a post disappears fast in the news feed;
- someone who does not know you yet rarely finds you there by searching for your trade;
- stable information (prices, hours, address) gets lost between posts;
- what your followers see depends on the rules of a network that can change them at any time.
Instagram and TikTok work the same way: they keep your followers' attention, they do not replace a page that answers questions.
What is a website for?
Its job: answering, once and for all, the questions every customer asks: what you do, what it costs, where you are, when you are open, how to reach you. It is the page your Google profile points to, the one Google reads to understand your trade, and the one you text a customer who asks for your rates.
What it does not do: a website does not show itself. It needs your Google profile and the links you share to get visitors. And an abandoned website with wrong hours does more harm than no website at all.
What a website costs depending on who builds it, agency, freelancer, editor or generator: How much does a small business website cost?.
Do you need a website if you already have a Facebook page?
Yes, as soon as your customers have questions before reaching out. A Facebook page is a poor answer to "how much is it?", "do you offer this service?" or "are you open Sunday?": the answer may exist, but buried in a post from six months ago. A website gives it at a glance, and Google can show it to someone who does not know you yet.
To go further, our page BeeVitrine vs a Facebook page alone details both approaches, and says when a Facebook page is enough.
In what order should you set them up?
- 1The Google profile first: it is free and it is what puts you on the map.
- 2The website next: it gives your profile a page to show, with your services and prices.
- 3Social media last: it keeps in touch and points to the website for details.
A profile that points to a Facebook page leaves customers hunting for your prices and hours themselves, between two posts.
How do you make them work together?
- The Google profile brings in the person who is searching; its "Website" button sends them to your site.
- The website answers their questions and puts them in touch: a WhatsApp button, a call, a form.
- Facebook and your other social profiles keep in touch with past customers, and point to the website.
All three say the same thing: same name, same address, same number, same hours. That is what lets Google understand it is the same business, and lets customers trust you.
How a website sorts out questions before the conversation, step by step: Why a Facebook page is not enough for a small business.
Which mistakes should you avoid?
- Using the Facebook link instead of a website on your Google profile: customers land on a feed, not on an answer.
- Leaving different hours from one tool to another: customers no longer know which to believe.
- Building a website, then never touching it again: a wrong price or hour loses the customer who relies on it.
- Posting without ever pointing to the website: your followers do not know where to find your prices.
The bottom line
A small business does not have to choose between the three: it sets them up in order, and each does its job. If you could only do one this week, open your Google profile. Then give it a website to show: BeeVitrine builds it from the questions for your industry, free until it goes live. See the industries or build my website.
Frequently asked questions
Can a Facebook page replace a website?
For keeping in touch with customers, yes; for getting found by people who do not know you and answering their questions, rarely. Stable information like prices and hours gets lost between posts, and the page belongs to the network.
Is a Google Business Profile free?
Yes. Creating and maintaining a Google Business Profile is free. Only Google Ads, a separate service, is paid.
Where should a small business start: Google profile, Facebook or website?
With the Google profile, which is free and puts you on the map. Then the website, which gives your profile a page with your services and prices. Then social media, to keep in touch with your customers.
Should I use the same phone number everywhere?
Yes. Your name, address and number should be written the same way on your Google profile, website and social profiles. That helps Google link these pages to the same business, and helps customers reach you the first time.