Google Business Profile Posts: What to Post and How Often

Overview

Google Business Profile posts are short updates, offers, and announcements that you publish directly on your GBP listing. They show up in Google Search and Google Maps when someone finds your business, giving you free ad space right where homeowners are deciding who to call. If you've heard the term "Google My Business posts," that's the old name for the same feature.

Most home services businesses either don't know GBP posts exist or don't use them. Only about 17% of local businesses post at all (Publer, via Searchlab). That means if you're a plumber, HVAC tech, electrician, roofer, or any other home services business and you start posting consistently, you're already ahead of 83% of your competitors.

This guide covers what types of posts exist, what to post, how often, whether posts actually help your rankings, and how to schedule them so it takes minutes per week. For the full picture on optimizing your profile beyond just posts, see our complete Google Business Profile Optimization guide.

Do Google Business Profile Posts Help SEO?

Posts don't directly impact Local Pack rankings. Whitespark rates them C-tier ("nice-to-haves") in their 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors Report, and a Sterling Sky study testing 3 listings over 9 weeks across 441 keywords found no measurable ranking change from posting.

That said, posts aren't useless. They're just not a ranking hack. Here's what they actually do:

They're free ad space. Every post is a mini billboard on your GBP listing. When a homeowner searches "plumber near me" and sees your profile, your latest post is right there. That's visibility you didn't pay for.

They drive engagement signals. Clicks, calls, and direction requests from posts feed into the broader behavioral signals that Google does care about. Posts with CTA buttons generate significantly more clicks than posts without them (Sterling Sky).

They signal that you're active. A profile with a recent post looks like a business that's open and operating. A profile with no posts (or a post from six months ago) looks like a business that might have closed. Google's algorithm rewards profiles that "look alive" (Whitespark 2026).

They convert browsers into callers. The real value of posts isn't rankings. It's conversion. A homeowner comparing three plumbers in the map pack will lean toward the one with a recent post showing a completed job and a "Call Now" button. The average post CTR is low, but those are free impressions you wouldn't have otherwise.

Types of Google Business Profile Posts

There are four post types available on Google Business Profile. Offer posts outperform all others, generating nearly 4x the clicks of standard updates.

Which Post Type Performs Best?

Data from Publer, via Searchlab shows clear performance differences across post types:

Offer posts win because they create urgency. "$50 off AC tune-ups through June" gets more clicks than "We offer AC tune-ups." Whenever you have a promotion, seasonal deal, or first-time customer discount, use the Offer post type.

Character Limits and CTA Buttons

Posts can be up to 1,500 characters, but keep them short. The sweet spot is 150-300 characters. Google truncates posts on mobile at around 80-100 characters, so front-load your message with the most important information first.

CTA button options: Book, Order Online, Buy, Learn More, Sign Up, Get Offer, Call Now. For home services, "Call Now" and "Get Offer" are the most effective.

What to Post on Your Google Business Profile

The best GBP posts for home services businesses are project showcases, seasonal tips, special offers, team introductions, and review highlights. Here's what works:

Before/After Project Showcases

The most engaging post type for trades. Show what the problem looked like and what you did to fix it. A clogged drain vs. a clean one, an old furnace vs. a new installation, a damaged roof vs. a finished replacement. Use real photos from actual jobs -- custom images get 5.6x more clicks than stock photos (Sterling Sky).

Seasonal Tips and Reminders

This is content you can plan months in advance:

• Spring: AC tune-up reminders, check outdoor faucets for winter damage
• Summer: Tips for keeping energy costs down, filter replacement reminders
• Fall: Furnace inspections, gutter cleaning, weatherization tips
• Winter: Frozen pipe prevention, thermostat settings, emergency heating availability

Special Offers and Promotions

Use the Offer post type for these (2.18% CTR vs 0.56% for updates). Examples:

• "$50 off HVAC tune-ups through [month]"
• "First-time customer discount: 15% off any service"
• "Beat the rush: Schedule your winter heating check now and save"

Team Introductions and Review Highlights

Team posts: "Meet [Name], our lead electrician with 15 years of experience." Include a photo of the technician in uniform. This builds trust before the first phone call.

Review highlights: Share a screenshot or quote from a 5-star review. "Here's what [Customer] said about our work in [Neighborhood]." This reinforces social proof right on your profile.

Educational Tips

Position yourself as the expert with quick, practical tips:

• "3 signs your water heater is about to fail"
• "When to DIY vs. when to call a pro"
• "How to reset your HVAC system before calling for service"

These posts provide value without asking for anything, which builds goodwill and authority.

For more on how your profile photos complement your posts, check out GBP Photo Optimization: What to Post and Why It Works.

How Often Should You Post on Google Business Profile?

Consistency matters more than frequency. One post every week for a year beats five posts in one week followed by three months of silence. Build a routine: every Monday morning, spend 10 minutes creating one post with a photo from last week's work.

Best days and times: Weekdays outperform weekends. Tuesday and Wednesday between 1-5 PM tend to see the highest engagement, though home services customers often search during emergencies at any hour.

Do Google Business Profile Posts Expire?

Posts no longer fully disappear, but Update posts lose their prominent visibility after about 7 days and are formally archived after 6 months. Offer and Event posts stay active until their specified end date.

Here's how the expiration policy has changed over time:

(BrightLocal, Search Engine Roundtable)

Old posts don't vanish entirely. They move to a "View previous updates" section on your profile. Users can still scroll through them, but they won't appear prominently in search results after the timeframes above.

This is why weekly posting matters. You always want at least one recent, visible post on your profile. If your latest post is from three months ago, homeowners notice -- and so does Google.

For a deeper look at how your Google Business Profile drives local visibility overall, see our guide: What Is a Google Business Profile?

Google Business Profile Post Image Size and Specs

Use 1200x900px images in a 4:3 ratio. JPG or PNG format, under 5MB. Keep important content (text, faces, logos) inside a central 900x900px safe zone because Google crops the sides for square preview thumbnails.

These are the specs for images you attach to your posts, not your profile photo gallery. For profile photo specs, see our guide on GBP Photo Optimization.

Video specs: Up to 30 seconds, 75-100MB max, 720p or higher, MP4 format.

What the data says about post images:

Bottom line: always include a real photo with every post. Never use stock images. Add a short text overlay if it makes sense (like "$50 OFF" on an offer post). These small details make a measurable difference.

Can You Schedule Google Business Profile Posts?

Yes. Google launched native post scheduling in November 2025. You can schedule posts for a specific date and time, set recurring patterns (daily, weekly, custom), and auto-publish for up to a year -- all for free directly in your GBP dashboard (Search Engine Land).

Google also added multi-location publishing in the same update, letting you create a single post and apply it to multiple business locations at once.

When you need a third-party tool: If you're managing multiple locations or want to schedule posts across GBP, Facebook, and Instagram from one dashboard, third-party tools like Buffer (free tier available), Social Champ ($5/mo), or SocialBee ($29/mo) can streamline the process. For a solo operator with one location, Google's native scheduler is all you need.

Google Business Profile Post Best Practices

Always include a CTA, use real photos (never stock), front-load your message within the first 80 characters, and post consistently. Here's a data-backed checklist from Sterling Sky's analysis of 1,000+ posts:

Do:

• Include a CTA button on every post (significantly more clicks)
• Use real photos from actual jobs (5.6x more clicks than stock)
• Add text overlays to images when relevant (nearly 4x better performance)
• Add a title to your post (~2x more clicks)
• Front-load the key message in the first 80 characters (mobile truncation)
• Use emojis sparingly as accents (2x more clicks, but don't overdo it)
• Post at least once per week

Don't:

• Put phone numbers in post text (use the Call Now button -- phone numbers are one of the most common rejection triggers)
• Use ALL CAPS (worse performance: 1.13 vs 1.92 clicks for normal capitalization)
• Use stock photos (5.6x fewer clicks)
• Skip the image (posts with images get 150% more views)
• Use hashtags (they don't work on GBP like they do on social media)
• Post once then go silent for months

For more on how your Google Business Profile categories affect which searches trigger your listing, check out Google Business Profile Categories Explained.

Frequently Asked Questions