Posting on Google Business Profile is worth it because posts show customers you're active, can appear under your listing when they match a search, and send people back to articles you've already written, yet fewer than a third of UK businesses post (29% at the last public count, in 2018). They're one of many signals that work together on your profile. On their own, they won't shoot you up the map pack. But they're one of the easiest signals you control.
Do Google Business Profile posts help SEO?
Yes, Google Business Profile posts help SEO, but they're a small signal: in IvI SEO's rating of 33 Google Business Profile signals, how often you post scores 6 out of 10, with 22 signals rated higher. What posts have going for them is that they're easy. Unlike reviews, links or where your business is based, they're completely in your control, and every article you've already written can become one.
Nothing in SEO works on its own. Your categories, the keywords in your services, your name, address and phone, your reviews, your photos, your posts, your website and every mention of you across the web all pull in the same direction. Take any one of them out and test it in isolation, and it'll look small. That's not a reason to skip it. It's how SEO has always worked, on your profile, on your site and off it.
Here's how I rate every signal on a Google Business Profile for map pack rankings, out of 10. It's my judgement from doing this for clients, not a lab test, but it's how I decide what to work on first:
Posts sit low on the list, but they're easy to win
IvI SEO rating of each signal for map pack rankings, 0 to 10. Post signals highlighted.
No point pretending otherwise: posts are low down that list. Twenty-two signals rate higher. So why bother?
Because it's easy. Reviews depend on your customers. Links depend on other websites. Distance depends on where your business is. Posts are all yours: a few minutes each, and nobody else has to do anything. And if you've got a blog, you're not even writing anything new. Every article is a post waiting to happen, with a button linking straight back to it. Repurposing content you've already paid for is always a good idea.
Two more things from the list. The number of posts barely matters (3 out of 10): it's posting regularly, with something worth saying, that counts. And two review signals are massively underused: getting customers to mention the job and the town in their reviews, and replying to every review.
So don't expect a few posts to rescue a profile that's otherwise empty. That's not what they're for.
Google says local rankings come down to relevance, distance and prominence: how well your profile matches the search, how close you are, and how well known you are. The way I see it, posts feed the first and third. They put what you do into words on your profile, and they give people a reason to look, click and engage. Small on their own. Useful alongside everything else.
Source: Google's local ranking guidance.
Is it worth posting on Google Business Profile?
Yes, it's worth posting on Google Business Profile, because posts show customers your business is active, help them choose you, and send them back to your website. Google says customers finding your latest updates "helps them decide to visit your business". A post from the last 60 days can also appear as a snippet under your listing when it matches the search. And most businesses don't bother: the last public count, in 2018, found fewer than a third of UK businesses were posting (29%).
Rankings get you seen. What's on the profile gets you picked.
Think about how people actually use the map pack. They search "EV charger installer Harrogate", get three businesses, and pick one in about ten seconds. If one of those listings has a line underneath saying "Home EV charger installs in Harrogate: what to check before you book", taken straight from a recent post, which one looks like it knows what it's doing?
That's the snippet (Google calls it a justification). It pulls from posts made in the last 60 days, it can match related words as well as exact ones, and it updates within minutes of posting. The catch: it shows because you already rank, not the other way round.
Then there's the simple stuff. A profile whose last post was two years ago makes people wonder if you're still trading. A profile with something from this week says the business is alive and someone's running it. I treat posts as that signal to Google as much as to customers: an active, looked-after profile. And since most of your competitors aren't posting, it's one of the cheapest ways to look better than the business next to you.
The bit people miss: posts are a second life for content you've already written. Every blog article on your website can become a post, with a button linking straight back to it. The article gets a fresh stream of visitors weeks or months after it went live, and you never run out of things to post. Write once, use twice.
Write once, use twice
The repurposing loop
Write a blog article, on your website
Turn it into a post, on your Business Profile
The post's button links back to the article
New readers find it, then write the next article
How often should you post on Google Business Profile?
Post on your Google Business Profile at least every couple of weeks, because Google archives posts after six months and only posts from roughly the last 60 days can show under your listing in searches. Google doesn't give a number, and no test shows that posting more often helps rankings. IvI SEO's setup for a York electrician posts every three days, because each post is tied to a new blog article.
Each post gets about 60 days in the spotlight
What happens to a Google Business Profile post over time
- Day 0: postedLive on your profile
- About 60 daysStops showing as a snippet
- 6 monthsArchived
Post every two weeks and there's always a fresh one in the window:
Each dot is a new post, and each one restarts the 60-day window.
Ignore anyone telling you daily, or three times a week, is the magic number. Not one of the pages saying so cites a test.
Is two posts a day too much? For most small businesses, yes. You'll run out of anything worth saying by Wednesday, and you'll end up posting filler. Consistency beats volume. Something real every week or two is plenty.
The easy way to keep it going is to tie posts to things that happen anyway: a new article on your website, a job you've just finished, a seasonal problem (frozen pipes, garden lighting, the boiler service before winter), an offer you're genuinely running.
You can schedule posts in Google itself now, and set them to repeat. Or you can have AI write and publish your Google Business Profile posts for you. That's what the York electrician's profile runs on.
What should you post on your Google Business Profile?
On your Google Business Profile, post things a customer would actually want to know: a job you've just finished, a seasonal tip, an offer, an event or a new article, each with a real photo and a button. Use Update posts for news and tips, Offer posts for deals with dates, and Event posts for anything happening on a set day. Leave phone numbers out of the text, because Google can reject posts that include them.
There are three kinds of post:
- Update. News, a finished job, a tip, a new article. The everyday one.
- Offer. A deal with start and end dates. Google adds a "View offer" button.
- Event. Something with a date, like an open day or a workshop.
A few rules that save you bother:
- Real photos beat stock. A photo of an actual job, van or team gets clicked. A smiling stock-photo plumber doesn't.
- Use the button. Every post can have a button with a link. Use "Learn more" to the matching page on your website, or "Call" if there isn't one. If the post came from a blog article, link straight back to that article: the post sends people to the article, and every new article gives you your next post. A nice little loop. Don't put your number in the text: Google may reject the post, and the button does the job anyway.
- Say something. "Happy Friday from the team!" isn't a post. "Three things to check before you book an electrical safety check" is.
- Don't stuff keywords in. A post crammed with "electrician York electrician near me" reads badly and does nothing extra. Write for the person reading.
Want help with your Google Business Profile?
Posts work best as part of a profile that's looked after properly: categories, services, reviews, photos and a website that backs it all up. That's the core of IvI SEO's local SEO service. If your profile's looking tired, take a look at how I can help. I'll tell you honestly what's worth fixing first.