Google My Business posts are great for customers who need to know your business’ opening hours, location, busy times and latest updates. And since Google receives 3.5 billion search queries a day, it makes sense that it’s one of the first places that your customers will look. Google My Business posts are specifically designed for people who are already looking for you, so unlike other big social channels, there is no need to gear your message in with the intention of convincing your audience. Stating the facts using well-written copy along with excellent images will do the trick.

If you are wondering if it is worth including Google My Business posts into your existing SEO strategy the answer is definitely! The rewards are high and the time, costs and know-how involved are low.

What are Google My Business posts?

Google My Business posts are short and sweet updates that can be used by businesses to communicate with those looking for information about you. Using these posts is a good idea because Google likes to prioritise helpful and quality information in the search results which helps to improve your search ranking. 

How to create Google My Business posts

Once you make your Google My Business profile active, you can start creating posts right away. To get started, go to the menu located on the left-hand side of your screen and click Posts. Then choose your Post Type. Post types will include,

• Products – These posts are geared towards featuring new or available products that your business sells. Use the product tab to add products, prices and descriptions.
• Offers – Use these posts to announce promotions, sales and discounts. It’s important to include a start and end date.
• Events – These posts can be used to list and announce online events. Don’t forget to also include and start and end date for this type of post.
• What’s new – Create posts about any general information pertaining to your business. This could include announcements, changes in your opening and closing times or new location.
• Covid-19 update – This can be used to announce adjusted hours of operation, alternative service options, order delays, and other social distancing measures.

Once you have chosen your post type, include a high-quality image along with some well-worded copy. 

Text

Your copy should be direct and be kept to a minimum. Even though Google My Business posts allow up to 1500 words, short and sweet is always better. Get to the point quickly as the first 7-8 words will be shown and then the searcher will need to click ‘read more’. Don’t worry about including hashtags as these are not necessary. Including an emoji, however, might be a nice touch.

Images

All photos and videos should look as professional as possible to give the impression that your business offers quality service and products. An impressive, well presented artistic image that shows off your product may mean the difference between your customer choosing to buy from you versus your competitor. 

Below are image size guidelines:

• minimum: 400 wide x 300 pixels tall, 10kb 
• maximum: 10,000 x 10,000 pixels, 25mb

Add a call-to-action

Google makes this easy with their range of CTA (call-to-action) buttons. You can choose between Learn More, Order Online, Buy Now, etc. depending on your post type. Remember to also link the CTA button to a corresponding landing page to comply with Google’s content policy.

Specify the date

Don’t forget to specify the date when creating your post. This step applies to any limited time offers such as promotions, sales and coupons. It’s also applicable to events. If you don’t specify the date, Google will automatically archive your post after 7 days.

Publish

Before publishing, its a good idea to click Preview to get an idea of how your post will look. Take the opportunity to edit and fine-tune it until you are happy and then when you are ready, go ahead and Publish it!