Your Google listing's Website button opens Facebook. Does it matter?

Google gives every business listing a Website button. If you don't have a website, the obvious thing to put there is your Facebook page. It's where your photos are, it's where people message you, and it's free. Plenty of good local businesses do exactly that.

How common it is round here

When we checked 42 Teesside businesses rated 4.7 stars or more between 12 and 24 October 2026, 13 of them had a Website button on Google that opened Facebook. These weren't struggling businesses. They were well reviewed, busy, and trusted by their regulars.

In Redcar, two beauty salons rated 5.0 sat 2nd and 4th for 'beauty salon redcar' when we searched between 19 and 21 October, with only 9 and 10 reviews. Both had a Website button that opened Facebook. They had already done the hard part of getting seen. The button is where the next customer goes.

Why it lets you down

For the customer. Someone who taps Website wants your prices, your services and a way to book. A Facebook page asks them to scroll through months of posts, and some won't log in at all. Many just tap back and try the next listing.

For Google. Google uses your website to understand what you do and where you do it. A Facebook page gives it very little it can read and match to a search, so it has less reason to show you for the searches you want.

For AI answers. Tools like ChatGPT and Google's AI answers lean on websites and listings when they pick names to recommend. A Facebook page is easy for them to skip.

What it's costing you

The people who tap that button are the closest thing to a new customer you'll get: they've found you, liked your stars, and want to know more. If what they land on doesn't answer them in a few seconds, they ring someone else. You never see it happen, because they never got in touch.

Worth having done properly

The answer is a simple website that says what you do, where, what it costs and how to book, linked from your Google listing, with your Facebook page kept for your regulars. It doesn't need to be big. It does need to be set up so Google can read it and the details match everywhere.

Jack Thomas, who runs The Teesside Guide, builds exactly this for local businesses as Oakpress Studio, from £295 with the Google set-up included. If you'd like to see where you stand first, he'll do a free Found Check of your business, searched from your own town.