Google Business Profile posts: what to post and why they help local search

What Google Business Profile posts are

When someone searches for a local service, Google shows a panel with your name, reviews, hours, photos and buttons for calling or getting directions. Tucked into that panel is a feed of short updates: your posts.

Google has changed the labels and options over the years, and it will again. At the time of writing the usual options include an update, an offer and an event, plus a photo attached to the post. Don't worry about the exact labels; the principle is the same: it's a space to say something current.

Why they help, in plain terms

Google doesn't publish exactly how posts affect ranking, so be sceptical of anyone promising they'll "boost you to the top". What we can say, honestly:

• They make your listing look alive. An active profile reassures someone deciding between you and two competitors.
• They give you more space. A post is another chance to mention what you do, in your words, on the page where people are already looking.
• They create actions. You can add a button to call, book or read more, which is easier than hunting for a phone number.
• They handle seasonality. Bank holiday hours, a Christmas offer, storm damage callouts: all better placed here than nowhere.

They're also the cheapest marketing you have: free, local and shown to people who are already searching for what you sell.

Six things worth posting

1. A recent job

One photo of finished work, one line about it. "New consumer unit fitted in StokeonTrent this morning. Older wiring made safe, all tested and certified." Include the area; it's a genuine signal of where you work.

2. A seasonal reminder

"Boiler service season is here. Book before the cold snap and avoid the queue." Useful, timely, no hard sell. These do well around bank holidays and the change of season.

3. An offer, with a real end date

If you run an offer, put an actual date on it and honour it. An expired offer still visible on your listing is worse than no offer at all.

4. An event

A tasting evening, an open day, a late-night shopping event. Set it up as an event so it can show dates and times rather than sitting in the feed as an old update.

5. A useful answer

"Do you need a survey before a rewire? Not always. Here's when you do." Answering a question you get asked on the phone builds trust and gives Google more text to understand what you do.

6. A change to how you work

New opening hours, a new team member, a new van, card payments accepted. Small, but it's the sort of thing customers actually want to know.

Writing one in five minutes

Follow this and you can't go far wrong:

1. Photo first. Something real and yours, taken on a phone. Landscape works best in the panel.
2. First line carries the point. People read one line in a search result. Say the useful thing there.
3. Two or three sentences. Where, what, and why it matters. No essay.
4. One action. "Call us", "Book online", "Message us". Pick one.
5. Add the area. Town or district, once, naturally. Not a list of ten towns.

That's it. You don't need hashtags here, and you don't need to sound like a brand.

How often should you post?

Two updates a week is a sensible rhythm for a local business: enough to look current, little enough that you'll keep it up. One a week is fine if that's realistic. Daily is unnecessary unless you're a venue with something new every day.

Pair them with your Facebook and Instagram posts where you can. Same photo, slightly different words. Ten minutes covers a week.

Common mistakes

• Stock photos. Google's panel shows real premises and real work better. Stock imagery reads as a placeholder.
• Leaving old offers up. Expired promotions make you look careless.
• Keyword stuffing. "Plumber emergency plumber 24 hour plumber" is not a sentence. Write like a person.
• Promising what you can't deliver. "Cheapest in the county" is a claim you'll be held to.
• Posting prices you won't honour. If you quote a range, make sure it's current.
• Ignoring reviews. Posts bring people to the listing; reviews decide what they do next. Reply to them.

What to measure

Your profile has its own performance section, usually under "performance" or "insights", showing how many people called, asked for directions or visited your website. Look at it monthly, not daily.

You'll also see searches that found you. That's genuinely useful: if people find you by searching "emergency electrician" but your posts talk about rewires, you've learned something.

In short

Two posts a week, real photos, one line that helps, one action. It's the least glamorous marketing you'll do and one of the most effective for a local business, and it's free.

If you'd rather it was handled, our £200 a month plan includes two Google Business Profile updates a week, alongside your Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.