Google Business Profile Posts: What to Post and How

Many Business Profiles get set up once with an address and hours, and then nothing on them changes for years. Google Business Profile posts are the simplest way to fix that: short updates, offers and event notices that appear on your profile in Google Search and Maps, right where a customer is deciding whether to call you or the shop next door.

This guide covers what Google Business Profile posts are, the three post types, how to create and schedule them, the rules that get posts rejected, and what to post if you run a clinic, salon, restaurant or coaching centre. Everything procedural here is based on Google's own help page, Create & manage posts on your Business Profile.

What are Google Business Profile posts?

A post is a piece of content you publish from your Business Profile. It can carry text, a photo or a video, and in most cases a button that sends people to your website, booking page or ordering link.

Google says customers can find your posts in three places:

The "Updates" or "Overview" tabs of your Business Profile on mobile, in Search and Maps.
The "From the owner" section of your profile on a computer, in Search and Maps.
Featured posts added directly to your profile on mobile.

Featured posts are worth a note for Indian readers. Google describes them as posts about events, deals or specials that can show automatically, pulled from your Facebook or Instagram or from posts you create on the profile. Google currently limits this feature to English-language, single-location food and drink businesses in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. So a cafe in Bandra will not see featured posts today, but its regular posts still appear in the Updates and Overview tabs.

Google's own explanation of why posts exist is practical: when customers find your latest business updates on your profile, "it helps them decide to visit your business." That is the right way to think about posts. They are for the person already looking at your profile.

The three post types: Update, Offer and Event

Google offers three types of Business Profile posts. Each has different required fields.

Post type	Use it for	Required	Optional
Update	News, new services, timings, a new doctor joining, new stock	None listed by Google	Description, photo, video, action button with a link
Offer	Sales, discounts, festival deals	Title, dates and time	Description, photo, video, coupon code, link, terms and conditions
Event	Workshops, open days, demo classes, tastings	Title, start and end dates, and times	Description, photo, video, action button

A few details from Google's help page that people often miss:

Offer posts automatically get a "View Offer" button.
If you create an Event without a start or end time, Google shows it as lasting 24 hours on the event dates. Add real timings, for example "Saturday 10 am to 1 pm", so people do not turn up at 6 pm.
Posts older than 6 months are archived unless you set a date range.

Which type should you pick?

Use an Update for anything that stays true for a while: a new branch timing, a new treatment, a new menu section. Use an Offer only when there is a real deal with a start and end date, such as "15% off hair spa, 20 to 31 October". Use an Event when people need to show up at a specific time, like a free spine check-up camp at a physiotherapy clinic in Baner on a Sunday morning.

How to create a Google Business Profile post, step by step

These are the steps Google lists for creating a post:

Go to your Business Profile, for example by searching for your business name on Google while signed in to the account that manages it.
Select Posts, then Add post.
Choose the post type: Update, Offer or Event.
Select the elements you want to add. For extra details, choose options such as Button or Coupon code.
Add the information for your post: title, description, photo or video, dates and link as needed.
To publish later, turn on Schedule this post and pick the date and time.
To publish on a recurring basis, use the Repeats dropdown to choose weekly, monthly or a custom schedule.
Select Post at the bottom right.
If you manage several profiles, you can select the other profiles where the post should appear, then select Post. To post to just one profile, select Skip.

Scheduling and repeats are useful for busy owners. A gym in HSR Layout can write a month of posts on one Sunday and schedule them, instead of remembering to post every week.

To edit or delete a post later, go to Posts, select More next to the post, then choose Edit or Delete. If an offer ends early or event timings change, edit the post the same day.

Photo and video specifications

Google's posts page does not list separate media sizes for posts. For profile photos and videos in general, Google's photos and videos help page gives these guidelines:

Photos: JPG or PNG, between 10 KB and 5 MB, recommended 720 x 720 px, minimum 250 x 250 px. Photos should be in focus, well lit and not heavily filtered.
Videos: up to 30 seconds, up to 75 MB, 720p or higher.

Using the same standards for post images is a safe default. Use your own photos of your premises, team and work rather than stock images.

Why posts get rejected, and how to avoid it

After you publish, Google reviews each post against its content policy. Your post will show one of three statuses:

Live: public and showing on Search and Maps.
Pending: not showing yet, because it is still uploading or processing, or because your profile is unverified.
Not approved: not showing. A question mark next to the status tells you which policy the post broke.

If every post stays Pending, check verification first, because Google lists an unverified profile as one reason a post stays Pending.

The most common avoidable rejections come from these rules in Google's photos, videos and posts content policy:

Phone numbers in the text. Google may remove posts with contact information it cannot verify, including phone numbers, email addresses and social media handles. Many Indian businesses write "Call/WhatsApp 98xxxxxxxx" in every post. Instead, attach a Call now button, which uses the verified phone number on your profile.
Hotel offers. Hotels cannot create Offer posts, or any post that mentions or links to deals, promotions, special offers or discounts. A resort in Lonavala can post about a new pool or a monsoon menu, but not "20% off weekend stays".
Regulated industries. Businesses in regulated industries can use posts but must not include content about the regulated products. Google's examples include alcohol, tobacco, pharmaceutical products, health and medical devices, gambling, fireworks, weapons and financial services. A pharmacy can announce extended Diwali timings, but should not promote a medicine. A bank branch can post about its new address, but not a loan rate.
Quality. Google asks you to avoid misspellings, extra characters, text that adds no value, and auto-generated or distracting content. Offensive or sexually suggestive content is not allowed, and links must not lead to malware, phishing or adult content.

Do Google Business Profile posts help ranking?

Be careful with claims here. Google's article on improving your local ranking says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity. Its list of things you can do includes verifying your business, keeping information complete and accurate, responding to reviews, and adding photos and videos. Posts are not named in that list, and Google also says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.

So treat posts as a conversion tool, not a ranking trick. A customer comparing three salons in Koramangala sees one with a recent post showing a bridal makeup package, real photos and a "Book" button, and two with nothing new since 2023. Posts help that customer choose you. Rank itself still comes mainly from your categories, completeness, reviews and distance, which a profile audit can check for you.

To judge whether posts are working, look at the actions customers take from your profile, such as calls, direction requests and website clicks, in the weeks after you start posting regularly. You can track calls, directions and clicks by location to see the trend instead of guessing.

What to post: ideas for Indian local businesses

The best posts answer a question a customer would otherwise call to ask. Here are ideas by business type:

Dental clinic in Indiranagar: "Now open on Sundays, 10 am to 2 pm" (Update). A free oral check-up camp with date and time (Event). Avoid naming specific drugs or devices.
Salon in Andheri: wedding season packages with clear dates and terms (Offer). Before-and-after photos of real work, with client consent (Update).
Biryani outlet in Hyderabad: Ramzan or Diwali timings (Update). A combo deal valid for two weeks with an "Order online" link (Offer).
Coaching centre in Kota or Pune: admission dates for the new batch, a free demo class (Event), results announcements without exaggerated claims.
Car service centre in Gurgaon: monsoon check-up offer with start and end dates (Offer), new service bay or extended hours (Update).
Real estate site office in Whitefield: site visit day with timings (Event), possession updates with real construction photos (Update).

Keep each post focused on one thing. Lead with the useful detail (what, when, where, price if any) and add a button that takes people straight to the next step.

A simple posting rhythm

You do not need to post daily. A realistic plan for a small business:

One Update every week or two, scheduled in advance with the Repeats option or the scheduler.
One Offer or Event when you genuinely have one, with exact dates.
A quick monthly check: delete expired offers, fix anything that changed, and look at which posts led to calls or clicks.

Posting across multiple locations

If you manage several branches, the select the profiles where you want to share it step lets you publish one post to many profiles at once. That works well for brand-wide news, such as a festival timing change across all outlets.

Two cautions for chains and franchises. First, a shared post must be true for every branch it goes to, so do not send "open till midnight" to the branch that closes at 10 pm. Second, add branch-specific posts too, so each profile shows something local, like the Baner outlet's own event. A multi-location dashboard helps you keep branch details and posts consistent at scale.

Frequently asked questions

How long do Google Business Profile posts stay visible?

Google says posts older than 6 months are archived unless a date range is set. Offers and Events use the dates you enter, so set them accurately.

Why is my Google post stuck on Pending?

Google shows Pending when a post is still uploading or processing, or when the profile is unverified. If it stays Pending, confirm your profile is verified.

Can I put my phone number in a post?

Google may remove posts with unverified contact information, including phone numbers. Use the Call now button instead, which uses your profile's verified number.

Can hotels post offers on Google Business Profile?

No. Google's policy says hotels cannot create Offer posts or any post that mentions deals, promotions or discounts. Hotels can still post other updates.

Posts take a few minutes a week and give every customer who lands on your profile a reason to pick you today. Start with one accurate Update, add Offers and Events only when they are real, keep phone numbers in the Call now button, and check the actions that follow. If you want to see how your profiles rank street by street before and after you start, talk to the RankMonk team.