Someone in your city needs exactly the service you offer. They pull out their phone, open Google, and type "barber Aarhus" or "plumber near me." Within a couple of seconds they see three results with star ratings, phone numbers, and a button for directions. That block is Google's "Local Pack," and if you're not in it, for most of those searchers you don't exist.

Plenty of business owners in Denmark have a Google My Business (GMB) profile but no website. Others have a website and never set up a GMB profile. You really need both. They cover for each other, and on its own each one leaves half its job undone.

What Google My Business is, and why ignoring it is a mistake

Google My Business is a free tool for managing how your business shows up on Google Search and Google Maps. Set it up properly and your profile shows your business name, address, and working hours; your phone number and a link to your website; photos of your space and your work; customer reviews and ratings; and your business category.

For most customers this is the first impression they get of you. Before they call, before they open your website, they look at your GMB profile. If it's empty, out of date, or missing entirely, that first impression works against you.

Setup takes about 15 minutes. Verification, usually a postcard sent to your address, takes about a week. After that you have steady visibility in front of people who are searching for exactly what you do.

Why a GMB profile on its own is not enough

A GMB profile handles quick information well: hours, phone number, reviews, directions. But it runs into limits that a website clears.

You can't really tell your story on it. GMB gives you a few sentences for a description. A website gives you the room to show your portfolio, walk through how you work, introduce your team, and build the kind of trust a short profile can't.

You also don't control the platform. Google can change the rules, drop features, or suspend your profile without an explanation. Your website is yours. You're not renting space on someone else's platform.

Targeting specific services is hard too. If you're a carpenter who builds kitchens, wardrobes, and decks, GMB hands you a single category. On a website, each service can get its own page that ranks separately on Google.

And there's no real conversion path. A GMB profile gives you a call button and directions. A website gives you contact forms, work galleries, pricing, testimonials, and clear calls to action that turn a visitor into a customer. That's exactly what we build with our web design and development services.

Why a website on its own is not enough

The other way around has the same problem. A website without a GMB profile skips a huge visibility channel.

The Local Pack runs mobile search. When someone looks up a local service on their phone, Google leads with a map and three results. The organic results sit below that, and most people never scroll past the map. Without a GMB profile, you can't show up in that block at all.

Then there's Maps itself, which for local services is a search engine in its own right. People open Maps directly, not only Google. Without a GMB profile, you're not on Maps.

Reviews also build trust faster than anything else you can do. 20 five-star reviews on Google carry more weight than the prettiest website. People trust other people. And a GMB profile is the only place where Google folds those reviews into your ranking.

How to make the two work together

The payoff comes when your GMB profile and your website pull in the same direction. A few concrete steps.

1. Link GMB to your website

In your GMB settings, add a link to your website. Google reads that link as a relevance signal. If your site has solid content about the services you offer in your city, your GMB profile ranks better for it.

2. Keep the same information everywhere

Your business name, address, and phone number have to match across your GMB profile, your website, Facebook, and anywhere else they appear. Google cross-references this data. If it differs, say "5 King Street" in one place and "King St. 5" in another, you confuse the algorithm and drag your ranking down.

3. Add local keywords to your website

Your site needs natural mentions of your city and your services: "hair salon in Aarhus," "dentist Aarhus," "web design Aarhus." Don't overdo it, because Google spots keyword stuffing. But one line like "We provide web design services for businesses in Aarhus and the surrounding area" goes a long way.

4. Collect reviews on purpose

After a happy customer, ask for a review. You can send them a direct review link that GMB generates for you. 10 reviews beats zero. 30 beats 10. Each new one tells Google you're active and relevant.

5. Add photos regularly

GMB profiles with photos get 42% more requests for directions and 35% more clicks to the website, according to Google's own data. Add photos of your space, your work, and your team. Real ones, not stock.

Local SEO in Denmark right now

Most small business owners in Denmark still aren't doing local SEO on purpose. That's good news for you, because the competition is thin.

In the bigger cities, København, Aarhus, Aalborg, that's starting to shift, with more businesses tuning up their profiles and sites. But in places like Randers, Horsens, Silkeborg, and smaller towns, the field is still wide open.

Set up a GMB profile today, connect it to a good website, start collecting reviews, and you can be the top result in your city for your category inside three months. No paid ads. No big budget. The thing that gets you there is consistency.

The bottom line

Google My Business is free. A website is a one-time investment. Put them together and you get something paid ads can't buy you: trust, a spot in the Local Pack, and a page that turns visitors into customers around the clock.

If you have one but not the other, today is a good day to fix it. If you have neither, start with the GMB profile, 15 minutes of work, then back it up with a professional website.

Need help building a website that works hand-in-hand with your Google profile? Get in touch. At Opus Studio, we build websites optimized for local search from day one. Have a look at our recent projects for ideas.

Google My Business + Website: How Local Businesses Get Found