What Facebook pages do well
Facebook is genuinely useful for certain things. Before and after photos of completed jobs get engagement. Local community groups are a real source of referral traffic. Video content — a short clip of a boiler being installed, a reroofing project timelapsed — builds credibility and gets shared.
Facebook also handles quick back-and-forth communication well. Customers can message you, ask questions, check your reviews. It has a messaging function that many people prefer to email. For building a local reputation and staying visible to an existing customer base, Facebook has real value.
The average reach of an organic (unpaid) business page post has been declining for years as Meta prioritises paid content, but active pages still get seen by followers and can spread through shares and tags in local groups.
What Facebook pages don't do
They don't rank for local commercial search terms. Someone searching "emergency plumber Sheffield" at 11pm on Google is not on Facebook. They're using a search engine, and Google doesn't return Facebook pages prominently for commercial service searches.
Facebook pages don't let you appear in the Google Local Pack — the map result with three businesses that appears at the top of local searches. That's the most valuable placement for most local businesses, and it requires a Google Business Profile and a website, not a Facebook page.
You also don't own a Facebook page. You're a tenant on Meta's platform. Their algorithm determines who sees your posts. Their policies determine what you can post. They can restrict or close your page. If your entire online presence is a Facebook page and Meta changes something, you have nothing.
Platform risk: In 2021, Facebook went down for six hours globally. Businesses whose only online presence was Facebook had no way for customers to find or contact them during that time. A website on your own domain doesn't have this vulnerability.
The referral ceiling
Facebook works best when you already have customers who share your content and tag you in recommendations. It amplifies word of mouth. But word of mouth has a ceiling — your existing network can only grow so fast.
Search traffic is different. Someone searching "roofer in Bradford" who finds your website has never heard of you before. They're a net-new customer, outside your existing network. Facebook can't reach them. Only Google can.
Your website is an asset you own
A website on your own domain — yourbusiness.co.uk — is a business asset. It's yours. You decide what's on it, how it's structured, where it's hosted. It can rank on Google and keep generating enquiries for years. If you stop paying for Facebook advertising, your reach drops. If you stop paying for your domain and hosting, your site disappears — but as long as you maintain those two things, no algorithm can reduce your visibility.
The analogy is renting vs owning. A Facebook page is renting space on someone else's platform. A website is owning your own building. Both have value, but they're fundamentally different kinds of assets.
The answer: both have a role
This isn't a binary choice. For a local trade or service business, the right answer is usually:
- Website: the foundation. Ranks on Google, captures search traffic, converts visitors into enquiries. This is your primary owned asset.
- Google Business Profile: puts you on Google Maps and in the Local Pack. Works alongside your website to capture local search traffic.
- Facebook page: social proof, community presence, showing recent work, quick communication. Amplifies referrals and keeps you visible to existing customers.
Facebook doesn't replace a website. But it's worth maintaining as a secondary channel, especially for trades where photos of completed work are the most persuasive marketing you can do.
If you're time-limited and have to choose where to focus, prioritise the website and GBP first. Facebook can come later. The reverse — a thriving Facebook page and no website — means you're invisible to everyone who searches on Google.