Have you noticed this little feature that Googled have just rolled out to all Google My Business users?

This was originally rolled out back in January 2016 to just a selective audience but has now been rolled out to everyone who is using Google My Business. A couple of weeks ago, the company moved Google Posts into GMB, and that is where you can access it now — on both the desktop and the Google My Business Android and iOS apps.

So what`s it all about?

It`s a nifty little feature that allows you to publish a very short post (100-300 words) an image, an event and also add a button (link) to the post.

Event: You can add the Event title, start and end date, start and end time

Button: You can add either of the following:

  • Learn more (a link to a page on your website)
  • Reserve
  • Sign Up
  • Buy
  • Get Offer

google my business posts

To access this new feature just go to your Google My Business account and click on “Posts” on the left-side menu when you are in your Google business listing. You should see a screen that looks like the one above.

As I mentioned above, when writing your post, you are given a few basic optionsgoogle my business posts feature

  1. You can upload an image
  2. Write a short piece of text (between 100-300 words)
  3. Add an event title (with start and end dates and times)
  4. You can also add a call-to-action button including as mentioned earlier

So what are the benefits of using GMB Posts?

  • You can share daily specials or a promotion that will encourage potential and existing customers to take advantage of your offers
  • You can promote an event and tell your customers about any upcoming events within your business
  • You can showcase your most valuable products/services
  • The best thing for me is…The ability to add a link to one of the available options to connect with your customers directly from your Google listing: making them just 1 click away from your Blog posts, they could make a reservation, sign up for your newsletter, learn more about latest offers, or even buy a specific product direct from your website. How cool is that?

The downside?

  • Posts will expire after just 7 days
  • Although you should receive a notification on the 6th day warning you about the impending deletion of your post

The Best Bit?

Your Posts will now show up in both Google search and maps results and on both mobile and desktop. And it appears in Google search almost instantly (although as we speak my Posts are yet to appear on my Maps listing)

Here are some examples of how my attempt at 2 Google Posts come up in search:

Desktop

 

google search results

Mobile

google search on mobile

Google have made available some more information to help you in their business support community.

I think this could be a valuable and useful addition for most small businesses. Let me know how you get on and what you think.

Until next time

Martin

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