July 06 2017

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How to Use Google Posts for Your Brand & Local Search Strategy

When was the last time that you searched your company name to see what shows in search results?

If it’s been awhile, now is a good time. Many people search on both mobile and desktop for your company name to look up directions, reviews or even for a quick way to your website.

Understanding this, Google has rolled out a feature called Google Posts for all Google My Business users. This feature lets businesses publish events, products, and other news directly to Google Search and Maps. So anytime someone searches your company name while you’re using Google Posts, it will look like this:

Google Posts on mobile

TopSpot is currently testing Google Posts and has seen an uptick in both photo views and visits to our website from our Maps listing.

With the addition of Google Posts, businesses now have the ability to take more control over what shows on both mobile and desktop for their company name in search results and contribute to their local SEO.

Writing a post is simple once you’re logged into your Google My Business account. You are given options to upload an image, add text up to 300 words or highlight an event. Call-to-action buttons are also available for “Learn more,” “Reserve,” “Sign up,” “Buy,” or “Get offer.”

 Google Post CTA's

Each post lasts 7 days and nudges business owners with an email reminder to keep their content fresh.

This leaves many options for using this space to your brand’s advantage and for your local search strategy. Here are a few ideas:

Promotions & Sales

  • Do you have a sale or current promotion going on? Coupon code? Encourage new and existing customers to take advantage of it in a Google Post.
  • Introducing a new product or service? This is a great place to highlight it.

Store/Location Updates

  • Inclement weather affecting your hours? Closed for a special event or renovations? Post letting your customers know.

News & Events

  • Having an event or hosting one? Give people the details.
  • Attending a tradeshow or another industry event? Encourage people to come visit your booth.
  • Have exciting company news like a new product line or offering? Share it in a Google Post! Even industrial & B2B companies can share news on new certifications, equipment or anything their new and current customers may care about.

Reviews & Success Stories

  • Showcase case studies, customer success stories, video testimonials, or other relevant resources showing your commitment to customers.

Jobs / Hiring / Culture

  • Highlight open positions at your company or anything that represents your culture to attract new candidates. For example, TopSpot highlighted our recent designation as one of Houston’s Best & Brightest Companies to Work For in our first Google post.

Google Posts for Hiring

Make it Work for Your Local Search Strategy

If you are a business that relies on local customers like a realtor, home builder, restaurant, gym, or doctor’s office, each Google Post is an opportunity to reinforce your locations or service areas with customers and Google. Incorporate your city or neighborhood into your post to send local relevancy signals to search engines.

Google Posts has only been available for a few weeks, but so far we think it’s a good tool that has advantages for both new and current customers who are searching for you by name. It gives businesses one more place to drive visits and engagement to their website and share important information to customers. Stay tuned as we learn more about Google Posts from our own testing and measuring.