Posts on your Google Business Profile are an additional way to encourage customer interaction directly within search results. They work similarly to mini blog entries or social media updates. Business card that regularly share updates receive more clicks and engagement than inactive ones. This is because the American tech giant gives better visibility to profiles that consistently publish fresh content. So, how do you create effective posts? Follow our step-by-step guide!
Posts on a Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business posts) are short updates (to 1,500 characters) about your business, offers, or events. They can include text, an image, a video, and a call-to-action (CTA). Google automatically formats them as cards with rounded corners. These posts are visible to users in the following places:
There are several types of posts you can create: offers, updates, and events. These are always available, regardless of the business category selected in your Google Profile.
If you don’t specify exact dates, your posts will remain visible on your business profile for 6 months before being archived. However, all posts remain accessible and can still be viewed after clicking through to your full profile.
Posts allow you to communicate directly with customers. You can keep them informed about news, promotions, and upcoming events. People browsing your Google Business Profile will immediately see the latest offers, changes to business hours, announcements about openings or closures, renovations – anything happening at your business. What’s more, your profile is likely to be shown to more potential customers, since regular activity is one of the ranking factors for Business Profiles in Google search.
Google displays business cards that take care to add content systematically higher in the search results, and posts are a signal to the search engine that the company is providing up-to-date information. In addition, Profiles enriched with posts encourage users to read and perform an action (such as dialing a phone number or going to a page), so they generate more interaction. Posts with CTA buttons (e.g., Call, Learn More) increase the chances of conversion. It’s worth inserting them regularly, as still few companies periodically publish posts on their Google profiles. This can be your way to stand out from the competition.
To add a post to your Google Business Profile, follow these steps:
1. Log in to your Google Business Profile and select the appropriate location.
2. Click on Add update in the menu.
3. Choose Add update, Add an offer, or Add an event. Each option provides slightly different fields depending on the post type.
4. Enter the content of your post, add an image or video, and optionally a CTA button.
For Offers and Events, also include a title, start and end dates, and other optional details.
5. Before publishing, preview your post. If everything looks good, click Entry.
Your post should be immediately visible on your Google Business Profile, unless the American giant deems that it may in some way violate the rules. Then you will see a status of Pending or Unapproved in the panel in the posts section.
Google reserves the right to review whether a post complies with its guidelines, which is why posts can have one of three statuses. You can check them in the posts section of your Business Profile.
You can simplify the process of publishing posts on your Google Business Profiles by using the growAp application for managing business listings.
With growAp, you can:
These are just an example of the functionality of our application, which will work especially if you operate in the network and have many maps. Sound interesting? Feel free to test the application for free: https://growap.eu/en/test-it-for-free/
Google has established clear guidelines for creating Business Profile posts:
Special restrictions apply to posts on hotel Profiles. You cannot create “offer” posts or posts that mention or contain links to promotions, special offers or discounts on them.
The best Company Profile posts are short (450-600 characters) because users rarely read long posts in search results. This is not the place for elaborations, but concise information.
Posts with images have a higher click-through rate, so always include a photo. Use clear visuals related to your business, such as product shots, photos of your team, or your location. Short videos can generate even more engagement. Make sure the first frame is visually appealing, as videos don’t autoplay. Users must choose to click and watch. From the manager level you can add several photos to a single post, but if you use the API and tools like growAp it is no longer possible – you will add one photo to a single post.
When writing a post, don’t skip the optional field with a call to action. It’s worth using it because it encourages the user to perform an action, such as going to your site. And to increase engagement, mix different types of posts (Updates, Offers and Events) and publish regularly (at least once a week).
Before you start posting on Google My Business, think about what could potentially interest your customers. These will be mainly seasonal promotions, but not only!
Posts on your Google Business Profile help you reach customers with updates and other important information about your business. Posting regularly improves your local SEO and supports ongoing communication with users. You can choose from three types of posts: Offers, Updates, and Events. All are visible on your business profile in Google Search and Maps. Effective posts are short, include 1–2 emojis, use natural keywords, feature a relevant image, and contain a clear call to action (CTA).
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