When Google first launched the Posts feature in 2017, it was a small update buried inside what was then called Google My Business. We wrote about it at the time as a useful new channel. In 2026, after multiple platform rebrands and feature expansions, it's now one of the most underused free distribution channels in local SEO. Here's the modern playbook.
What Google Posts Are in 2026
Google Business Profile posts (formerly Google My Business posts, originally just "Google Posts") let you publish updates that appear directly in your business listing — both on Google Search and Google Maps. When a customer searches for your business by name or for the type of service you offer, your post shows up right alongside your knowledge panel.
The post types available today include:
- Updates — general news, behind-the-scenes content, weekly highlights
- Offers — promotional codes, discounts, with optional start/end dates
- Events — featured events with dates, times, and registration links
- Products — for businesses with physical inventory; appears in the Products tab of your GBP
Most posts last about 7 days before they're archived (though they remain accessible). Events and offers can have explicit run windows.
Why This Channel Still Matters
The advantage hasn't changed since 2017: putting the content you want your customers to see right in front of them when they find your business in Google Search results. Some of the options include adding a button to a part of your website or making the post a featured event for your business.
What HAS changed is that competition for GBP attention has grown. If your competitors are posting weekly and you're not, you lose the freshness signal in the local algorithm. Posts don't directly rank a profile higher, but the activity signal they generate compounds over time alongside reviews and Q&A responses.
Our 2017 article had a section on Google Plus for business. Google Plus is dead — it shut down for consumers in April 2019 and for G Suite in 2020. The social-signal play that lived in Google Plus has migrated partly to Google Business Profile posts and partly to Google's broader Knowledge Graph signals. Don't worry about Plus. Do worry about GBP.
How To Use Google Posts In Practice
Weekly Cadence
Pick one day per week. Publish a post. Mix the types — an update one week, an offer the next, an event when relevant. Consistency matters more than perfection. A weekly post with a clear photo and a call-to-action will outperform a monthly masterpiece every time.
Always Include a Photo
Posts with images get more clicks. The image specs as of 2026 are 4:3 aspect ratio, minimum 720×540, maximum 10MB. Use real photos of your work, your team, or your physical location — stock photography signals laziness.
Always Include a CTA Button
"Learn More," "Book," "Order," "Sign Up," "Buy," or "Call Now" — every post should link somewhere with a clear action. The button is what turns a passive viewer into a tracked website visit (and if you have CallRail-style attribution installed, a tracked lead).
Tie Posts To Your Content Calendar
Every blog post you publish on your website is a free GBP post. Write the blog. Excerpt the most useful sentence. Pair it with the article's hero image. Link the CTA to the article. Every piece of long-form content earns at least one GBP post and one social post. That's table stakes content reuse.
What This Looks Like For Service Businesses
For our trade and service clients, the post mix typically looks like:
- 40% educational — how-to content, tips, common-issue explainers
- 30% work-in-progress — before/after photos, jobsite updates, team highlights
- 20% offers / promotions — seasonal discounts, first-time-customer specials
- 10% community — local sponsorships, charity work, team milestones
That mix keeps the profile feeling like an active business and prevents the "100% sales pitch" vibe that turns prospects off and gets posts ignored by the algorithm.
Where Posts Fit In The Bigger Picture
Posts are one piece of GBP optimization, which is one piece of local SEO, which is one piece of digital marketing. They're not a strategy on their own — they're a tactic inside a strategy. Read our what is local SEO primer for the full picture, or our best local SEO strategy guide for how it all fits together.
In today's ever-changing digital marketplace, it's important to stay up to date on new tactics and strategy. Get active for your business today.