Google Business Profile Posts Guide [2026 Strategy]

Google Business Profile posts let you publish updates, offers and events directly on your profile. They are free, and they give people who already found you a reason to call. Here is how they work in 2026, checked against Google's Business Profile Help pages.

The 3 post types and when to use each

1. Updates. News about the business: a finished job, a new service, changed hours. The default type.
2. Offers. A promotion or deal with a start and end date and an optional coupon code. Only use real offers.
3. Events. Something happening at or by your business, with a date range. It shows until the event ends.

Product highlights are not a post type any more; use the products section instead.

How long posts stay visible

Google archives posts older than six months unless a date range is set. Offer and event posts end on their end date. Every post is reviewed after you publish it, and a post marked "Not approved" does not appear on Search or Maps, so check the status after posting.

Do posts help rankings?

Google does not list posts as a ranking factor. Its local ranking guidance names relevance, distance and prominence. Posts help in a different way: they show customers what you are doing now, and they keep offers, events and seasonal changes accurate. Treat them as conversion content, not a ranking lever. If you want posts, photos and review replies handled every month, that is what our GBP management service does.

A simple monthly posting routine

Most small businesses do well with a short routine they can keep up:

• Week 1: an update about a recent job, with your own photo.
• Week 2: a service spotlight that answers one common customer question.
• Week 3: an offer, only if you have a real one; otherwise another update.
• Week 4: anything seasonal: holiday hours, an event, a reminder.

Ready-made wording is in our free post templates.

Photo and content rules

Use a JPG or PNG in 4:3 landscape; around 1200 x 900 pixels is a safe size. Google's general photo guidance recommends 720 x 720 pixels and accepts down to 250 x 250. Keep posts family-friendly, do not link to anything harmful, and in regulated categories (alcohol, tobacco, gambling) do not promote the regulated product itself.

Common mistakes

Posting once and forgetting. Recycling the same offer text. Posting without UTM tracking, so you cannot see what the posts drive. Generic "check us out" posts with nothing useful in them. Posting stock photos. If you would rather not run this yourself, a monthly GBP management plan includes posting.

Updated October 9, 2026: removed the old weekly-expiry and product-post claims, added Google's six-month archive rule and post approval, and clarified that Google does not name posts as a ranking factor. Sources: Google: posts on your Business Profile · Google: improve your local ranking.