What are Google Posts and how often should I publish them?

Q: What are Google Posts and how often should I publish them?

Google Posts let you publish updates directly to your Business Profile. Here's what types to use, how often to post, and what actually drives clicks from them.

Google Posts are short updates that appear directly on your Business Profile in search results and Google Maps. They look similar to social media posts — a photo, a headline, some text, and a call-to-action button. Most business owners have never used them, which means it's a low-competition way to make your profile more active and engaging than competitors.

What Google Posts actually do

Google Posts appear in two places: on your Business Profile knowledge panel when someone searches directly for your business, and sometimes in the local results when you're ranking for relevant searches. They signal to Google that your profile is active and being maintained. They also give customers a reason to click through rather than just noting your phone number and moving on.

Posts don't dramatically boost rankings on their own. Their primary value is engagement — converting profile viewers into callers or website visitors.

Types of Google Posts

What's New — General updates about your business. Announcements, new offerings, seasonal messages. These are the most versatile and the most common.
Offer — For promotions or discounts. Requires a start and end date. Includes a redemption code field if applicable.
Event — For workshops, open houses, community events. Requires an event name, start date, and end date.
Product — Showcases a specific product with a price and description (if applicable to your business type).

How often to post

A standard "What's New" post expires after 7 days. That means if you want your profile to always show fresh posts, you need to publish at least weekly. In practice, most local businesses do fine with:

Minimum: 2 posts per month
Recommended: 1 post per week
Ideal: 2–3 posts per week if you have the content

Pro Tip Batch your Google Posts. Spend 30 minutes at the start of each month writing 4 posts and scheduling reminders to publish them weekly. That's one hour a month total — and your profile will look more active than 90% of your competitors.

What to post about

You don't need to invent new content. Use what's already happening in your business:

A recently completed project ("Just wrapped up a full bathroom remodel in the Eastside neighborhood — here's how it turned out")
A seasonal tip relevant to your service ("Now's the time to get your HVAC serviced before summer hits")
A new service or product you're offering
A customer story or testimonial (paraphrased, with their permission)
An answer to a common question customers ask you
A limited-time offer or promotion

Post structure that gets clicks

Posts are truncated in the profile view — only the first 100 characters or so show before "Read more." Lead with the most important information.

First line: The hook or key point (not a greeting, not your business name)
Body: 150–300 words of useful detail
CTA button: Use "Call now," "Learn more," or "Book" depending on the goal
Photo: Always include one — posts with images get significantly more engagement

Key Takeaways

Google Posts are short updates that appear on your Business Profile — they signal activity and engage profile viewers
Standard posts expire after 7 days, so post at least weekly to keep your profile looking fresh
Use What's New posts for general updates, Offer posts for promotions, Event posts for workshops or open houses
Lead with the key point — posts are truncated and you have about 100 characters before the "Read more" cut
Batch your posts monthly to make it a 30-minute task instead of a daily distraction