Google Posts are a welcome feature on Google My Business, especially since Google is always trying to promote relevant content and here is a way to do that right on GMB. It is a known fact that you are more likely to gain customers from local searches than general ones so it makes sense to focus on Google My Business optimization which will promote your local search ranking.
Google My Business is more than just a listing online, it is a way for businesses to create their own advertising space that is not crowded by other businesses fighting for attention as well.
Posts are a handy way to provide relevant information to potential customers or people who are just interested in your business. The great thing about it is that it does not have to be as plain as a business card, you can get creative in the way you use posts so that you attract more people.
What are Posts?
Before we go any further on this subject, it is prudent to ensure everyone knows what we are talking about. Posts are the added bit of information to the knowledge panel on GMB. If someone searched for a business, the post would appear in the center and front of the knowledge panel. It appears like a snippet that can entice the viewer to click on it to see more.
You can use a post to promote a product, and event, a sale or just provide information to the customer. It can be the reason a visitor chooses to visit your website.
You can choose to have images on your post, after all that tends to attract people more. When it comes to words, you have a limit of 300 words.
Getting Started
Before you can start creating a post, you need to ensure your GMB profile is complete. Optimizing your listing will ensure that people find your business and later they will see your posts.
You will then need to decide what kind of post you will want to have and what to include in there.
Do not forget to identify keywords that you will want to include, remember this is still part of SEO and keywords are very important.
Sum up your post with a maximum of 100 words and no less than 80 words. This may seem strange since you have a limit of 300 words, but the thing is more than 100 and they will not all be seen without clicking. You want your message to be seen straight away without the fluff.
Find the best pictures to include. They need to be clear and add to the point you are trying to make. But they should also be the right size. 400 by 300 is a good size even if it gets cropped, the main element will be visible.
Match your post with the landing page, do not get them excited in the post only to get disappointed with the landing page.
Use language that your audience can connect with, a conversational tone will be best.
How to Use Posts?
To get the best impact of posts, you need to use them effectively. There are mainly four ways that you can use posts.
Promotions
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Your business may have promotions that are running for a limited time. Posts are a good way to raise awareness about such offers. They could be coupons, discounts or even free offers. Find a way to use pictures to draw attention to the promotion and then lead the viewer to the page where they can redeem the offer ticket or coupon. Including the time for which the promotion is running will help create more urgency.
Share News
These also run for a short time as news expires after some time. You can create posts that announce what is new about your business. It could be a new design for your website, an award that you have received. Appointment of key staff or even a partnership. The choice is yours but make the best use of the post to raise awareness and create excitement.
Launch a New Product
It is always a good idea to create a buzz about a new product. In most cases, pictures will do best as you show the pictures of the product in the post. Even without any explanation, you can cause a buzz as people share the pictures and others visit the website in search of more information about the product.
Promote Events
If you have a big event coming up, use a GMB post as your billboard and advertise the event. You can link it with Maps so that the customers can easily locate the place where the event will be taking place.
You will need to get creative in order to achieve the best results.
Practical Examples of Posts on Google My Business
You might spend hours pulling out your hair trying to figure out what you can post. Well here is a list of some of the posts other businesses have shared.
- News about a donation made to a charity
- Launch of a new mobile phone
- 5-star reviews left by customers on Google
- Vacancies within the organization
- A sporting event that the business is sponsoring in the community
- A picture of the CEO receiving an award
- Discount sale just before Christmas
These are just a few examples of what other businesses are doing, you could come up with your own ways to use posts to promote your visibility online and direct viewers to your landing page.
Key Points to Remember
There are a few things that should always be considered when you are planning a post as well as while you create it. Here are the key ones never to forget.
Choose Pictures Over Text
You might have the urge to explain a lot about your recent award, but often a picture can sum up what you would use a whole paragraph to explain. Most people online do not have the patience to read a lot so whenever it is possible, you should choose pictures over text.
Do not however choose just any pictures. The pictures need to be good quality and attractive let them tell the story, and the only way they can do that is if they are clear. You will also need to get the measurement correct and have them centered.
Do Not Forget Video
Video is now very common and it would be a great idea to have some video links in your post. If you have a new video on YouTube, it is a good idea to promote it. Share the link on the post and get more traffic to your channel.
Keep Text Short and Precise
If you have to use text, do not write an entire blog in the post. You need to remember that some devices like smartphones may not display all that you may have written so it is best to get the text to be as precise as possible with the least amount of words. You have a word limit of 300 words for a post, but do not use it all up, 80 words can do the job perfectly as long as you learn to be precise.
Your motivation to keep it short should be the fact that shorter text can be read entirely in the preview box which means your audience will get the message even without clicking to see more.
No Mistakes
Mistakes come in all shapes and sizes and they can make a big impact. In most cases, the impact will be negative so you would want to avoid them at all costs. Start by ensuring that the information you provide in the post is accurate. For example, if you are running a promotion, are the dates correct? Next, you need to ensure that whatever people read or see makes sense. Sometimes you could be in a hurry and fail to notice that your post is not coherent. That can be a turn off to the audience.
The best way to avoid mistakes is to proofread your posts. Go through them and ensure that everything is in the way it should be. Dot your “i” and cross the “t” look at the picture and ensure it is clear, centered and there are no copyright issues to worry about.
In Conclusion
When everything seems right, go through your post, this time to ensure that Google will find it acceptable. There are a few rules that Google has about posts and you will need to ensure you are following those rules. This starts with the simplest of them like ensuring that no one will find the post offensive and then going deeper to see if the post is well optimized. You want to get sufficient visibility, so follow the best SEO guidelines. Take time to research, there may be keywords that are trending and you could make use of those to come up with a related post.
