The short answer
A roofer needs both, and the profile comes first. A Google Business Profile is free, and it is what Google ranks in its map results. A website gives the profile somewhere to send people and catches searches the map does not answer: on M&M Roofing's site, 71% of Google search clicks from 15 Sep to 12 Oct 2026 landed on pages other than the home page.
- 71%
- of M&M Roofing's Google search clicks landed on pages other than the home page, 15 Sep to 12 Oct 2026
- 38%
- went to nine product reviews, same window
- 29%
- went to the home page, the page its Google profile links to, same window
Google Search Console, M&M Roofing's property, pulled 15 Oct 2026. Search Console counts clicks from Google's results to the website; calls and direction requests made from the profile itself are counted in the profile.
What a Google Business Profile does for a roofer
The profile is the listing with the map pin, the stars, the photos and the call button. Google says creating one and listing your business is free (Google Business Profile).
Google's help page names what sits behind local results: relevance, meaning how well a profile matches the search; distance from the person searching; and prominence, which it says is based on info like how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have (Tips to improve your local ranking on Google). It also says there is no way to pay for a better local ranking.
Most roofers work at the customer's house, and Google's guidelines say a service-area business should hide its address from customers (Guidelines for representing your business on Google).
What a website does that the profile cannot
| Question | Google Business Profile | Website |
|---|---|---|
| What it costs to set up | Free from Google | From $199 a month with us, site build included |
| Where it shows | Google Maps and the map results in Search | Google's ordinary results, and AI answers that cite pages |
| How much you can say | One listing: services, photos, posts and reviews | A page for every service, product or question you want to be found for |
| Who owns it | You, in your own Google account | Your domain is yours; with us, the site build is licensed while you are on a plan |
Google's profile guidelines ask that the website on your profile represent your individual business location (Guidelines). Without a website that field stays empty, and when a supplier, a manufacturer's contractor list or a local news story links to your business, a website is what the link points at.
Where M&M Roofing's search clicks landed
M&M Roofing's Google profile links to the home page of its website. From 15 Sep to 12 Oct 2026, the home page took 29% of the site's Google search clicks. The other 71% landed on pages a profile cannot hold: reviews of tile models and underlayments, roof cost guides for Broward County, a guide to checking a roofer's Florida license and insurance, and service pages.
Searches like "westlake barcelona 900" are answered with pages, and a roofer with only a profile has no page to offer. AI answers lean the same way: on 16 Oct 2026, 7 of the 10 M&M pages Bing Copilot cited most were product reviews, a kind of page no profile can hold. The field note on M&M's reviews and city pages has the full breakdown.
When a profile alone is enough
If every job comes by referral and you only need homeowners to find your number, your reviews and proof that you are real, a complete profile does most of that for free, and you can set it up yourself. Fill in every service, add photos of real jobs, and answer every review.
The day you want to be found for a tile model, a roof cost question or a specific repair, you need pages, and pages need a website.
What it costs to have both
| Option | Monthly cost | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Profile only, done yourself | $0 | Your Google listing, kept up by you |
| Presence | $199 | A 5-page site that loads fast on a phone, your Google listing claimed and filled in with photos, hosting, and a monthly check of whether ChatGPT and Google can find you |
| Growth | $999 | Everything in Presence, up to 25 pages, review requests with every review answered, your name, address and phone made identical everywhere online, and a tracking number |
Neither plan has a build fee, both are month to month, and the profile stays in your own Google account whatever happens. Every price is on the pricing page.
Questions roofers ask about this
Is a Google Business Profile free for a roofer?
Yes. Google says creating a Business Profile and listing your business on Google is free. What costs money is the time to keep it complete and the website it links to.
Should a roofer show an address on the profile?
If customers do not come to your office, Google's guidelines say a service-area business should hide its address from customers.
Who owns the profile if UpGrow sets it up?
You do. We create or claim it in your Google account and work in it as a manager. Remove our access any time and everything stays with you: the reviews, the photos, the history.
Do reviews on the profile help my ranking?
Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking. The Growth plan asks your happy customers for reviews and answers every review you get.
Sources
- Google, Business Profile. Read 16 Oct 2026.
- Google Business Profile Help, Tips to improve your local ranking on Google. Read 16 Oct 2026.
- Google Business Profile Help, Guidelines for representing your business on Google. Read 16 Oct 2026.
- UpGrow Google Business Profile service. What we do in the profile.