The Inside Track On Google Posts And When To Use Them

Google Posts are a great marketing tool for websites to increase traffic, boost sales and engage with their target audience.   The only prerequisite is a Google My Business (GMB) listing – which is an absolute must anyway for businesses that want to show up on Google search and Google Maps.

When used to their full advantage, Google Posts help put your business information right in front of customers and potential customers before they’ve even reached your actual website, either through snippets of your Google post on the Google Maps section (see below) or on the front page of Google when someone is searching for the business name. Google Posts are especially prominent on mobiles and they’re free – which is a great plus in anyone’s language!

Among many things, Google Posts can:

• Highlight seasonal offers
• Advertise flash sales
• Launch new products
• Highlight special promotions
• Provide an emergency update
• Promote new arrivals
• Advertise a new store opening
• Showcase top products
• Highlight a positive review or testimonial

What’s not to love?

It’s important that online marketers keep a close eye on their Google Posts to ensure that they remain relevant and current.  Consumers can become irritated and consequently disengaged by information that’s outdated or incorrect, so it’s vital that the posts are updated regularly with fresh and accurate content.

When preparing your Posts, you should always make the most of the available space and put the most compelling content in the first 100 characters as that’s what is displayed on the GMB listing.  You want to capture the user’s attention at first glance and draw them in so that they click to discover more information.

Google Posts are generally visible for seven days unless a specific date range is specified.

About Google Posts and When to Use Them

This article unpacks the four types of Google Posts and how best to use them.

1. Covid-19 Update

Google introduced a special Covid-19 update post in March 2020 which has an extended 28-day lifetime.  It is more conspicuous that the other types of Google Post and is prominently positioned in the Business Profile.  It includes a text field and standard call-to-action (CTA) options but you can’t add any image to this type of post.   A Covid-19 post is highly recommended for any business whose audience would need or benefit from information about how the organisation is responding to the pandemic (eg social distancing practices, changed opening hours, additional cleaning regimes, takeaway food offers etc).

2. Offer Posts

An offer post appears on a Google My Business listing on desktop and mobile as well as on the Google Maps app.  These posts allow you to promote any specials that your business is currently offering and even makes provision for an exclusive GMB offer.

The title can be up to 58 characters long and you can add up to 10 images or videos (maximum upload size is 100mb) or a GIF to make the offer even more compelling.  The post (which can be a max of 1500 characters) will appear for the duration of the promotion – you just need to remember to put in the timeframe for the offer (start and end dates).  Adding a CTA such a voucher code or link to redeem the special offer will make it even more enticing and exclusive.  Remember that your CTA must be linked to the most appropriate landing page for your post.

3. Event Posts

As with a standard Offer post, an Event post title is limited to 58 characters and the body to 1500 characters.  These posts have to do with special events so you should use them for things like a new store opening, a book signing function, open day or an event or charity that your business supports.   You need a title, the event information including its timing and duration and ideally a photo, video and CTA button (eg ‘book now’)

4. What’s New Posts

These are like traditional social media posts providing an update on what’s happening in the business eg. news, blog posts, new products, additions to the team, special deals etc.   They can also be used to showcase a new customer review or testimonial. These posts can also include a photo or link to a video, a CTA button (such as ‘order online’, ‘learn more’, ‘book’ etc).

Each type of Google Post offers value to a business and can help attract attention to listings and make your branded search results stand out.   They help you promote your brand, your services, your products, events and special offers – and are an excellent way of showing off what your business has to offer and setting yourself apart from your competitors.  So go on, get posting!

You might also be interested in “Why You Should Be Using Google Posts” and “Best Practices for Google My Business”

If you’d like to discover just how easy it is to do your own SEO, have a look at The SEO School online SEO course.  This modular step-by-step DIY course helps small businesses who want to get found online using Google. Find out more about The SEO School here.

Karen Dauncey

Karen Dauncey has been working in SEO since 2003. She specialises in helping businesses get found online through Google using Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) She is the founder and creator of The SEO School an online SEO Course to help teach business owners how to do their own SEO. She regularly delivers educational programs for both Local, State and Federal Government and is an advisor for the ASBAS Digital Solutions Program. Karen’s passion and commitment to help small business owners get found online is the driving force behind her online school, making SEO advice accessible to all with free resources and online courses.

Karen's wealth of SEO knowledge and practical digital marketing experience comes from running her own SEO and Google Ads agency, Blue Cherry Online Marketing since 2008. Karen has optimised over 1000 websites, managed millions of dollars' worth of spend on Google Ads and has a solid understanding of the constantly shifting industry of digital marketing and SEO. This gives her a unique advantage when it comes to being able to recommend the right online marketing strategies for your business.

Karen has attended search engine conferences in London, Stockholm, Adelaide and Sydney, and was also invited to attend a pilot Business Coaching Course at Google’s Head Office. She has a Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing in the UK.

She is also the co-owner of the Digital Experts Directory, an online directory for female serviced-based businesses to promote their business (with a great backlink for SEO).

To keep up to date with the latest in SEO, join her Facebook group The SEO School Community or follow her on Facebook or LinkedIn.