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Google Business Profile posts are surprisingly effective – yet they’re also surprisingly underutilised and underrated.
Whilst most businesses claim their Google Business Profiles – that’s often where it ends. The real value lies in optimising your GBP profile, and part of this includes uploading regular GBP posts which will enhance the visibility of your business when it appears on Google Maps, especially when Google choose a snippet of text from your Google Post, and this appears within your Google Maps result, giving your business extra prominence.
Not taking advantage of your GBP profile is like ignoring a free cake that’s delivered to your door every week. And according to some research done by Moz, over 40% of businesses that they surveyed had NEVER created a post, despite the fact that these posts can enhance your listing on Google Maps!
So let’s look at how you can have your cake – and eat it.
Google Business Profile posts are surprisingly effective, whilst most businesses claim their Google Business Profiles – that’s often where it ends. Adding regular Google Posts is a great way to communicate with your audience directly on the Google Search Results page. posts are a bit like social media posts on Instagram and Facebook. Quick and easy to do and very effective for local SEO optimisation.
When someone searches for your business, these posts feature prominently on the front page of Google and provide valuable information and exposure – without requiring the searcher to make the effort to visit your website! See the blue arrow below!
Virtually anything can be included in these posts from a special offer, new product launch, special event, call to action (eg bookings, online ordering, ‘learn more’ buttons) and business updates (like revised business hours) to customer reviews, photos and videos. You can even include links to blog posts or specific landing pages on your website. It’s all about grabbing the attention of an online searcher and engaging them with fresh, relevant and useful information.
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 Business Profile 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:
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 GBP listing. You want to capture the user’s attention at first glance and draw them in so that they click to discover more information.
An offer post appears on a Google Business Profile 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 GBP 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.
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’)
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!
To create Google Posts, you need to have a verified Google Business Profile listing. Once your listing is verified, you can search for your business on Google and navigate to the “Add update” at the top of the page. From there, you can create and publish your posts.
You might also be interested in “Best Practices for Google Business Profile”
If you would love to stop being the best-kept secret in your industry and want to learn how to get your business found online, join The SEO School SEO Course today. The SEO School is a self-paced comprehensive 8 module course, taking you from zero to hero in your online presence on the front page of Google. Each module of the course has videos, workbooks, worksheets along with templates and spreadsheets to use where relevant. The course is fully supported by a Facebook group where you can ask a question anytime. Find out more about The SEO School here.
How often should I add a Google Post?
Can I add the same content that I use on my other social media profiles?
How can I create Google Posts?
What can I use Google Posts for?
Can I schedule Google Posts in advance?
Can I edit or delete Google Posts?
How do Google Posts appear in search results?
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. This gives her a unique advantage when it comes to being able to recommend the right online marketing strategies for your business. She was recently recognised as an SEO Expert for the popular course creation platform, Kajabi as well as appearing on ABC Radio
for her expert opinion on the ACCC's investigation into search engines.
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.
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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. This gives her a unique advantage when it comes to being able to recommend the right online marketing strategies for your business. She was recently recognised as an SEO Expert for the popular course creation platform, Kajabi as well as appearing on ABC Radio
for her expert opinion on the ACCC's investigation into search engines.
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.
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