Did you know that businesses have the opportunity to display promotional listings in the Google Search Results and don’t have to pay a penny for them? Studies have found that only 17% of businesses are using this feature. What is it? Google Posts!

I can hear the question now, what are Google Posts? Google Posts are a new feature that Google rolled out about a year ago for businesses that have a Google My Business listing.

What is Google My Business?

Google My Business is a free tool provided by Google that helps you to:

  • Connect with your customers and give them information about your business
  • Tell your brand story (remember that marketing at the end of the day is always going to be about the story you are telling)

Home page to sign up for Google My Business

Google My Business allows you to list your business name, address, phone number, website address, hours, service area, commonly asked questions, reviews, and posts about topics relating to your business.

What are Google My Business Posts?

Google My Business posts are messages/announcements that can be used to feature what’s new, an offer, an event, or a new product for your business.

Google My Business Post from {A} Haley Boutique

Example of a Google My Business Post.

Each post variation has it’s own fields that are unique to that post type. Posts are promotional in nature and an opportunity to connect with your audience in the Google search results. Here is a breakdown of each of the types:

  • What’s New: This type of Post is good for announcements, updates, and new blog posts.
  • Event: This type of Post is helpful for announcing an event that you’re holding, sponsoring, etc. It’s also a way to get a Post to appear for longer than 7 days (see more below).
  • Offer: If you are running a special promotion or deal, this type of Post is helpful for communicating those specific deal details (offer code, start and end date, terms and conditions, deal page, etc.).
  • Product: If you are advertising a specific product and want to talk about the product, details, and price, you would want to use this type of Post.

How to Write a Google My Business Post

  1. Sign into your Google My Business account (If you need to claim your Google My Business profile, learn how here)
  2. If you have more than one location, select the business you’d like to create the post for.
  3. Either select “Posts” from the menu on the left, or “Create Post” from the menu at the top.
  4. Choose your Post type (What’s New, Event, Product, or Offer).
  5. Create the Post (include a picture or video, text, details, and even a CTA)
  6. Preview your post to ensure quality
  7. Proofread for any spelling errors
  8. Hit “Publish”

However, if you’re on a mobile device, you’ll need to use the Google My Business app to create your post. Here are the steps to create your post on mobile:

  1. Open the Google My Business app
  2. Click the “Create” + button in the bottom right corner
  3. Click “Create Post”.
  4. If you don’t feel like adding a photo or video, hit “Skip” (otherwise you can upload from your camera).
  5. Select the type of post you want to create.
  6. Write your post.
  7. Select “Preview” to spellcheck and make sure the listing is free of errors.
  8. Click “Publish”.

Google My Business Posts SEO

Google "G" logo

When creating Posts there are several things to consider to improve the findability of your posts.

  • The first 100 characters count: This is how many characters will show up in the Google Search results. You want to make sure that you get to the point of your message in those first 100 characters. By doing this, you encourage visitors to click through from the search results and read your post.
  • Your newest posts will show first: Newest posts will always show up first, with any other posts displaying in a carousel in the Knowledge Panel.
  • Google My Business Post Image Size: The ideal size for images in your Google My Business posts is 750 pixels by 750 pixels. The smallest you should use is 250 pixels by 250 pixels.
  • Use your keywords in the post: Don’t keyword stuff your post with keyword/s, but make sure that you’re using them in a natural way that will align with your audience and what they would be looking for online.
  • Use UTM codes: Currently, there is no way to tell specifically that a link click came from your Post. To avoid this being attributed to Direct Traffic, use UTM parameters to correctly attribute the traffic. This would be a correct example of the UTM parameters so it will track correctly: https://www.example.com/pageaboutsomething?utm_source=google-my-business-posts&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=Announcement.
  • How to get around the 7 day rule: Most posts are only visible for 7 days, before they disappear from the carousel. However, did you know that there’s a way around it? If you create an event and set the event to run for a length of time, that Post will remain visible for the entire length that you specified in the Post.

Google My Business Posts Not Working

If for someone reason you’re Posts don’t show up after you post them, try creating the Post a second time. If the issue still persists, it is likely an issue with Google. Just visit the Google My Business Support Forum and someone will be able to assist you with your issue.

Scheduling Google My Business Posts

If you’re looking to schedule out Posts for your Google My Business profile, there isn’t a way to do it natively inside of either the desktop dashboard or the mobile app. However, if you do need to schedule out posts in advance, there are several tools that will allow you to do this, such as:

  • Sendible
  • Or try a WordPress plugin (https://wordpress.org/plugins/post-to-google-my-business/). Note: I haven’t tried this one yet, but it looks pretty good.

Google My Business Post Examples

If you’re looking for some examples of these different types of Google My Business Posts from a variety of businesses, here are some ideas to kickstart the creative process:

What’s New Posts

Google My Business Post from State Bird Provisions

The post above comes from State Bird Provisions, a restaurant located in San Francisco, CA announcing closings for renovations.Google My Business Post from Odd Dog Media

The post above comes from Odd Dog Media, a marketing agency located in Seattle, WA, and showcases their weekly round-up blog series of marketing news.Google My Business Post from Blank Label

The example above comes from a clothing store in Washington, D.C., Blank Label, and is a post featuring their 2017 Holiday Guide.

Event Posts

Google My Business Post from Blank Label

In another example from Blank Label, here, they are advertising their 2017 Cyber Monday hours for in-store traffic.Google My Business Post from My Fresh Basket

In the example above from My Fresh Basket, a grocery store located in Spokane, Washington, is promoting a holiday event and driving visitors to sign up.

 

Event Posts

The Red Balloon Co Google My Business Post

In the above example from the children’s clothing store, located in Chicago, Illinois, they are advertising a Halloween event that is upcoming.

little threads google post event example.

In the example above from the children’s boutique, Little Threads in Chicago, Illinois, they are advertising for a pet adoption event they are partnering with.

little threads google post event example.

In the example above, again from Little Threads, they are advertising an upcoming sale and the discount that will be offered.

Product Posts:

Google My Business Post from Violet Boutique

The image above from Violet Boutique, located in Washington, D.C., showcases a pair of earrings, color options, price, and a link to buy.

Google My Business post from Ruby Jane Boutique.

In the above post from Ruby Jane Boutique, located in Denver, Colorado, they are showcasing through two pictures a sweater, with the short product description, price, and buy button.

Smitten Boutique Google My Business Post

In the above example from Smitten Boutique, in Chicago, Illinois, they are including the product description and the price. However, the call-to-action goes directly to their website and not to the product page (where someone would buy it). This is a missed opportunity.

 

Now that you know why Google Posts are important and how to create one, what are some of the best Google Post examples that you’ve seen? Let me know in the comments below!

 

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