Google My Business posts are still the hidden gems of Google. Even though they aren't as popular as Instagram posts, they are highly essential if you want to have an excellent online presence. So, creating Google Business posts is not an as small thing as it seems.
Google My Business (GMB) is one of the most effective tools for boosting a company's local search engine optimization (SEO) and online exposure. If you own a local business, one of the first actions you should do to enhance the online visibility of your company is to claim your Google My Business page and get started with GMB posts.
With an optimized Google My Business profile, you can get your company free exposure on Google's search engine. Potential clients can easily see your company's detailed information, and they can also find images of your business, check online reviews, finalize a transaction (such as making a reservation), and find other information that catches the visitor's attention — all without ever accessing your website.
That can clearly make a difference!
We all know the importance of being visible on Google's Search Engine Result Page (SERP). But how do posts function for Google My Business SEO optimization?
In this blog, we will cover all the things you need to know about Google My Business posts to boost your online visibility.
What is Google My Business optimization?
Any business nowadays needs targeted Google visibility. Most companies are aware that this involves optimizing their websites and Google Ads. They even partner with Google Ads agencies to help them navigate the complexities of campaign management. Still, many are unaware that there is also another platform that requires optimization: their Google business listing, which is officially known as Google Business Profile.
You can think of your Google Business Profile as an interactive representation of your company that showcases your greatest attributes and allows potential consumers to instantly locate, discover, and connect with you from the SERP. And, it is totally free.
An optimized Google Business Profile can help you improve your engagement, enhance your local ranking and eventually convert more customers.
Verified Google Business Profile information is also used in Google's Knowledge Graph.
It contributes to generating information for its database regarding businesses and related parties relevant to specific queries.
If you don't optimize your GMB Profile, it may even harm your visibility. Without Google My Business SEO Optimization, your company can look suspicious and untrustworthy on SERP.
With an unoptimized GMB profile, no one can be sure even if the company is still in business. On the other hand, if you have an optimized GMB Profile, you can create a trustworthy business image and encourage customers to get engaged with your company.
As we are talking about visibility, surely logos are playing a quite important role for businesses. Its logo is the first thing that a potential customer encounters about this business. And this truth is also valid for online businesses. Here, check our informational guide on the best tips to create a business logo for Google Business Profile accounts:
Altug Altug
How do I use Google My Business for SEO?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the method of enhancing the ranks of a website or a web page in non-paid (organic) search engine results. SEO includes creative and operational components that impact search engine rankings. For businesses looking to outsource their SEO efforts, partnering with an SEO reseller can be an effective solution. SEO resellers provide comprehensive services, allowing businesses to offer SEO to their clients without the need to manage it in-house, enabling a focus on growth and customer satisfaction. Alternatively, businesses can hire an SEO agency to directly handle all aspects of their SEO strategy, ensuring expert guidance and the latest industry practices are applied.
Google My Business is a must-have tool for customizing your company's appearance in the Knowledge Graph, Google Maps, and organic search results. According to the current Whitespark's Local Search Ranking Factors Survey, Google My Business remains the most critical source of local SEO performance, followed by reviews.
It is not hard to get started with Google Business Profile; all you need to do is simply create an account and claim your business. After completing your information, Google will send you a physical postcard to the address you indicate to ensure that you own the firm stated at the address.
They only make exceptions for some sorts of businesses; they can be confirmed through phone or email. Google has a dedicated page that allows you to check the progress of your verification.
If you don't know how to get started with GMB Profile, you can check our guide "How to set up Google My Business Page and add it to Google and Google Maps?".
Zeynep Morelli
Below, you can find the brief list of Google My Business SEO tips you can check after claiming your Business Profile.
- Fill out all of the fields on your Google My Business account.
- Be specific with your contact details.
- Select the primary and secondary categories of your business.
- Identify the attributes that apply to your business.
- Create a detailed "from the business" description.
- Upload photos of your business. (Keep in mind that you should upload photos consistently).
- Respond to questions.
- Gather and respond to Google reviews. (If you want to learn how to collect positive reviews, make sure that you check our blog "5 Tips to get positive Google My Business reviews."
- Add your products and services.
- Enable messaging.
- Update your Business Profile if something changes.
- Publish GMB posts.
All these Google My Business SEO tips work hand in hand. For instance, if you fill in all the details of your business, you will increase the possibility of getting questions about your company and products. And if you respond to these questions, this will encourage your customers to ask more questions and write reviews.
So, we suggest you apply all the Google My Business SEO tips that are suitable for your company. But for the purpose of this blog, we will now focus on Google My Business Posts and how these posts can help Google My Business SEO optimization.
Are Google My Business posts important?
A Google My Business post allows you to connect with potential consumers through your Google My Business profile and listing. You are free to include any special offer, update, new event or launch, and product or service.
When users execute a local search, these posts are highlighted on your Google My Business profile. They are shown at the end of your business listing, and visitors may browse through them to see what's readily accessible.
Only 17.5% of businesses generate GMB content on a weekly basis, as shown by Moz case studies. In fact, GMB postings are never used by 40% of companies. On the other hand, as per the same case studies, users click on Google My Business posts almost all the time.
People interact with a GMB post at an incredible rate. Taking the effort to reach out to consumers, respond to questions, and reply to reviews provides a slew of positive signals for Google. This is why Google My Business posts are highly crucial for your business, even though a few companies make use of them.
Do Google My Business posts expire?
Previously, Google Posts were only accessible for seven days. While they were seen as a terrific tool, and many local SEO professionals urged local companies to use them, their temporary presence may have turned off many people.
Thankfully, Google has rolled out a new update globally, which boosts the importance of Google My Business posts even more.
Now, unless a date range is given, posts older than six months will be archived.
Zeynep Morelli
Does posting on Google My Business Help SEO?
There is quite a lot of debate in the SEO field over the value of Google My Business Posts: Do GMB posts help with SEO rankings? How efficient are they? Do people engage with your posts? How frequently should you publish GMB posts? How do I get my website to rank higher on Google?
The debates will surely go on and even expand, but one thing is for sure; GMB posts are definitely one of the keys to a good SEO by increasing the contextual authority of a GMB listing.
If you are looking for proof, you can check the list below about how GMB posts help SEO.
- Google My Business posts are the most visible indication you can give to Google that your company is open and willing to engage with people.
- Through your Google My Business profile, you can direct visitors to specific landing pages on your business website. You can also encourage your customers to interact with your company through questions and reviews. These will improve your website's ranking.
Let's assume that you want to delete a Google review for any reason but don't know how! So, you check our detailed article here:
Kevin O. Frank
- You have the chance to collect user information by linking your Google My Business posts to forms. Getting people back to your website via a blog or newsletter will improve your SEO.
- Since a Google My Business listing is optimized for any mobile device, it will also boost your mobile SEO.
How do I use Google My Business posts for SEO?
Every company may benefit from the GMB posts to improve their local SEO and search results. First of all, let's cover the fundamentals before going into further details.
You can assure people that you are still in business. Some of the closed companies still have a Business Profile on Google. So, it can be frustrating for people to check whether the company is still open. Being active on Google with GMB posts can help them and Google itself that you are still in the game. Especially after the pandemic, there is a significant misunderstanding about which businesses operate.
You can inform your customers about your hours of operation. One of the most crucial ranking variables in local search results is location proximity. So, to effectively maintain your business name in a particular region, you can utilize location names and prepositions such as in, around, and near.
What should I post on Google My Business?
Make sure you have an optimized profile before you begin to capitalize on successful Google My Business posts.
A well-optimized Google My Business listing will boost your exposure and put your content in front of more targeted users. During the setting of your Google My Business profile, you should enter all relevant information carefully.
You may use Google My Business posts for several purposes, including announcing forthcoming events, highlighting new products and services, clarifying hours, sharing noteworthy news, and communicating special offers. For example, if you are working on your wedding venue's SEO, you can post on GMB about bridal fairs, open house events, and seasonal promotions.
The best concept of Google My Business posts for you may vary based on your goals. You can find different types of Google My Business posts currently available on the platform below:
- Updates to COVID-19 or Hours: This is a new type of post that Google My Business has introduced to adapt systematic business adjustments during the pandemic.
- Offers: You can think of this as a promotional post in which you can showcase deals and offers from your company.
- Products: You may highlight certain products in a separate "Product tab" where users can browse images, specs, and other information about your goods and services.
- What's new: This section contains any generic information about your company, such as images, videos, descriptions, or the announcement of new services.
- Events: With this post category, you may share forthcoming events that your company is organizing or taking part in. Titles, start and end dates, and time information are required for all kinds of events.
Since the information included in each GMB post will most probably vary, it's essential to spend some time researching and testing the multiple post categories so that you can have a broader insight into how they'll appear and which types will help you accomplish your objectives the quickest.
How to schedule Google My Business posts?
All this information may cause you to feel slightly overwhelmed, as you can guess that creating compelling GMB posts requires some time and energy. And, if you have to manage multiple Google My Business profiles, it is close to impossible! But if you know the right method, the outcomes will definitely be worth the effort.
If you want to ease the process, you can schedule Google My Business posts beforehand. This strategy can help you get rid of the operational workload so that you can focus on more strategic tasks.
Circleboom Publish is the best social media management tool that can help you schedule Google My Business posts.
Here are several reasons why Circleboom is the best option among hundreds of social media management tools.
First of all, Circleboom Publish has a user-friendly and intuitive interface that you can learn how to use in seconds.
Secondly, it comes with many other features besides its Google My Business post scheduler. Circleboom Publish offers its users a built-in version of the ultimate design tool, Canva. So, if you are also searching for designing assistance to enhance the quality of your posts, you are in the right place.
You can create eye-catching content with ready-to-use templates, graphics, color themes, and many other graphic features without leaving the Circleboom Publish's dashboard.
Additionally, you can create Google My Business "Events" and "Offers" through Circleboom's simple dashboard. The only thing that you need to create a specific Google Business post is to select whether it is an "Event" or "Offer".
Then, you can add special buttons and other necessary information ( coupon, terms, and conditions, etc.) to complete your specific Google My Business posts.
After you finished designing your Google My Business post, you can publish it immediately or schedule it for a later date and time. Also, you can set time intervals and automate your GMB posts with the Queue scheduling feature.
Circleboom Publish also allows you to manage multiple social media accounts through a single dashboard. So, if you are in charge of more than one account, you can link them to Circleboom and even schedule Google My Business posts simultaneously.
If you want to learn more about how to schedule Google My Business posts with Circleboom Publish, you can either check out the hands-on video below:
Wrapping Up
Google My Business posts may not be as popular as posts on other social media platforms, but they have a great deal in terms of Google My Business SEO optimization.
Google My Business posts are highly essential not only for engaging with your customers or notifying them of the latest updates but also for enhancing your local SEO.
With many company owners already benefiting from the advantages of Google My Business posts, your success will now be determined by whether you outperform in this competitive market.
To take your game to the next level, you can always check out Circleboom Publish to make a difference. It also supports Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn at affordable prices.
Kevin O. Frank
Altug Altug
Onur Ciddi
