Google Posts Answer Important Questions
Google Posts are an important feature of Google Business Profile and one of the most practical tools for implementing your topic cluster strategy from Chapter 1. Much like obtaining customer reviews, maintaining an effective Google Business Profile requires ongoing attention and engagement. Google Posts are one way to do this, as they provide an opportunity to publish regular updates about your business while encouraging you to focus on specific topics within the topic cluster.
Think of Google Posts as a miniature blog for business owners. They allow you to share news, promotions, events, service information, and other relevant updates directly through your Google Business Profile. Unlike a typical blog, however, Google Posts encourage short, focused messages that communicate a specific idea without unnecessary detail.
In my experience, Google Posts have been one of the most effective tools for putting my topic cluster into practice. Their relatively short format forces you to be succinct and focus on a particular aspect of the business. Rather than trying to communicate everything about a product or service, each post can highlight one benefit, explain one feature, or answer one specific customer question. This makes Google Posts particularly useful for turning the questions you have documented into meaningful content.
Developing a consistent publishing routine and having an Optimization Editorial Calendar (Chapter 15) also encourages business owners to think more deeply about their products and services, in addition to customer needs. Each post should have a clearly defined purpose, highlighting a particular service, benefit, or question rather than relying on broad, generic advertising messages.
Ultimately, Google Posts should be viewed as more than simple advertisements. They are a practical way to organize and communicate the knowledge contained within your topic cluster. This brings us back to one of the central principles discussed earlier in this book: document the questions your customers ask, develop useful answers, and consistently share that information across your digital platforms.
Refining Google Posts
It may take a little time and experience to develop a consistent rhythm for creating Google Posts. Eventually, you should establish a routine that makes the process easier and more efficient. In addition to being creative, you can strengthen your messaging by incorporating relevant industry research and statistical data.
Whenever appropriate, your posts should include credible statistics or research that supports your message. The good news is that AI platforms make it easier than ever to locate industry information. They can incorporate information in your Google Posts and consider the information gain when using this information. If you use information that comes from other sources, then be sure to always verify its accuracy and cite the original source. Using reliable data can give your business a significant advantage over competitors. However, you should never invent statistics or present unsupported claims as facts. Your credibility is too important to cheat.
Think of Google Posts as a mechanism for encouraging you to explore the finer details of your products and services. The objective is to move beyond general points and communicate specifics that distinguish your business. This is where you can leverage the concept of information gain, as discussed in Chapter 1. Over time, this approach helps you develop a more detailed topic cluster while consistently providing customers with useful information.
Aligning Your Website Content and Google Posts
In Chapter 1, we discussed developing a topic cluster that categorizes broad service categories and then addresses specific customer questions. This aligns with same strategy can be extended to your Google Business Profile, creating a connection between your Google Posts and your website content. Each customer question represents an opportunity to create content for both platforms. Rather than developing entirely new material, you can adapt information already published on your website into shorter, more focused Google Posts.
For example, The Standard Pizza Business might publish a detailed website article explaining the differences between New York-style and Neapolitan pizza. A corresponding Google Post could summarize those differences, highlight the restaurant’s offerings, and direct customers to the full article. Similarly, a post explaining how many pizzas to order for a party of 20 people could answer a common question while introducing customers to the restaurant’s catering services.
A single customer question can become a detailed website article, a concise Google Post, and a Facebook or Instagram update. Your website provides the comprehensive explanation, Google Posts highlight specific information, and social media creates additional opportunities for customers to discover and engage with your business.
One of the greatest challenges business owners face is continually developing fresh, relevant content. This strategy addresses that challenge through content repurposing, one of the most practical marketing techniques available to small businesses. Instead of treating your website, Google Business Profile, and social media accounts as separate responsibilities, think of them as interconnected channels that communicate the same information in different formats. This approach provides enables two-way benefit through your Google Posts and website. It also leverages your topic cluster by presenting consistent, related information across multiple platforms.
Google has not established that publishing more Google Posts directly improves local search rankings. Their primary value of the activity lies in communicating useful information and highlighting services. An equally important benefit is that regular posting encourages business owners to think more deliberately about their content and customer needs. This helps you build a library of information that can be adapted across multiple platforms. Each time you create a website article, consider whether it could become a Google Post, or even a social media update. The objective is not simply to publish more content, it is to establish an easier way to develop business content in a more consistent and useful way without significantly increasing your marketing workload.
I’ve personally found that creating Google Posts as a powerful aid that helps me think more carefully about the finer details of my products and services. Sometimes, developing a short Google Post reveals an opportunity for a more detailed website article. Other time, an existing article provides several ideas for individual posts. Content development can work in both directions.
Google Ads
Google Ads offers numerous advertising formats, bidding strategies, targeting options, and performance measurement tools that can make the platform challenging for beginners. However, Google Ads are effective because they target customers based on what they are actively searching for. This is important because someone searching for a specific product or service may already be considering a purchase.
Because Google Ads reach potential customers at the moment they are searching for a product or service, the platform allows businesses to target geographic areas, select keywords, establish budgets, and develop advertisements designed to generate specific customer actions. Google Ads can also display advertisements across Google Maps and YouTube because they are part of the Google ecosystem.
However, there is a lot of complexity surrounding Google Ads. Google Ads operates largely through an auction system, which means that advertisers are competing for visibility. The amount a business pays depends on factors such as competition, bidding strategies, and advertisement quality. Businesses must also understand things like keyword match types, negative keywords, conversion tracking, and campaign objectives. Poorly planned and executed campaigns can quickly consume advertising budgets without generating meaningful results. Google’s automated advertising tools can simplify certain activities, but business owners still need to understand how their money is being spent and whether the advertising is producing customers.
Businesses should evaluate Google Ads based on meaningful outcomes rather than impressions and clicks alone. A campaign that generates hundreds of website visits may appear successful, but those visits have limited value if they do not produce sales. Business owners manage their activity with Google Ads based on pre-determined metrics. Metrics can range from cost per acquisition, to conversion rates, to return on advertising investment. Establishing appropriate conversion tracking ahead of time is particularly important because it helps businesses understand which advertisements and keywords are generating results.
The best approach for a small business is to begin with a limited budget and a narrowly focused campaign. Rather than advertising every product or service, select one offering, define a specific geographic market, and establish a measurable objective. Monitor the campaign carefully and identify which keywords and advertisements produce results. Then make adjustments before increasing spending.
Google Ads can be an exceptionally powerful marketing tool, but it requires more technical understanding and ongoing management than many of the other tactics discussed in this book. It was important to include Google Ads in the discussion. You should be aware of them. However, for business owners who find the platform overwhelming, it is probably best to seek out an experienced advertising professional to help with this activity.
Applying the Lesson at The Standard Pizza Business
The Standard Pizza Business (TSPB) has completed its Google Business Profile. Now it’s time to put it to work with Google Posts! Remember all those customer questions the restaurant answered while developing its website? Those answers are a perfect starting point for Google Posts. This keeps the GBP informative without creating a mountain of additional work. The goal for Google Posts is to post more often and provide useful information that helps customers choose your business.
For example, suppose customers frequently ask, “How many pizzas should I order for a party of 20 people?” TSPB could create a short Google Post with a photograph of several delicious pizzas, a few tips for estimating how many to order, and a link to a more detailed answer on its website.
It’s that simple! Take something you’ve already written, shorten it, add an appealing photograph, and publish it as a Google Post. The owner can repeat this process with other topics, such as specialty pizzas, catering options, or what makes the restaurant’s homemade sauce special. Each post gives potential customers another reason to consider TSPB when they’re hungry. The key is to develop a routine. As the restaurant adds new articles and answers to its website, the owner can turn some of that information into Google Posts.