One of our favourite sections on any Google Business Profile is the Google Posts section, simply because it’s one of the few areas on your Profile where you can add fresh content. Think of it as a social media post, where you upload a photo and a short caption. What makes Google Posts more powerful, though, is that they have the ability to improve your visibility in Google Search and Maps results when someone searches for a product or service you offer. After all:
- 60% of shoppers go online first before they go to a physical location (Think With Google)
- 9/10 buyer journeys actually start on Google Search or Maps
- 46% of product searches start on Google (Oberlo)
And a regularly updated Google Business Profile will ensure that you will be seen over your competitors.
We’ve written a few articles on this topic and we’ve seen businesses that we take care of on our Platform improve their visibility on SERPs over a span of a few months just by publishing weekly Google Posts.
The Case of a National Retail Brand
Before anything else though, let’s start with why Google Posts are important in a fully optimised location group.
We’re currently working with an Australian retail brand that needed a stronger push in their local SEO.
In the middle of 2021, we started working with a retailer with nearly 50 locations nationwide. One of their pain points was that they couldn’t get their individual Google Business Profiles optimised and seen on the 3-Pack and the top of Maps results, despite being a popular retail brand. Our local SEO experts worked on updating all the necessary information on each of their Profiles while putting an emphasis on regularly updating the Google Posts section with the brand’s latest promotions, updates and newest products.
Over the course of five months, their total searches increased by 98.67% while views increased by 91.40%.
What does this mean?
With a fully optimised Profile and a regular Google Post schedule, the brand was to attract and retain their customers’ attention and encouraged them to visit their website or call and eventually visit their physical location.
That’s the power of Google Posts.
And that’s why you should keep your Google Posts.
Up until recently, Google Posts had a lifespan of seven days. Yes, one full week, before disappearing or staying hidden from your profile. That’s why many businesses didn’t see the importance of the section because one week may seem so short to stay relevant. Luckily for all of us though, older Google Posts can now stay on your Profile forever. Here are 4 reasons to stay away from deleting your Posts.
1. Old Google Posts still appear as post justifications
Post Justifications (see our blog on Local Justifications) are snippets of your existing Google Posts that appear on 3-Pack and your Maps search results. When a user searches for a product that you sell, and you mentioned that specific product in one of your Posts, chances are that that will be seen on your profile preview. A post that can be anywhere between 24 hours young and five months old may be used as post justifications.
As in the example above, if you search “green tea near me,” a Profile with a previous Post that mentions “green tea” will appear in your search results. Click on that result and you’ll see posts that are related to your search, in addition to the business’ NAP and other details. Also, if you notice, the Post featured as a justification is more than seven days old at the time of writing this article. Older posts, as long as they are relevant to your search, can also appear when the user clicks through your result preview.
2. They still help bring traffic to your website
Google Posts can still direct users to specific landing pages on your website despite being older. They continue engaging with an audience that has the intention of looking for a business like yours, clicking on your CTA button and looking at your information to see if they can visit your website or your physical location.
3. May be more authoritative than newer posts
Related to point 2, older Google Posts may be more authoritative than newer posts in the sense that people have viewed them in the results and clicked on their CTA buttons. Our theory is that views do not immediately begin once the post has been published. And over time, as the Post ages and remains to be relevant to a group of users searching for a specific search query, it becomes more authoritative and still drives results.
4. Keep important metrics for more accurate reporting
Deleting Posts may somewhat cause discrepancies in reporting, especially when you have an old but high-performing Post. To maintain your data’s accuracy, we encourage that you keep the post for the meantime.
But when is it really necessary to delete Google Posts?
There is one instance where we can and should delete Posts. This is when information on old Posts are inaccurate. For example, in the event that you changed services, phased out products or moved to a different location, deleting some older posts may be a good idea. Keeping them in your Profile can lead to misinformed customers, especially when they have been getting so many views and clicks.
An old but not-so-popular practice back when Posts still expired was re-publishing the Post with a few updates and deleting the older one. This is usually done when there is really nothing to write about but you want to maintain consistency in your Profile. Given that Posts no longer expire now, you can leave old Posts in your Profile.
Maintaining a well-run Google Business Profile is never complete without publishing Google Posts – they’re there for a big reason: to keep your Profile relevant to anyone who searches for a business like you. With the DigitalMaas Platform, you can create and keep track of your Google Posts, as well as other features that are important to the growth of your business. Sign up for an account today.
