Google Posts were introduced in 2017 and allow businesses to share content, news, blog posts and events directly on the search engine results page, when someone does a search for your business name. The screenshot below is the first page of Google if you type in ‘red box web’. As you can see, we have two Google Posts displayed (highlighted in red) that sit within our Google My Business block on the right-hand side.
Google Posts are available to any business with a verified Google My Business listing. If you haven’t got one of these yet, see our recent blog post Optimising Your Google Map Listing where we explain how to set one up.
Each Google Post can have up to 300 words. You can also include an image and a call to action button such as ‘Book’, ‘Order online’ or ‘Learn More’, which link to a page of your choice on your website.
Google posts only last for 7 days so if you’re going to use them, it’s a good idea to have a few ready that you can re-use and remember to update it each week. The exception to the 7 day rule is if you’re posting an event. In this case, your post will stay on until the day after the event.
How to add a Google Post for your business
It’s easy to add a Google Post. Just follow these simple steps:
- Log into your Google My Business Account https://business.google.com
- Click on Posts in the left-hand menu
- Click ‘Write your post’
- A window will open (see below)
Write your content (up to 300 words) and add an image. Images are displayed square and the recommended size is 720px x 720px. You can choose to make the post an event, which will allow you to set a start and end time and date. The last thing to do is ‘Add a button’. This allows you to choose from one of the below. After making your choice, enter a URL for the button to link to. This can be a link to a page on your website, social media, booking system etc.
- To finish off, just click ‘Publish’.
Your post will now be live for 7 days. It will stay in your Google My Business dashboard after it has expired so you can go back and see how many views and clicks it received.
Give them a go!
Using Google Posts makes your listing stand out on the search results page making it easier for potential customers to get to your website. They also allow you to direct customers to a specific page or piece of content on your website. Give them a go and see if they help improve the amount of traffic that visits your website.