Google Business Profile posts: how to post, schedule and get seen, plus 15 post ideas for UK businesses

TL;DR: Google Business Profile posts are short updates, offers and events that show on your profile in Google Search and Maps. You can now schedule them and set them to repeat inside the profile. Posts older than 6 months are archived unless they have a date range, and posts with unverified phone numbers, emails or social handles can be removed. Google’s local ranking guide does not mention posts, so use them to win the customer who has already found you.

Key takeaways

• Google Business Profile posts are short updates, offers and events that show on your profile in Google Search and Maps.
• There are three types: updates, offers and events. Offers need a title and dates, and Google adds a View Offer button for you.
• You can schedule posts and set them to repeat weekly or monthly inside the profile, with no extra tool.
• Posts older than 6 months are archived unless a date range is set, so date your offers and events.
• Google may remove posts with unverified phone numbers, email addresses or social media handles. Use the Call now button instead.
• Google’s own guide to local ranking does not mention posts. Their job is to help the people who already found you decide to visit, book or buy.

Most small businesses set up a Google profile, add a few photos and never touch it again. Google Business Profile posts are the part of the profile that changes week to week: a new menu, a Christmas offer, a workshop on Saturday. They cost nothing, they take a few minutes, and they show to people who are already looking at your business on Google.

This guide covers what posts are, the three types, how to post and schedule them, why Google rejects some, how long they stay up, and 15 post ideas you can use this month. Everything about how posts work comes from Google’s own help pages, linked as we go.

What are Google Business Profile posts?

Google Business Profile posts are short messages you publish on your Business Profile to share news, offers and events. They can include text, photos, videos and a button, and they show on your profile in Google Search and Google Maps. Google says seeing your latest updates helps customers decide to visit your business.

According to Google’s help page on creating and managing posts, customers find posts in the Updates or Overview tabs of your profile on a phone, and in the From the owner section on a computer.

If you have not set up your profile yet, start with our guide to setting up a Google Business Profile. Posts only go live once the profile is verified.

Do Google Business Profile posts help your ranking?

Google does not say they do. Its guide to improving your local ranking says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence. It asks for complete and accurate information, replies to reviews, and photos and videos. Posts are not on that list.

That does not make posts pointless. A profile with a fresh offer, a dated event and a clear button gives a searcher a reason to choose you over the business next door. Think of posts as the shop window of your profile: they work on the people who already found you.

For the things that do move local rankings, our local SEO checklist covers categories, reviews, pages for each service and consistent listings.

What types of Google Business Profile posts can you make?

There are three types of post: updates, offers and events. Updates share news about your business, offers promote a sale or deal with dates, and events promote something happening at your business with a start and end date. All three can carry a photo or video.

Updates

Updates are the everyday post. You can add a description, a photo, a video and an action button with a link. Google says the button should send customers to a website where they can complete the action, such as making a booking or ordering online.

Offer posts

Offer posts are for sales and deals. Google requires a title, dates and times, and adds a View Offer button automatically. You can also add a description, a photo or video, a coupon code, a link and terms and conditions. If you run a seasonal offer, keep the saving genuine: our guide to Black Friday rules in the UK explains what counts as a misleading discount.

Event posts

Event posts promote something happening at your business, such as a tasting, a workshop or a late opening. They need a title and start and end dates. If you leave out the start or end time, Google shows the event as lasting 24 hours on the event dates.

Which buttons can a post have?

Google’s API reference for posts lists six button actions: book, order, shop, learn more, sign up and call. Pick the one that matches what you want people to do next, and point it at the right page, not just your homepage. The call button uses the verified phone number on your profile.

How do you post on Google Business Profile?

To post, go to your Business Profile, select Posts and then Add post, and choose an update, offer or event. Add your text, photo or video and any button or coupon code, then select Post. You can post from Google Search or Google Maps while signed in to the account that manages the profile.

Here is how to post on Google Business Profile, step by step, following Google’s instructions:

1. Go to your Business Profile.
2. Select Posts, then Add post.
3. Choose the type of post: update, offer or event.
4. Choose the elements you want to add, such as a button or coupon code, and fill in the details.
5. To publish later, turn on Schedule this post and pick a date and time.
6. To repeat the post, choose how often from the Repeats menu, such as weekly or monthly.
7. Select Post. If you manage several profiles, you can share the same post to each of them.

You can edit or delete a post at any time after it goes live, from the same Posts section.

Can you schedule Google Business Profile posts?

Yes. Google’s help page says you can turn on Schedule this post and choose the date and time it publishes. You can also set a post to repeat weekly, monthly or on a custom schedule from the Repeats menu, so a regular offer or opening reminder goes out without you remembering it.

Scheduling makes posts much easier to keep up. Sit down once a month, write four updates, schedule one a week, and add offer posts and event posts as they come up.

How long do Google Business Profile posts stay up?

Google says posts older than 6 months are archived unless a date range is set. Offers and events carry their own dates, so they run for the dates you give them. Plain updates with no dates stay on your profile until they are 6 months old.

In practice, an update from the spring can still be sitting on your profile in the autumn. If it mentions old prices or a menu you no longer serve, edit it or delete it.

Why do Google Business Profile posts get rejected?

Google reviews every post against its posts content policy before it goes live. Posts are rejected most often for contact details Google cannot verify, links to untrusted sites, content about regulated products, or text that looks spammy. A rejected post shows as Not approved and never appears on Search or Maps.

After you publish, Google gives each post one of three statuses: Live, Pending or Not approved. Pending means the post is still uploading or processing, or your profile is not verified yet.

The rules that catch most small businesses out are these:

• Contact details in the text. Google’s posts content policy says it may remove posts with unverified contact information, including phone numbers, email addresses and social media handles. Use a Call now button instead, which uses your verified number.
• Regulated products. Google’s tips say businesses in regulated industries can use posts but should not include content about those products. Those industries usually include alcohol, tobacco, medical devices, gambling, fireworks and financial services. A pub can post about its quiz night or Sunday lunch rather than a drinks deal.
• Hotels and offers. Hotels cannot create offer posts, or any post that mentions deals, promotions or discounts.
• Quality. Google asks for professional posts without misspellings, extra characters, text that adds no value, or auto-generated content, and only links to websites you trust.

What photos and videos work best in posts?

Google’s guide to Business Profile photos and videos asks for photos in JPG or PNG format, between 10 KB and 5 MB, at a recommended 720 by 720 pixels and at least 250 by 250. Videos can be up to 30 seconds long and 75 MB, at 720p or higher.

Use real photos of your own work, products, premises and team. A clear, well-lit phone photo of today’s special does more than a stock image. Our guide to Google Business Profile photos covers which photos to take and how to keep them sharp.

15 Google Business Profile post ideas

These Google Business Profile post ideas suit most small businesses. Mix the three types, use a real photo with each, and add a button that takes people to the right page.

Updates:

1. Something new. A new product, menu, service or treatment, with a photo and a link to its page.
2. Your work. A finished job, a before and after, or a dish from today’s kitchen.
3. The team. Introduce the people customers will meet, with their permission.
4. A common question. Answer one question customers ask you all the time, in a few lines.
5. Opening hours reminders. Remind people of Christmas or bank holiday hours, after you have set them as special hours on the profile.
6. Behind the scenes. Deliveries arriving, the workshop, prep before opening.
7. A thank you. Thank customers after a busy season or a local event.

Offer posts:

1. A seasonal offer. A genuine deal with clear dates and terms.
2. Gift vouchers. Remind people they can buy vouchers, with a link to buy online.
3. A quiet day offer. A deal for your slowest weekday, set to repeat each week.
4. A first visit offer. A small discount or extra for new customers, with the terms written out.

Event posts:

1. A one-off event. A tasting, open day, workshop or late opening, with times.
2. A local date. Small Business Saturday, a street market or a festival you are part of.
3. A regular night. A quiz, class or club night, set to repeat.
4. A launch. The day a new menu, shop or service starts.

For the busy weeks ahead, our list of Christmas marketing ideas for small business covers the key dates for 2026 and more ideas to post.

How do you write a post that people act on?

Short, specific Google posts work best. Keep each post to one message and put the point in the first sentence: what is new, what the offer is, or when the event starts. Name the product, the price and the date where they apply, because a vague post gives nobody a reason to act.

Add one photo that shows exactly what the post is about, and one button that takes people to the page where they can book, order or find out more. Then read the post once on your phone before you publish it, and check that the link opens the page you meant.

What are featured posts for food and drink businesses?

Google can show featured posts on the profiles of some food and drink businesses. Its help page says posts about events, deals or specials may show automatically on your profile on mobile, taken from your Facebook or Instagram or from posts on your profile. The feature is in English for single-location food and drink businesses in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Where featured posts show, Google says they appear in place of reviews on the mobile profile, and customers can still reach your reviews through your star rating or the Reviews tab. For a café, restaurant or pub, that means your Facebook page and your Instagram business account can now show up on Google. Keep their offers and events accurate and in date.

How often should you post?

Google does not set a number. Our advice for most small businesses is one update a week, plus an offer post or event post whenever you have one. That is enough to keep the profile current without it becoming a chore, and the Repeats setting does much of the work.

To see whether posts bring visits, add tracking to the button link, for example a link ending in ?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp-post. Visits from that link then show up separately in your analytics.

What to do this week

1. Open your profile and check your old posts. Delete or edit any that show old prices, menus or dates.
2. Write four updates for the next month and schedule one for each week.
3. Add one offer post or event post with clear dates, if you have something coming up.
4. Remove any phone numbers or emails from post text, and use a Call now button instead.
5. Add tracking to your button links so you can see which posts bring visits.

Frequently asked questions

Do Google Business Profile posts expire?

Posts older than 6 months are archived unless a date range is set, according to Google. Offer posts and event posts run for the dates you give them. Plain updates without dates stay on your profile until they reach 6 months old.

Can you schedule posts on Google Business Profile?

Yes. When you create a post, turn on Schedule this post and choose the date and time. You can also set a post to repeat weekly, monthly or on a custom schedule from the Repeats menu.

Why was my Google Business Profile post not approved?

The most common reasons are unverified contact details in the text, such as a phone number, email address or social media handle, links to untrusted sites, content about regulated products such as alcohol, and offer posts from hotels, which are not allowed.

Can I put my phone number in a Google post?

Google may remove posts that include contact information it cannot verify, including phone numbers. Add a Call now button instead. It uses the verified phone number on your Business Profile, so customers can call you in one tap.

Do Google Business Profile posts help SEO?

Google’s guide to local ranking does not mention posts. It names relevance, distance and prominence, and asks for complete information, review replies and photos. Posts help most with turning people who find your profile into customers.

Want your Google profile kept up to date?

Our local SEO service keeps your Google Business Profile complete and current, with new posts, photos and booking links each month and a plain report of what changed. It runs for a fixed monthly fee agreed in writing after a 30-minute call, with no long contract. Not sure where you stand? Start with a free website check.