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Google To Shut Down Google Business Profile Websites
Feb 23, 2024
- News
- Daniel Trick
On March 1st, 2024, Google will shut down every website created with a Google Business Profile, a move that will impact millions of small, locally-owned businesses. With at least 125,000 businesses affected in the U.S., the estimated cost to replace these websites like-for-like exceeds $6,000,000*.
We’ve gathered a list of all the impacted businesses in the U.S. and looked at the breakdown of at-risk websites by state and industry.
What Is A Google Business Profile Website?
A Google Business Profile website is a one-page site that’s automatically filled with information from a business’s Google Profile. It displays opening hours, directions, reviews, and services, offering a few minor customizations.
Impacted Websites By Area
Here are the key state findings:
- The most populated states, Texas, California, Florida, and New York have the largest number of websites that will be taken offline.
- Florida, Texas, Georgia, and New Jersey are the most disproportionately affected states, with higher percentages of at-risk businesses compared to their population sizes.
- Florida, in particular, is significantly overrepresented. The state accounts for around 7% of the population but 10% of the affected websites.
Impacted Websites By Industry
Next, we categorized the businesses and looked at which industries will be most impacted. For each industry, we’ve pulled out the most significantly affected sectors.
Industries
Industry | No. Of Websites | % Of Websites |
Service Providers | 17839 | 14.3% |
Stores / Shops | 13900 | 11.2% |
Tradesmen | 12651 | 10.2% |
Food | 10290 | 8.3% |
Health And Wellness | 10078 | 8.1% |
Beauty | 9551 | 7.7% |
Professional Services | 8695 | 7.0% |
Car / Auto | 7974 | 6.4% |
Real Estate | 4972 | 4.0% |
Supplier / Manufacturer / Wholesaler | 2418 | 1.9% |
Uncategorized | 26226 | 21.0% |
Sectors
Industry | Business Sector | No. Of Websites | % Of Websites |
Stores / Shops | Other Stores / Shops | 10996 | 8.8% |
Car / Auto | Car / Auto | 7974 | 6.4% |
Service Providers | Other Service Providers | 7016 | 5.6% |
Food | Restaurants | 6741 | 5.4% |
Tradesmen | Other Tradesmen | 5707 | 4.6% |
Professional Services | Other Professional Services | 5641 | 4.5% |
Beauty | Nail And Hair Salons | 5175 | 4.2% |
Real Estate | Real Estate | 4972 | 4.0% |
Health and wellness | Other Health And Wellness | 4887 | 3.9% |
Service Providers | Cleaning Services | 3042 | 2.4% |
Beauty | Other Beauty | 2986 | 2.4% |
Service Providers | Repair Services | 2896 | 2.3% |
Tradesmen | Construction Services | 2889 | 2.3% |
Health and wellness | Massage Services | 2592 | 2.1% |
Supplier / manufacturer / wholesaler | Supplier / Manufacturer / Wholesaler | 2418 | 1.9% |
Tradesmen | Garden Maintenance Services | 2155 | 1.7% |
Stores / Shops | Tobacco / Vape / Liquor Stores | 2068 | 1.7% |
Tradesmen | Plumbers / Electricians / HVAC | 1900 | 1.5% |
Food | Other Food | 1750 | 1.4% |
Beauty | Barbers | 1390 | 1.1% |
Health and wellness | Dentists | 1366 | 1.1% |
Health and wellness | Spas | 1233 | 1.0% |
Service Providers | Photographers | 1181 | 0.9% |
Service Providers | Pet Related Services | 1087 | 0.9% |
Professional Services | Lawyers And Attorneys | 1086 | 0.9% |
Professional Services | Insurance Professionals | 1039 | 0.8% |
Food | Cafes | 996 | 0.8% |
Service Providers | Rental Services | 930 | 0.7% |
Professional Services | Tax And Accounting | 929 | 0.7% |
Service Providers | Transport Services | 844 | 0.7% |
Service Providers | Caring Services | 843 | 0.7% |
Stores / Shops | Clothing Store | 836 | 0.7% |
Food | Bakeries / Dessert Shops | 803 | 0.6% |
Uncategorized | Uncategorized | 26226 | 21.0% |
Key Industry Findings
- While every industry will see some impact, small shops, service providers (e.g., cleaners), car/auto-based businesses, restaurants, tradesmen, and beauty salons are particularly hard hit.
- Tradesmen make up more than 10% of the total affected businesses, while the beauty sector accounts for nearly 8%. Car-related businesses account for around 6% of the total, and restaurants represent 5%.
- Within the food industry, Mexican outlets stand out as being disproportionately affected, with over 1000 websites facing imminent closure.
- Real estate will also see nearly 5000 websites disappear, while over 3000 cleaning services will lose their website.
Want access to a full breakdown of the businesses affected by the Google Business Profile Website shutdown? Contact us at support@fatjoe.com and we’ll send it over.
Sources And Methodology
Website data was obtained by scraping Google to find all U.S. businesses with a “.business.site” domain. This was achieved by systematically appending each “STATE + ZIP” code to a “site:*.business.site” search query.”
We then collated the data and categorized the businesses according to their Google Business Profile ‘Business Type’. If the business didn’t have a ‘Business Type’, we used the business description to categorize them.
*The estimated cost figure was worked out as follows: If every affected business in the U.S created a new website with the market leader Wix, it would cost a total of $6,728,076 over a year. This figure is based on 124,594 websites signing up to Wix’s basic plan at $4.50 a month for 12 months.
Fair Use Statement
You’re welcome to share these findings, but please ensure you provide a link back to this page so readers can access the additional insights provided here.
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