Using a Google My Business (GMB) profile is one of the most effective ways to gain exposure for your dental practice and improve your SEO rankings. Google My Business is a free marketing tool for local businesses. It is a great tool to capture the attention of potential patients as they are actively using Google search and maps to find dentists. While most commonly known for giving businesses visibility on Google maps and sharing customer reviews, your Google My Business profile has more to offer.
One of the most useful features: Google My Business Posts.
Google My Business posts allow you to share information about your business, services, goods, events, and offers. Located below your knowledge panel on your GMB profile, these posts offer room for detailed information about your business and reach a broad audience.
Google My Business posts can help you rank for local search results
What is a Google My Business Post?
A Google My Business post is a type of social media update that can be published on your Google My Business profile.
Google My Business posts allow you to connect with your audience when they’re online, including the business hours you’re open, details about your events, special offers, and more.
When optimized, your Google My Business profile shows up in search and maps. Regularly creating quality Google My Business posts helps with your rankings on Google.
Posts can be used to tell patients about:
- Events
- Offers and specials
- Announcements
Here are a few tips and best practices to help you write an effective Google My Business post that drives results.
5 steps to creating a great Google My Business Post
Pick your post type
Google My Business provides several different post types to use.
Depending on what you’re trying to accomplish and the message you want to share, selecting the right type of posts on Google My Business can make your content more effective.
Offer Posts
An offer post is perfect for promoting a limited-time deal at your dental office. You can include a headline, description, and start and end date. These posts are only shown during the time your offer is available.
Update Posts
When you have news about your practice, like new products and services, you can use this type of post. This is a great way to keep patients informed about the latest updates to your dental practice.
Event Posts
Unlike update posts, event posts are for when you have a special event for your office. These posts can include a date range or times of day and will stay live during that range.
Product Posts
When you want to feature physical products for sale, this is the post type to use. You can include details like product name, description, price, and a call to action.
Choosing the right photos and videos
Photos and videos are a great way to make your posts more compelling. When you create a GMB post, always include a photo or video. The posts you create need to attract engagement, and photos, videos, and clear calls to action are the foundations of a great post.
The photo or video you upload with your new Google My Business posts should be authentic to your practice. Any image you use should be visually appealing, engaging, and represent your business well. If possible, avoid having text over your photos, particularly as images get cropped differently for desktop and mobile.
Picking a keyword-driven title
Keep your post title concise and include a keyword you want to target when you write a post. If you’re not sure what keywords your audience would use to find your business, check out Google Keyword Planner.
Any post on Google My Business can potentially influence your SEO ranking factors, so it’s smart to create clear, search engine-friendly titles.
Choosing the right Call to Action (CTA)
Always include a call to action button when posting. The action button you choose will vary depending on the type of post you create. Here are some of the current options:
- Book
- Order online
- Buy
- Learn more
- Sign Up
- Call Now
Using the right action button ensures that potential patients click through to your website. Use a link that relates to your GMB post. The more specific a landing page you can use, the better. For example, you could use the button “Learn more” and send users to a landing page specific to the event when promoting events.
Consider desktop & mobile devices
Your Google My Business Posts will look different on a mobile device than they do on your computer.
While your post can include upwards of 1,500 characters, it’s often recommended to keep them below 500. The entire content of a post is visible on desktop devices; however, the text is truncated on mobile devices. As a result, you want to keep the most important information at the start of your post, so it doesn’t get cut off on the mobile view.
Keep in mind that the hashtags you use on social media won’t be relevant on Google My Business posts. They don’t impact your SEO or search rankings, so it’s best to omit them.
Don’t get rejected
To avoid your GMB posts being rejected, follow Google’s guidelines for GMB Posts. For starters, don’t include your email address or your phone number. Those are all listed in your Google My Business listing. When you create a post, the CTA button will link to your website, so there is no need to include your URL in the post. Steer clear of using all caps, too.
Some words may also be deemed offensive. Use your best judgment, and don’t post anything disparaging about your local competition.
Lastly, don’t use stock photography. Google My Business posts are meant to highlight your local business. Use photos of your team, happy customers, or even an image of yourself! Customers love getting to know the owner of a business, and this is a great tool to do this, especially with video.
Added benefits
Your business profile has a variety of features, including a Q&A section. Google’s machine learning can try to use the content from your posts to answer questions in your GMB Knowledge Panel.
Posts you create on your GMB listing also help potential patients see that you’re an active and engaged company. Alongside positive reviews, when people utilize Google search and maps to find services like yours, your posts on Google My Business will help you stand out from the competition. Having such amazing visibility in both Google Search and Google Maps is a huge win for dental practice owners like you. This free marketing tool is incredible for businesses looking to improve their SEO rankings in search.
Contact our team if you’re not sure how to create a post or what to post about. We have extensive experience optimizing Google My Business accounts and can develop a great strategy for consistent, traffic-driving posts.
