If you’re a small business owner, you need to take advantage of Google Business Profile. It is a crucial part of your local SEO strategy that will help your company appear on search engines.

In this article, we’ll go over what Google Business Profile posts are, why you should use them, and some tips that will help you get started.

What Are Google Business Profile Posts?

The idea of posts may seem like something more geared toward social media pages, but it is also an important part of your Business Profile.

Posts are essentially a way to share announcements, information about events, and more with your audience. They let you connect with potential and existing customers on Google Maps and in Google search results.

Your Google Business Profile posts can feature videos, photos, and text. They can appear in multiple locations, including:

Directly on a Google Business Profile
In the “From the Owner” section on Maps and in Google search results
In the “Overview” or “Updates” tabs on mobile Maps and in Google search results

Google Business Profile Post Types

You can currently choose from several Google Business Profile post types, including:

COVID-19 posts: These posts give your customers updates about any changes due to COVID-19. This can include changes to your business operations, hours, hygiene practices, or closures.
Events posts: As the name implies, these posts let you promote upcoming events. You will need to give the event a title and include the time and start and end dates. If you don’t include a date or time, the default is for the post to run for 24 hours from the time you post it. Like many other types of Google Business Profile posts, you can include a photo, video, action button, and description.
Offers posts: These posts let you advertise offers and promotional sales. When creating this type of post, you must include a title, a date, and a time range. You can add terms and conditions, descriptions, photos, videos, links, and/or a coupon code.
What’s new posts: Use these posts to share general information about your business. For example, maybe you will use this post type to promote a new product or service. You can add descriptions, action buttons, and a video or a photo.

Keep in mind that if your post type lets you choose a CTA button, the choices are limited. The text can include:

Book
Buy
Call Now
Learn More
Order Online

How Can Google Business Profile Posts Help Businesses?

Your Google Business Profile posts give you another way to interact and share information with current and potential customers. Much like reviews, Google Business Profile posts help your online presence. The following are just some of the ways that these posts can help your business:

Build branding
Boost your sales
Promote events, news, and sales
Improve your SEO (specifically local SEO)
Make it easier to be found online
Give potential clients insight into the customer experience
Improve the customer experience
Give customers timely information
Communicate directly with local customers
Boost engagement via photos and Google Business Profile videos
Provide free marketing (posts are free)

9 Tips for Using Your Google Business Profile Effectively

Now that you have a better idea of what Google Business Profile posts are and why you should use them, how do you do so effectively? For the best results, combine your strategy for your Google Business Profile posts with other Google Business Profile services and features.

Be aware of photo and video requirements

Google has requirements and suggestions for the photos and videos you include in your Google Business Profile posts.

Photos:

Must be JPG or PNG
Must be between 10KB and 5 MB
Must be at least 250 pixels each tall and wide
Are recommended to be at least 720 pixels each tall and wide

Videos:

Can be up to 30 seconds long
Can be up to 75 MB
Must have a resolution of 720p or higher

Keep your posts short and concise

The ideal length for a post is just 80 to 100 words. That being said, Google lets you include up to 300 words.

Understand what order posts will appear in

Make sure that you know what order your Google Business Profile posts will appear in. Google keeps things simple and displays your posts in reverse chronological order based on publishing date. This is true regardless of the dates you put on your event posts.

Consider turning on messaging

You will have the option to turn on messaging on your Google Business Profile. If you do, there will be a “Message” button on all of your posts when they are viewed on mobile devices. If someone uses this button to message you, you will be able to see the post that their message originated from when you view the message.

Know you can share your posts, but you don’t have to

It is worth mentioning that when you make a Google Business Post, you have the option to share it on social media or via email. Assuming you have a website, you are unlikely to take advantage of this; you would likely just share a blog post instead.

If, however, you don’t have a website, the sharing feature can be useful. That being said, every business should have a website in today’s modern world.

Make sure your posts are high quality

As with any other time you showcase your business online, you want to make sure that your posts are high quality. They reflect on your business, so confirm that there are no typos or misspellings.

Remember to check the post status

Before your post gets added to your business listing, Google may review it to ensure it doesn’t violate their content policy. Your post will show one of three statuses:

Live: Your post was approved and will appear on Google Maps and in Google search results.
Pending: Your post is uploading or processing.
Not approved: Your post violates a content policy, so it was not approved. Click on the question mark next to “Not approved” to see why your post was not approved.

Know how to edit or delete posts

Maybe information changes or an event gets canceled, and you need to edit or delete your Google post. Google makes this easy to do.

Log into your business account.
Go to your Business Profile and click “View profile.”
Select “Updates.”
Click on “More” with the three vertical dots.
Select “Edit” or “Delete.”

Take advantage of other Google Business Profile features

Remember not to just rely on posts. Google Business Profiles offer a suite of other tools as well. At the very least, be sure to use Google Business Profile questions and answers and consider using photos and videos as well.

Use Google Business Profile posts to grow your business

Google Business Profile posts give local businesses a free method of sharing important news, offers, and other information with customers. They will appear on Google Maps and in Google search results and offer you yet another way to engage with potential and current clients. Savvy businesses will take full advantage of this free feature.