Small business · November 4, 2026 · 6 min

Website, Google profile or Instagram: where should a small business in Morocco start?

By Abdellah El Ghazi, founder of TeamElGhazi (websites, automation and training in Casablanca)

Short answer: start with a free Google Business Profile, because it is what appears when a customer searches for your trade nearby, and link it to a WhatsApp number that answers and an Instagram account showing your real work. Add a website as soon as you want to show prices, explain each service in detail and receive quote requests on an address you own.

“Do I really need a website if I already have an Instagram page?” Owners of shops, small firms and training centres ask us this almost every week, and foreign founders setting up in Morocco ask it too. It makes sense: Instagram is free, everyone is on it, and a website costs money. But it is the wrong question. These tools do different jobs, and the order you set them up in matters more than picking one over the other.

The better question: the 10-second test

Grab your phone and act like a customer who has never heard of you. Type your trade and your neighbourhood, for example “plumber Maarif” or “English lessons Hay Riad”. Start a timer. Within 10 seconds, can that customer find:

1. your address or service area, with directions;
2. a one-tap way to contact you: WhatsApp, a call, a short form;
3. a rough idea of your prices, or at least of exactly what you offer?

Three yeses: your online presence already covers the basics. Any no points to the missing tool. Let this test, not the latest trend, decide where your first dirham goes.

What each tool is good at (and what it isn't)

The order we recommend

1. A Google Business Profile, this week

When someone looks for a service nearby, Google often shows a map with a handful of businesses above the regular results. To be in it you need a verified Google Business Profile: exact name, address, real opening hours, category, photos, and a WhatsApp or website link. It is free. What keeps it alive is reviews from genuine customers and your replies to them. Just ask happy customers to leave a few words; never write or buy reviews.

2. WhatsApp and Instagram, to reply and to show

In Morocco, many customers would rather send a WhatsApp message than call. A WhatsApp Business account with a greeting, your hours and a small catalogue keeps you from losing people who message in the evening. Instagram is your shop window: photos of real projects, before-and-afters, a short clip of your workshop. Put links to both on your Google profile.

3. A website, when you need to convince and rank for specific searches

A website becomes necessary as soon as customers compare before they buy: they want your prices, lead times, terms and examples. One page per service also lets you appear for specific searches (“e-commerce website Casablanca”, “online Python course in French”), which an Instagram page rarely does. And more and more people now ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity for recommendations; these assistants mostly read clear web pages with written answers. A well-written site gives you a chance to be the one they quote.

Why not put everything on Instagram?

• You don't really own the account. If it is hacked or suspended, or the algorithm changes, your shop window disappears overnight. A domain name registered in your name stays yours.
• Google barely reads Instagram. Your posts are rarely shown when someone searches for your service on Google.
• Information is hard to find. A customer who wants your prices has to scroll through dozens of photos, or message you and wait.

That doesn't make Instagram useless. For visual trades it is often the best way to make people want what you do. It simply needs to send them somewhere they can act: your WhatsApp or a page on your site.

What budget to plan

Steps 1 and 2 cost only your time. For step 3, our web development projects start at 2,500 MAD, plus a yearly domain and hosting fee. Our guide How much does a website cost in Morocco? explains what drives a quote and what to ask before you sign. To speed things up later with Meta or Google ads, local SEO and email, our digital marketing service starts at 3,000 MAD. If you would rather hand over your whole online presence (branding, content, reputation monitoring), the full digital presence plan is 2,000 MAD a month with a 3-month minimum.

Prefer to learn to do it yourself? Our Operational Marketing and Graphic Design course (4 months, hybrid, 3,800 MAD) covers SEO, Meta and Google ad campaigns, visuals and short videos.

Three common mistakes

1. Paying for a website before setting up a Google profile. The site exists, but nobody nearby finds it.
2. Different details everywhere. One number on Instagram, another on Google, an old address on the site: both Google and customers lose trust. Keep the same name, address and phone number everywhere.
3. A website with no contact button. A visible WhatsApp link and a short form beat fancy animations every time.

The bottom line

Website or Instagram? Both, but neither comes first. Start with your Google profile, link WhatsApp and Instagram to it, then add a website when customers need to compare and you want to rank for specific searches. Rerun the 10-second test once a month. For advice on your own case, request a quote or reach us through the contact page. Our office is at 26 rue Nahas Nahoui, Maarif (Casablanca), and web projects can also be run remotely. See also our AI agency in Morocco page for automated replies.

Frequently asked questions