How to Use Google Business Profile Posts (and Why Most Businesses Don't)

What GBP posts are — and where they show up

A Google Business Profile post is a short update — text, an optional image, and an optional link — that appears directly on your Knowledge Panel in search results and on your Google Maps listing. The person searching for "café Fitzroy" or "electrician near me" can read your latest post before they've clicked through to your website.

That's the reason they're worth your time. It's not a social media channel where you're building an audience. It's an intent-capture surface: someone already interested in your category sees a signal that your business is active, specific, and paying attention.

The post types — and when to use each

Google currently offers four post types in the GBP dashboard:

• Update — the most versatile type; use it for news, seasonal changes, service announcements, or anything you'd want a visiting customer to know. These are the ones to reach for by default.
• Offer — time-limited promotions with a start and end date. Only use this when the offer is real; misleading promotions breach Australian Consumer Law.
• Event — for a specific date-bound occasion: a class, an open day, a seasonal tasting. Google displays the date prominently.
• Product — if you've added a Products section to your profile, you can feature individual items with a photo and price.

What to actually post

The biggest mistake businesses make with GBP posts is treating them like Instagram — chasing engagement, worrying about likes, abandoning the channel when nothing happens. That's the wrong frame. The goal is recency, not reach.

A profile with a post from last week looks like a business that's active and well-run. A profile with posts from two years ago — or none at all — looks like one that may not still be there. Google notices this too.

Useful things to post about:

• A new service or product you've added.
• Hours changes for public holidays or seasonal periods — this is especially high-value because customers notice when they're wrong.
• A common question, answered plainly: "Yes, we do walk-ins — no booking needed before 3pm."
• A behind-the-scenes look at the work: a finished job, a new piece of equipment, the team.
• A genuine offer or event when one exists — not an invented one.

How often to post

There's no published formula from Google, but at minimum once a month keeps the profile from looking dormant. Once a week is better if you have things to say — and most businesses do, once they start looking for them.

Update posts don't expire on a schedule, but they're deprioritised as they age. Regular posting compounds: a profile that's been adding one post a week for six months looks very different to one that did a burst and stopped.

What to avoid

• Don't keyword-stuff your posts — "best plumber Sydney best plumbing service" in every post. Google's guidelines prohibit it, it reads badly to real people, and it rarely helps.
• Don't include phone numbers or URLs in the body of Update posts in a way that circumvents the built-in call-to-action fields. Use the designated fields.
• Don't post misleading offers or claims about pricing, guarantees, or results — these can breach Australian Consumer Law.
• Don't treat posts as a reviews-workaround. Posts can't substitute for genuine reviews — they serve a different purpose on the profile.