If your Google Business Profile looks static next to competitors who share offers, events and news, Google Business Profile posts are the simplest fix. Posts are short updates you publish straight to your profile on Google Search and Maps. My short answer on what to post and how often: share something truly useful about once a week. Use offers and events when you really have them. And keep every post accurate and within Google’s content rules.
In this guide I cover the three post types, how to create them, what makes a good image and text, which buttons to use, why posts get rejected, where they show up, how long they stay visible, and how to tell if they are working.
What Google Business Profile Posts Are, and What They Are Not
A post is a piece of content attached to your profile, a bit like a short social media update. It can include text, a photo or video, and a button. The button sends people to your website, booking page or phone line.
Posts give people who are already looking at your profile a reason to act. They are not a shortcut to higher rankings. Google explains local ranking in terms of relevance, distance and prominence, and it has not said that posting improves where you rank. I’d be careful with any claim that posts are a proven ranking factor.
What posts can do is make your profile better for the people viewing it. A searcher comparing three plumbers will notice the one with a clear, recent update about same-day appointments.
The Three Types of Google Business Profile Posts
When you add a post, Google offers three types. Each has different required fields and suits a different job.
Updates
Updates are general posts about your business. They can include a description, a photo or video, and an optional button. Use them for news, new services, seasonal hours, tips, finished projects or anything that does not have a fixed end date. In my experience, updates do most of the work for most businesses.
Offers
Offers promote a sale or deal. They need a title plus start and end dates. Google adds a “View offer” button by itself. You can add a description, a photo, a coupon code, a link to redeem online, and terms and conditions.
Two limits matter here. Google’s posting policy says hotels cannot create offer posts or any post that mentions deals or discounts. And businesses selling restricted products, such as alcohol, tobacco, gambling, firearms or regulated medicines, cannot promote deals, coupons or prices for those products in posts.
Events
Events promote something happening on set dates, such as a workshop, tasting night, open day or webinar. They need a title and start and end dates. If you leave out times, Google shows the event as lasting 24 hours on each date. So add times whenever they exist.
Older guides also mention product posts and other formats. In the current posting menu, the choices are update, offer and event. Products are managed separately in your profile’s product section.
How to Create a Post on Your Business Profile
You manage posts from your Business Profile on Google Search or in the Google Maps app. You need to be signed in to the account that manages the profile. Google’s help page on creating posts for updates, offers and events lists the official steps.
- Open your Business Profile. Searching for your business name while signed in, or “my business”, usually brings up the management panel.
- Select Add update or the posts option (the label is a little different on Search and Maps).
- Choose the type: update, offer or event.
- Add a photo or video that shows the real business, product or event.
- Write the description. For offers and events, fill in the title, dates and times.
- Add a button if it fits, and enter the link or choose the call option.
- Preview the post, then select Post.
To edit or delete a post later, open your posts, select the menu next to the post, and choose Edit or Delete. If you only need to fix a date or a typo, editing is better than deleting and posting again.
Writing the Text: What Works
Most people see your post as a small preview. Often it’s just the first line or two before a “More” link. So write as though nobody will tap through.
- Start with the point. “Same-day boiler repairs available this week” beats “We’re excited to share some news.”
- Be specific. Name the service, the date, the product or the area you serve.
- Keep it short. Two to four sentences is usually enough. A post is not a blog article.
- Say what to do next. Match the last line to the button: book, call, order or learn more.
- Write naturally. Stuffing city names and service keywords into every sentence reads badly and adds nothing. This is the mistake I see most often in posts.
The skill is the same one you use for meta descriptions that earn the click: a short, accurate summary that tells someone why this matters to them right now.
Google’s own tips add a few practical rules. Use a clear title, give full details and accurate times, and avoid spelling mistakes, too many gimmicky characters, and distracting or auto-generated content.
Images and Video for Posts
A post with a strong image is much easier to notice than text alone. Google’s general photo guidelines for Business Profiles are a good starting point for post images too:
- JPG or PNG format
- File size between 10 KB and 5 MB
- Recommended size of 720 x 720 pixels, with a minimum of 250 x 250
- Sharp, well lit and not heavily edited or filtered
Post previews can crop images differently on mobile and desktop. So keep the important part of the image near the centre. Avoid images that are mostly text. Put the message in the post description, where people can actually read it.
Use real photos wherever you can. A photo of your actual team, shop front, finished job or dish builds more trust than a stock image. And stock images that give a false picture of the business can break Google’s misrepresentation rules.
Choosing the Right Call-To-Action Button
Updates and events can carry one button. The options are:
- Book: appointments, tables, classes or consultations
- Order online: food or products ordered for pickup or delivery
- Buy: browsing and buying products
- Learn more: a page with full details about the service or news
- Sign up: registrations, memberships, newsletters or event places
- Call now: rings the phone number on your profile
Pick the button that matches the next step a customer would really take. A dental practice promoting a hygiene clinic should use Book, not Learn more.
Send link buttons to the most relevant page, not your homepage. If the post is about a winter boiler service, link to the boiler service page. That page should also match what the post promises, including any price or date. I always check this before a post goes live.
The Call now button is also the safe way to include a phone number. It uses your verified profile number, so you don’t need to type a number into the text.
Content Policies and Why Posts Get Rejected
Posts are reviewed before they appear. A post can be in one of three states: Live (public on Search and Maps), Pending (still processing, or your profile is not verified), or Not approved (it broke a policy). For a rejected post, Google points to the policy it broke.
Posts must follow the prohibited and restricted content policy that covers Maps contributions. In practice, these are the most common reasons posts get rejected or removed:
- Contact details in the text. Google may remove posts with phone numbers, email addresses or social media handles it hasn’t verified. Use the Call now button instead.
- Links to unrelated or untrustworthy sites. Only link to your own site, or a trustworthy page directly connected to the post.
- Restricted products. Deals, coupons, prices or purchase links for restricted products are not allowed. Things that just happen to appear, such as a menu photo showing a wine list, are generally fine.
- Misleading content. False claims about a product or service, or leaving out facts that would change a customer’s decision, count as misrepresentation.
- Repeated content. Posting the same content again and again, from one account or several, is treated as spam.
- Off-topic content. Political or social comments and rants unrelated to the business are not allowed.
- Rewards for reviews. A post offering a discount in return for a review breaks Google’s fake engagement rules. You can ask for honest reviews, but you cannot reward them.
- Hotel offers. Hotels cannot post offers or mention deals and discounts.
If a post is rejected, read the policy Google points to. Remove the problem part, and publish a corrected version. Don’t keep sending the same text unchanged.
Where Posts Appear on Google
Google says posts can appear in several places:
- On mobile, in the Updates or Overview tab of your profile on Search and Maps
- On desktop, in the “From the owner” section of your profile on Search and Maps
- As featured posts near the top of the profile for some businesses
Featured posts about events, deals and specials are currently limited to single-location food and drink businesses, in English, in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. These can come from posts you create, or from connected social accounts such as Facebook and Instagram. When featured posts show, they can take the place of reviews on the mobile profile. Reviews are still one tap away.
Publishing a post does not guarantee a prominent spot. Google decides how and when profile content is shown. That can change by device, search and location.
How Long Google Business Profile Posts Stay Visible
This is where a lot of older advice is out of date. You may read that update posts disappear after seven days. That is no longer what Google’s help says.
Google’s current guidance is that posts older than six months are archived unless a date range is set. Offers and events have their own date ranges, so they are tied to the dates you enter.
Two practical points follow:
- A six-month-old update may still be visible, but it can make your profile look neglected. Customers care about fresh content, even if the post is technically still live.
- Expired offers and past events are not useful to anyone. Set accurate end dates so they drop off when they should.
What to Post: Ideas by Business Type
The best posts answer a question a customer has right now. Here are examples that work for different kinds of businesses.
Restaurants, Cafes and Bars
- Update: “New autumn menu starts Thursday, with three vegan mains and a pumpkin soup.” Button: Order online.
- Event: “Live jazz every Friday, 7 to 10 pm, no cover charge.” Add the dates and times.
- Offer: “Two-for-one lunch mains, Monday to Wednesday until 30 November.” Add terms.
Home Services (Plumbers, Electricians, Roofers)
- Update: a before-and-after photo of a finished job, with the area and the problem solved.
- Update: “Booking now for boiler services before winter. Visits take about an hour.” Button: Book or Call now.
- Update: a short safety tip, such as how to find your water stop valve before a leak.
Health and Professional Services
- Update: “We now offer Saturday morning appointments.” Button: Book.
- Event: a free tax-deadline drop-in session or an open evening. Button: Sign up.
- Update: a plain-English answer to a question you hear from clients every week.
Regulated professions should keep claims factual. Avoid anything that reads like a promise of results.
Retail Shops
- Update: new stock that has just arrived, with a clear photo. Button: Buy or Learn more.
- Offer: a seasonal sale with exact dates and any exclusions in the terms.
- Event: an in-store demo, signing or late opening.
Things Worth Posting for Almost Anyone
- Changes to opening hours around holidays (and update your hours in the profile too)
- A new service, product line or location detail
- Community work, such as a local sponsorship or charity event
- Answers to common questions about prices, parking, access or how a service works
A Realistic Posting Rhythm
Google gives no official posting frequency. There is also no published evidence that a set number of posts per week changes results. Plan around what you can keep up and what customers would find useful.
Here is the rhythm I’d suggest for most small businesses:
| Post type | Suggested rhythm | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Update | About once a week | Rotate between news, tips, recent work and service highlights. |
| Offer | Only when you have a real deal | Set accurate dates and terms. Do not run a permanent “offer”. |
| Event | Each time an event is confirmed | Publish two to three weeks ahead, with correct times. |
If weekly is not realistic, every two weeks is still far better than a burst of ten posts followed by silence. My habit is to batch the work: take photos during normal jobs or shifts, then write a month of short updates in one sitting.
Don’t publish the same post again and again, or the same text across many profiles. Google’s repeated content rule applies, and copy-pasted posts do nothing for the customer.
Businesses with several locations should tailor posts for each location where it matters. For example, local events, opening hours for one branch, or the team at a certain branch.
Measuring Whether Your Posts Work
Posts are not a direct ranking lever. So judge them on whether they help people take action. I use three sources.
1. Business Profile Performance
The Performance view in your Business Profile shows actions such as calls, direction requests, website clicks, messages and bookings. It also shows views and the searches people used to find you. And it reports views and clicks on offers.
These figures cover the whole profile, not single posts, so compare periods. If website clicks or calls rise in the weeks you post steadily, that is a useful sign. But seasons and other changes can play a part too. I cover the other numbers worth watching in my guide to local SEO reporting.
2. UTM-tagged Links in Google Analytics
Add UTM parameters (small tags at the end of a link) to every post button link, so post traffic shows up separately in your analytics. For example:
https://example.com/boiler-service/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp-post&utm_content=winter-boiler-2025Keep the campaign value the same each time (such as gbp-post) and change utm_content for each post. You can then see which posts send visitors who book, buy or get in touch.
Use a different tag on your main profile website link, so post clicks stay separate.
3. What Customers Tell You
Ask new customers how they found you. Use offer codes that only appear in your posts. A coupon code used in store is one of the clearest signs an offer post worked.
For a wider view of how organic search performs next to your profile, our Google Search Console guide for beginners covers the reports that show which searches bring people to your site.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Linking every post to the homepage instead of the relevant page
- Leaving expired offers or past events without end dates
- Using graphics full of text, or stock photos that do not show the real business
- Promising prices or availability your website or staff cannot confirm
Conclusion
Google Business Profile posts work best as a steady, honest source of useful information: what is new, what is on, and what customers can do next. Use updates weekly if you can, offers and events only when they are real, and the right button on every post. Stay within Google’s content rules so posts go live instead of sitting in review.
Your next step is simple. Write four short updates this week, tag each button link with UTM parameters, and block time in your calendar to publish one every week. After a couple of months, check your Performance and analytics data to see which topics bring calls, bookings and visits.
