{"id":11222,"date":"2017-08-23T14:28:00","date_gmt":"2017-08-23T14:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trafficsoda.com\/?p=11222"},"modified":"2022-11-28T17:30:53","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T17:30:53","slug":"google-my-business-updates-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trafficsoda.com\/google-my-business-updates-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"New Updates to Google My Business – Fall 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
All businesses, big and small, should be using Google My Business to bolster their online presence. Google is the first place people turn for information about a local business, and according to the company\u2019s internal data, a well-maintained Google My Business page gets five times more views<\/a> than unclaimed listings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like many Google products, Google My Business changes constantly, often with little fanfare. Features can appear (or vanish) without warning. Business owners must adapt on the fly to keep up with the latest updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some important 2017 Google My Business updates you may have missed, plus a look at the future of the platform. The most substantial Google My Business update in 2017 so far is the posts feature<\/a>. You can now publish posts to your Google My Business listing and the knowledge panel<\/a> on both Search and Maps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Each post can have an image, up to 1,500 characters of body text, and a call to action button that takes users to a page on your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The available calls to action are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Currently, there are two kinds of posts available: regular posts and event posts. For event posts, you can set a title as well as a start and end date for the event. Regular posts expire after seven days, while event posts last until the event is over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, what can you do with Google My Business posts? Since they show up right in the knowledge panel, posts are a great way to share timely content and updates about your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, you can use posts to draw attention to an upcoming event, a new product launch, a daily special, or a current promotion. You can also use posts to promote your online content, like the latest blog post or video. There are tons of possibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since this feature is still new, it\u2019s unclear how important posts will be when it comes to search engine optimization. The only data Google gives you is the total number of views on each post, making it difficult to gauge their performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What we do know is that posts are free, easy to make, and highly visible in search. If you have a Google My Business page (and if you\u2019re a business owner, you should!), it\u2019s worth your time to explore this feature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To create a post, sign in to Google My Business (if you have two or more locations, choose the one you want to post to) and click Create Post. Stick to 150 to 300 characters of text, and choose a 720 x 720px image that looks good in both full and thumbnail size. Click Preview to see what the post will look like, and then click Publish to go live when ready!
<\/p>\n\n\n\nGoogle My Business Posts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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