Should my Google Business Profile link to my homepage or a service page?
Short answer
It depends on how many locations you have. For a single-location company the homepage is usually the right link, because it covers everything you do. For a multi-location company each profile should link to that location's own page. A single service page only fits a company that mainly sells that service. You can measure the choice.
For a company with one location, the Google Business Profile should usually link to the homepage, and for a company with several locations, each profile should link to that location’s own page. Linking to a single service page is the right choice less often than people expect. There’s a real trade-off behind the decision, and it’s one you can measure instead of argue about.
The trade-off
| Link to | In its favor | Against it |
|---|---|---|
| Homepage | Covers every service the profile lists, and is usually the page other websites link to most | Not specific to one city or one service |
| Location page | Matches the address, phone number and area of that profile | Only works if the page has real substance |
| Service page | A close match for one service | Customers who wanted another service land in the wrong place |
Why the linked page matters
As far as anyone outside Google can observe, Google reads the page a profile points to as part of working out what the business does and where it does it. Google documents this only in general terms, saying that local results draw on information about a business from across the web, so I treat the effect of this one field as something to test and not as a rule.
The other effect is simpler. The linked page is where a customer arrives after tapping the website button on your listing. They should see the phone number and the services without hunting for them, along with the area you cover. Both effects are part of whether your website affects your Google Maps ranking.
Which choice fits which company
A hypothetical HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) company with one shop in Kearny Mesa offers repair, installation and maintenance. Its profile lists all three, so its homepage is the natural match. Pointing the profile at the AC repair page would suit one service and shortchange the other two.
If the same company opened a second staffed location in Oceanside, each profile should link to a page about that location, carrying the same phone number and address as the profile. Both profiles pointing at one homepage gives Google less to tell them apart with. Keeping them distinct is the job of multi-location profiles.
A service page makes sense when nearly all the work is one service and the homepage is about something broader. For a company whose homepage is already about that one service, the question doesn’t arise.
A thin page is the wrong target in every case. A location page that is a paragraph and a map is a worse destination than a strong homepage.
How to measure the choice
- Add tracking parameters to the profile link, so that visits from the listing are labeled in Google Analytics and aren’t mixed in with other traffic from Google. Confirm the tagged address loads the right page.
- Record a rank grid for your main searches, and note the calls and website visits the profile reports.
- Change the link and nothing else on the profile.
- Measure again about two weeks later and compare.
If the position on the grid and the calls are the same or better, keep the change. If they are worse, put the old link back. The grid measurement separates this from guessing, because a ranking checked from your own office can look fine while the edges of your service area have moved.
Other links on the profile
Depending on your category, Google may offer extra link fields, for example for booking an appointment. These fields change, so check what your own profile shows. Where they exist, they are the place for a specific page such as a booking form, which lets the main website link stay on the page that represents the whole location. Use the final, secure address of each page, so the customer isn’t passed through a redirect on the way.