Yes — google business profile posts are free mini-ads that appear right on your business listing in Google Search and Maps. You write them, you publish them, and they cost nothing. A customer searching for a plumber, a café, or a salon sees your offer or update before they ever reach your website.
And yet most small businesses never post at all. Their profile sits unchanged for months, while a competitor down the road posts every week and looks like the busier, more alive business. Not a ranking trick, not a paid ad — just showing up in the exact moment someone is deciding who to call.
If you have not set your profile up properly yet, start with our Google Business Profile optimisation guide first, then come back here. This post is about the one feature owners ignore most: Posts.
What Are Google Business Profile Posts?
For example, think of a post as a short notice pinned to your shop window — except the window is Google itself. When someone finds your business on Search or Maps, recent posts show up right on your profile, with a photo, a few lines of text, and a button like “Call now.”
What the official line leaves out is the practical bit: posts are short, visual, and they expire. A normal update post typically disappears after about seven days; an event post stays up until the event ends. This is not a “set it and forget it” feature.
Here is the honest framing: posts do not, on their own, push you to the top of Maps. They win the click once you are already visible. Two plumbers show up in the same search — one with a fresh post, one with nothing since last Christmas. Who would you call?
The 3 Types of Posts (and When to Use Each)
Google gives you three post types, and most owners only ever use one — usually badly. Here is the plain-English version of each.
1. Update posts — your everyday workhorse
Use an Update post for anything new: a new service, a seasonal tip, a short answer to a question customers keep asking. These are the posts you will publish most often, and they carry the seven-day shelf life. “We are open” is not an update. “We now repair electric ovens as well as gas cookers — same-day slots in Leeds this week” is.
2. Offer posts — for a real deal with a real deadline
Offer posts are for promotions with terms: what the deal is, when it ends, and how to claim it. A vague “check out our latest promotion” converts nobody. A strong offer names the service, the saving, the end date, and one clear action. If your offer needs five conditions to explain, it is too complicated for a Maps user scrolling on a phone.
3. Event posts — for anything with a date
Event posts promote anything time-bound: an open day, a tasting weekend, a Saturday of free consultations. They stay live until the event finishes, making them the longest-lasting type. Do not reserve them for grand occasions. One rule covers all three: one post, one message, one button.
A 4-Week Posting Calendar You Can Copy
Consistency beats cleverness here. One post a week is enough to keep your profile looking alive, and it takes about five minutes once you have a rhythm. Here is a four-week rotation that works for almost any local business. Steal it wholesale.
- Week 1 — Offer post. One real deal, one deadline, one action. Example: “October boiler service, £20 off when you book by Friday — call now.”
- Week 2 — Trust post. A short story from real work: a job finished, a problem solved, a customer question answered. Photos of real work beat stock photos every time.
- Week 3 — Update post. Something new or seasonal: new hours, a new product, a seasonal tip tied to what customers are searching for right now.
- Week 4 — Event or question post. An upcoming date, or the question you get asked most. “Do you take walk-ins on Saturdays?” beats another generic “we are the best” announcement.
Then repeat. After a month, see which posts drove calls or direction requests and do more of that type. Our complete local SEO guide puts posts alongside reviews, citations, and your website.
Before and After: Posts That Win the Click
Nothing teaches faster than a side-by-side. A restaurant posting “Come and try our delicious food!” says nothing. Rewrite it as “Sunday roast, 12–4pm this weekend — book by Saturday evening,” and a hungry person now knows what, when, and how.
Same for a plumber. “We offer plumbing services at competitive prices” loses to “Emergency callouts in Manchester today — call before 4pm for a same-day visit.” A person with a burst pipe is shopping for someone who will come today. A date, a limit, and a next step — that is the whole formula.
The 7-Day Expiry Trap
Here is the catch nobody mentions when they tell you to “just post more.” Most posts vanish after about a week. Post once, feel proud, forget about it — and by next month your profile looks abandoned again. That is why so many businesses conclude posts do not work: they failed at repeating, not at posting.
The fix is boring and it works: a weekly reminder, same day, same time. Monday morning, five minutes. Write one post, add one real photo, publish, done. Event posts help too, since they live until the event ends. And keep photos honest: your actual shop, team, or work beats any stock image.
What Posts Will Not Do for You
Let us be straight: posts will not magically rank a broken profile. If your business name, address, and phone number disagree across the web, fix that first — our NAP consistency guide explains why. Nor will posts fix a profile with two reviews and no photos.
What posts do is compound everything else. Good reviews plus fresh posts plus accurate details equals a profile that looks open, active, and trustworthy — see our guide to getting more 5-star reviews. Think of posts as fresh paint on a house already built properly.
Measure posts honestly. Views are not customers. In addition, track calls, direction requests, and website clicks from your profile. If a post type drives calls, post more of it. If nothing moves after a month, the problem is probably your offer, photos, or reviews — not your posts.
Finally, keep every claim true and every offer real, or Google may reject the post — stuffed phone numbers and misleading “free” offers are the common reasons. Never buy “GBP post packages” promising ranking boosts: posts are a visibility tool, not a ranking hack.
FAQs
Are google business profile posts really free?
Yes, google business profile posts are completely free to publish on your Google Business Profile. Google does not charge to create Update, Offer, or Event posts, and the posts appear on your listing in Search and Maps at no cost.
How often should a small business publish Google Business Profile posts?
One post per week is a realistic target for most small businesses. Weekly posts keep a profile looking active without becoming a chore, and a simple four-week rotation of offers, trust stories, updates, and events covers a full month. Start with one post each week and build from there.
How long does a Google Business Profile post stay visible?
A standard Update post typically disappears from a profile after about seven days, while an Event post stays live until the event ends. Offer posts run for the duration of the offer period that the business sets. That short window is exactly why a weekly posting habit matters.
Do Google Business Profile posts improve Maps rankings directly?
Google Business Profile posts do not directly push a business to the top of Maps rankings on their own. Fresh posts act as a freshness and engagement signal and help win the click once a business is already visible in Search or Maps results.
What should every Google Business Profile post include?
Every Google Business Profile post should include one clear message, one real photo, and one call to action. A strong post names a specific service or offer, gives a date or deadline where relevant, and tells the reader exactly what to do next.
Yes, google business profile posts are completely free to publish on your Google Business Profile. Google does not charge to create Update, Offer, or Event posts, and the posts appear on your listing in Search and Maps at no cost.
One post per week is a realistic target for most small businesses. Weekly posts keep a profile looking active without becoming a chore, and a simple four-week rotation of offers, trust stories, updates, and events covers a full month. Start with one post each week and build from there.
A standard Update post typically disappears from a profile after about seven days, while an Event post stays live until the event ends. Offer posts run for the duration of the offer period that the business sets. That short window is exactly why a weekly posting habit matters.
Google Business Profile posts do not directly push a business to the top of Maps rankings on their own. Fresh posts act as a freshness and engagement signal and help win the click once a business is already visible in Search or Maps results.
Every Google Business Profile post should include one clear message, one real photo, and one call to action. A strong post names a specific service or offer, gives a date or deadline where relevant, and tells the reader exactly what to do next.
Conclusion
In short, Google Business Profile posts are the closest thing local search has to free advertising — genuinely costing nothing but five minutes a week. Start this week: one real offer, one real photo, one clear action. Repeat weekly, and in a month your profile will look like a business that is open, busy, and worth calling. For the rest of the local picture, from local citations to reviews, that steady white-hat work is what we do every day.
For the official steps, see Google’s own guide to creating posts on your Business Profile, and for a deeper posting strategy, the Sendible Google Business Profile guide covers frequency and post types in detail.