Google Business Profile Posts: What to Post and How Often

Post what a nearby customer would want to know right now: this month's offer, an event, new stock, or a recent job with a real photo. About once a week is a sensible pace, though that's our suggestion, since Google doesn't give a number. Posts are free and take a few minutes, but don't expect them to lift your place in Google's results. Google doesn't list them among the things that do.

Can you make posts on your Google Business Profile?

Yes. If your profile is verified, you can post from it, and Google says your posts can show to customers on Search and Maps. It's built into the profile, so you don't need another app or account. Here's how:

1. Go to your Business Profile.
2. Select Posts, then Add post.
3. Choose Update, Offer or Event.
4. Add your details, plus options such as a button or a coupon code.
5. Select Post. If you manage more than one profile, you can share it across them, or select Skip to post to just this one.

You can also turn on Schedule this post to publish it later, or use the Repeats menu to publish it weekly, monthly, or on a custom schedule.

Google then reviews the post. Live means it's public, Pending means it's still processing or your profile isn't verified yet, and Not approved means it broke a content policy and won't show.

The three types of post

Each type suits a different job, according to Google's help page:

• Update: general news about your business, with an optional photo or video and a button linking to a website.
• Offer: a sale or deal. It needs a title and dates, and Google adds a "View Offer" button. You can add a coupon code and terms.
• Event: something happening on a date. It needs a title and start and end dates. If you leave out times, Google runs the event for 24 hours on those dates.

If you don't have a real deal or event, use an Update. Don't invent an offer to fill a slot.

What should I post on my Google Business Profile?

Think about who's looking. Someone who sees your profile is often already searching for what you do and comparing you with the place down the road. They want to know what you offer, whether you're any good, and whether you're open. Posts that help with those three things make sense here.

Some ideas:

• Recent work: a finished kitchen, a color you're proud of, a repaired bike. Say the type of job and the neighborhood if the customer's happy with that.
• What's new: a new menu item, a new service, a new person on the team.
• A real offer: with clear dates and terms.
• Events: a class, a tasting, a late night, a workshop.
• Seasonal reminders: "Time to have your furnace checked before it gets cold."
• Changes that affect a visit: holiday hours, a new entrance, or roadworks outside. Change your hours on the profile too, because a post doesn't replace that.

Here's a made-up example of an Update for a bike shop:

"We've just finished our first batch of winter tune-ups. If your bike's been in the garage since August, bring it by this month and we'll check the brakes, chain and tires. Most are ready the next day."

Add a real photo of the work and it's done. If you're short of subjects, try our list of 50 post ideas. Most of them can be reused here with a little trimming.

A word from one specialist: Joy Hawkins, who runs the local SEO agency Sterling Sky, told Buffer in a 2022 interview that Offer posts display better than other kinds in Google Maps, and that informational how-to posts perform worst. That's one expert's view from a few years ago, and Google may have changed its layout since, but it's a useful nudge toward posts that help someone act.

Rules worth knowing

Google's rules are short and fairly sensible. In plain words:

• Keep it professional: no misspellings, extra characters, or auto-generated or distracting content.
• Keep it respectful and family-friendly.
• Only link to websites you trust.
• Include the details people need, such as a descriptive title, event times, and offer information.

Three catches are easy to miss:

• Phone numbers: Google says a post with a phone number in the description may be rejected unless the number can be verified as connected to your business. Your profile already shows your number, so we'd leave it out.
• Regulated businesses: if you work in a field such as alcohol, tobacco, health and medical devices, or financial services, you can still post, but not about those products themselves.
• AI-written text: Google's page warns against "auto-generated" content. If you use AI to draft a post, read it, correct it and make it specific to your business before it goes out.

Do Google Business Profile posts help you rank?

Google gives no evidence that they do. Its page on how local ranking works says results are mainly based on relevance, distance and how well known a business is. It suggests verifying your business, keeping your information complete, responding to reviews, and adding photos and videos. Posts aren't on the list. Google also says it keeps the details of its algorithm confidential, so it can't be ruled out completely, but no one outside Google can tell you for certain.

The one direct test we read points the same way. In 2021, Sterling Sky posted weekly for nine weeks on three inactive listings, tracking 441 keywords for each, and found no measurable effect on local rankings. That's a small test, and it's old. It's also from an agency that sells local SEO. But it's a real test, and its author still recommends posts, for what they do for customers rather than for ranking.

So be wary of anyone promising that posting will move you up the map.

Is it worth posting on Google Business Profile?

For most local businesses, we think yes, as long as you keep it small. It's worth doing for a few plain reasons:

• It's free and takes minutes, particularly if you reuse a photo from elsewhere.
• It reaches people close to a decision. Google says up-to-date posts help customers decide to visit.
• It shows you're open and active. A profile with recent news reads differently from one that's gone quiet.

It's probably not where your first hour should go, though. If your hours are wrong or your reviews go unanswered, fix those first. By Google's own account, those are what count toward showing up, and they're what customers check. We cover where this fits among everything else in our 30-minute marketing plan.

How often should you post?

We couldn't find a recommended frequency from Google. Here's what we'd do, as a matter of judgment:

• Aim for about one post a week, or two a month if that's what you can keep up.
• Post an Offer or Event whenever you really have one.
• Don't leave long gaps. Google archives posts older than 6 months unless they have a date range, so your Posts section can end up empty.

You may already be writing posts for other channels, so it's simple to adapt one instead of starting fresh. Trim it, remove the hashtags, and add a button. Our guide on how often to post on social media covers the wider schedule.

If you'd rather not write them yourself

You can do all of this alone in a few minutes a week. A freelancer can do it too. Or you can use software: IndieAM, which we make, writes Google Business Profile posts in your business's voice as part of a monthly plan, and you approve each one. They're posted by hand, though, since we can't publish them to Google for you, so you'd still paste them in. It also runs no ads and doesn't reply to comments, so it isn't for you if you want all of that taken off your plate. Our prices are on the home page.

Start with one post this week about something real. A photo of today's work and two honest sentences is enough.