Google Business Profile posts help the customer already on your listing decide to call, but Google never names them as a ranking factor. You're good at what you do but need help getting found online, so start with Google Business Profile optimization. Below are the three post types, what to write for each, and the rules that get posts rejected.
Do Google Business Profile posts help your ranking?
Not as a lever Google names. Google's local ranking help says results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence, and it never mentions posts. Google's posts help page says posts help customers "decide to visit your business."
That fits a pattern I see in owners' stories. One small business owner, quoted by Beambox, said, "I searched my business on Google, and nothing showed up." If that's you, posts won't fix it. Start with categories, reviews and a complete profile, using my Map Pack ranking factors guide and the Business Profile optimization checklist.
Posts do their work after someone finds you. A searcher comparing you with the business next door sees your latest photo, offer or hours, and that can tip the call. I don't call posts useless, because a profile with recent activity reads as a business that is open and answering.
What are Google posts, and where do people see them?
A Google post is a short update on your Business Profile, and Google offers three types. Per Google's help page on creating posts, updates share info about your business, offers provide promotional sales, and events promote an event at your business. A post can show text, photos or videos.
On mobile, posts appear in the Updates or Overview tab of your profile in Search and Maps. On a computer, they sit in the "From the owner" section. Google's help page doesn't give a view count or a ranking effect, so judge posts by what a customer does next.
What to put in Google posts: one for each buyer question
Do you do this job?
Post a finished job as an update. Name the service and the area, add one real photo, and use a Learn more button that goes to the matching service page.
What does it cost?
Post a real price range for one common job as an update. If you can't give a range, say what changes the price and offer a Call now button.
How soon can you come?
Post open slots this week as an update. A plumber might write that two same-week visits are open, with a Book button. Delete or replace it when the slots fill.
Is there a deal?
Post an offer with a start and end date. Google adds a "View Offer" button, and a coupon code works if you honor it at the door.
Are you still open?
Post holiday hours and seasonal changes as an update, or as an event with dates. An old holiday notice tells a customer you may be closed.
Do you stand behind the work?
Post a short note on how you handle a callback or warranty visit, with a photo of the crew. Only state terms you really honor.
How do you write GBP posts that get a call?
Answer the question in the first line, and add a button. Google says offers get a "View Offer" button and update buttons should send people to a site where they can finish the action. Here is my routine, one minute a step.
- Lead with the answer: the service, the area and the one fact the buyer wants.
- Add a real photo of your own work, not a stock image.
- Pick one call to action button: Call now, Book, Learn more or View Offer.
- Keep the text free of phone numbers and email addresses, and let the button carry them.
- Read it as a stranger would, then publish.
Which Google posts rules get a post rejected or archived?
Google reviews every post, and its help page on managing posts shows each post's status. These are the rules, each with its Google source:
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Skip phone numbers in the text. Google says a number might get a post rejected if it can't verify it as yours, so use the Call now button.
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Skip email addresses and social handles too. Google's content policy says it may remove posts with unverified contact information.
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Skip links to unrelated sites. The Maps contribution policy bars merchants from linking other websites unless they relate to the business.
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Promotions are fine. The same policy says offers and updates that may read as promotional are otherwise permitted.
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Set dates on offers and events. Posts older than 6 months are archived unless a date range is set.
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Check the post status. Not approved means the post doesn't show on Search or Maps, and Pending can mean the post is processing or your profile is unverified.
How often should you publish Google posts?
Google's posts help gives no posting schedule, so be wary of anyone who gives you a fixed schedule as a rule. "Once a week" is common vendor advice, and it's a guess. I'd rather see a post whenever you have something true to say, such as a finished job, a changed hour or a new offer.
A post you can keep up beats a burst you abandon. Because posts older than 6 months are archived unless dated, a quiet profile can look empty. If a week has nothing worth saying, skip it.
How do you tell whether your Google Business Profile posts are working?
Judge posts by calls and bookings, not views, because Google's posts help promises no result. A Trustpilot reviewer of a marketing agency complained about "generating 'impressions' and 'clicks', which anyone knows means nothing". Use this routine instead.
- Give each post one button, so you know what a click was meant to do.
- Ask every new caller how they found you, and write the answer down.
- Compare calls and booked jobs in months you post with months you don't.
- If someone posts for you, check that you can see every post, then read my guide to getting more calls from your Google Business Profile.
When should you hand your Google Business Profile to someone else?
Hand it off when posting competes with the work that earns your money, because Google's ranking help shows a profile needs more than posts. Word of mouth works, and you want a more consistent flow of leads without owning one more weekly chore. Posts are one part of a profile that also needs categories, services, photos and reviews.
Choose carefully, keep ownership of your profile, and ask for access you can see. A Trustpilot reviewer of a marketing agency wrote this about handing over access.
"Just 3 to 4 days after granting them access to our Google My Business account, our profile was suddenly suspended."
At Spearleaf, my team handles Google Business Profile optimization, and clients own their profile, website and domain.
Let Spearleaf run your Google Business Profile
My team at Spearleaf keeps your profile complete, posts real work to it and reports on booked jobs. You keep ownership of everything.
See Google Business Profile optimization
- Next step: how to optimize your Google Business Profile.
- Start here: Google Map Pack ranking factors.
- Read this: get more calls from your Google Business Profile.