A Facebook page is useful for sharing completed work and staying visible to existing customers, but it does not replace a website for getting new customers from Google search. A website you own outperforms a Facebook page for local search ranking, AI search visibility, and professional credibility — and unlike a Facebook page, it cannot be restricted, suspended, or changed by a third party.
Full comparison
| Factor | Facebook Page | Your Own Website |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | Free | One-off build cost (AUD $1,500–$5,000) |
| Ongoing cost | Free (paid ads optional) | Hosting (~AUD $10–30/mo) after year 1 |
| You own it | No — Meta can suspend or restrict at any time | Yes — fully yours |
| Google 'near me' ranking | Very limited | Strong — primary ranking factor |
| Suburb-specific search ranking | Not possible | Yes — with location pages |
| AI search (ChatGPT, AI Overviews) | Very limited | Strong — especially with schema markup |
| Professional credibility | Moderate | High — customers expect a website |
| Contact / quote form | Via Messenger (often missed or ignored) | Direct to your email, configurable |
| Sharing past work / photos | Good | Good — and with SEO value |
| Control over design & content | Very limited — Facebook template only | Complete |
| Risk of losing your presence | Real — account restrictions happen | None if you own the domain |
| Local SEO location pages | Not possible | Yes — one per suburb you serve |
| Referral credibility check | Moderate — less convincing than a website | High — majority of customers will Google you |
The real risk of running Facebook-only
Meta (Facebook's parent company) has a documented history of restricting, suspending, or significantly changing access to business pages — often with limited warning and an opaque appeals process. A trade business that has built its entire online presence on a Facebook page is one account restriction away from having no online presence at all.
This is not a theoretical risk. Tradespeople who have had pages removed for ambiguous policy violations — or who have simply been locked out of their account — have found themselves with no digital presence and no quick way to recover it.
A website you own eliminates this risk entirely. The domain is registered in your name. The hosting is in your control. Nobody can take it from you.
The right answer: both, in the right order
A Facebook page and a website serve different purposes and are not in competition with each other. The correct approach for a trade business is to have both — with the website as the foundation and Facebook as a secondary channel for sharing work and keeping past customers engaged.
Priority order: Google Business Profile first (free, highest-leverage), then your website (the owned foundation), then Facebook (useful supplement). Not the other way around.