Google business posts are short updates you add to your Google Business Profile: a finished job, a seasonal tip, a real offer. They show on your profile when people find you on Google Search and Maps. They won't win you jobs on their own, but a profile with recent posts looks like a business that's busy and still answering the phone. Here's what to post, how often, and what Google won't accept.
- Google Business Profile posts are short updates with a photo that show on your profile in Search and Maps.
- The best posts for tradies are finished jobs: a good photo, what you did and the suburb.
- Post every week or two. A steady habit beats a burst of posts and then nothing for six months.
- Never name a customer or show their address. The suburb is enough.
- Keep phone numbers out of the post text. Use the post's button instead.
What are Google Business Profile posts?
A post is a short update on your Google Business Profile (the listing that shows your reviews, hours and map pin when someone searches for you). You can add a photo, up to 1,500 characters of text and a button such as "Call now" or "Learn more".
There are a few types:
- Updates: general news, a finished job, a tip. This is the one you'll use most.
- Offers: a deal with a start and end date.
- Events: something on a set date, like an open day.
Posts show in the updates section of your profile, which customers see when they tap into your listing on Google Search or Google Maps. Newer posts show first, and older ones drop down the list.
Do Google business posts help?
Honestly, it's mainly about customers, not rankings. Google hasn't said posts lift where you show on Maps, and no one can guarantee a position on Google. What posts do well:
- Show you're active. A customer comparing three plumbers will trust the one who posted a job last week over the one whose last update was 2022.
- Show your work. A photo of a tidy switchboard or a finished deck says more than "quality workmanship".
- Show where you work. Mentioning the suburb tells customers you cover their area.
If you only have time for one thing on your profile each week, asking for reviews matters more. See how to get more Google reviews. But posts take two minutes once you have the habit.
What tradies should post
Keep it simple. Three kinds of post cover almost everything:
- Finished jobs. One good photo, what the job was, and the suburb. This is your bread and butter.
- Seasonal tips. Things customers should do at that time of year: gutters before winter, air con service before summer, checking smoke alarms.
- Offers, only if they're real. A genuine deal with a real end date. Don't invent a "limited time" offer that never ends.
Six example posts you can copy
Swap in your own job, suburb and details. Keep them short: two or three sentences is plenty.
New 250 litre hot water system installed in Norwood this morning. Old unit was leaking at the base, so we swapped it over and had hot water back on by lunch.
Switchboard upgrade in Prospect today. Old ceramic fuses out, new safety switches in on every circuit. A good one to check if your house still has the old fuse box.
Winter's coming. Now is the time to get gutters cleared and cracked tiles replaced, before the first big rain finds the gaps. We're booking roof checks across the eastern suburbs this month.
Front yard makeover in Glenelg North: new turf, a low hedge and drip irrigation so it stays green through summer without hand watering.
Summer service time. A clean filter and a quick check now means your split system runs cheaper and is less likely to stop on the first 40 degree day.
Booking exterior painting for autumn now. Quotes are free, and jobs booked before 30 April get the colour consult included.
How often should you post?
Once a week is a good target. Once every two weeks is fine. What matters is that it's steady, so there's always something recent when a customer looks.
A simple way to keep it going: take one good photo at the end of each job. On Friday, pick the best one from the week and post it.
What Google rejects
Google checks posts against its content rules and can reject or remove ones that break them. Common reasons:
- Phone numbers in the post text (use the "Call now" button instead)
- Content that has nothing to do with your business
- Spammy text, like the same post repeated or lists of keywords
- Offensive or misleading content
- Photos that are blurry, low quality or not yours to use
- Links to pages that don't work or aren't safe
If a post is rejected, Google usually tells you in your profile. Fix the problem and post it again.
Don't put a customer's name, street address or a photo of their house number in a post. Say the suburb only: "in Norwood", not "for Sarah on Smith Street". Your customers will thank you, and it keeps you on the right side of privacy.
Let ReviewRank write your weekly posts
If you know you won't keep up the Friday habit, ReviewRank can do it for you. It's an app made in Adelaide for Australian tradies, and it runs on your phone.
Auto-pilot also thanks every 4 and 5 star reviewer straight away, and lists every change it makes with an Undo button. It never replies to 1 to 3 star reviews on its own and never changes your phone number, website, hours or categories.
Keep your Google profile busy without the admin
ReviewRank writes a weekly Google post from your job photos, replies to reviews and checks where you show up on Maps. $29 a month.
Posts are one of 13 checks in ReviewRank's Fix my Google profile check-up, alongside your description, services, categories and hours. For a full manual run-through, see our Google Business Profile checklist.
Frequently asked questions
Short updates with a photo that you add to your Google Business Profile. They show on your profile when people find you on Google Search and Google Maps.
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Rhys builds and looks after every Reactive Web website himself, from Redwood Park in Adelaide, for local service businesses that want more calls, bookings and enquiries.
