Have you ever searched for your favourite sports team or musical artist and on the right-hand side of your search results, found all kinds of information such as fixtures, results, social media posts or even details such as squad/roster songs/albums?

Well let me introduce you to Google Posts, the free Google product intended to allow businesses to engage with their audience with the very latest information, all from one simple search enquiry.

Inside this investigation, our Knutsford Web Agency will take a look at ‘Google Posts’, how you can easily set-up and manage your account and what alternative products are out there to help your business grow by communicating with your audience from one simple click.

Okay, so what are Google Posts On Google?

Google Posts is a free Google product feature that allows businesses and people to create and manage content directly on Google. All content created using Google Posts will appear either directly to the right of the search or listed within the search which is triggered by searching for the name, profile or business who have been approved by Google Posts.

Google Posts were first introduced to search engines in January 2016, as part of the ongoing US presidential campaign. In March the following year, Google then opened the Posts with Google feature to movies, sports teams, leagues and celebrity personnel in both the US and Brazil then was later introduced to the rest of the world.

Although this feature is still being rolled out to more and more businesses, some are still not eligible, so it may be worth checking if you can claim your listing. Don’t worry, our Knutsford web design agency will show you how to check.

How can I claim my online presence?

To find out if you are eligible and to claim your online presence, simply search your business name then on the right-hand side, you will see the option to click ‘Do you manage the online presence for this business’.

Click the link then review the displayed information to make sure it’s your website. You will then be prompted to sign into on of the office sites or profiles listed to verify that you are an authorized representative of your business such as YouTube account, Google+ account, Search Console or Twitter.

If you do not have the option to manage your online presence, don’t worry, you can still post content on Google…

The Alternative Google My Business

Not all businesses are eligible to claim an online presence, mostly due to the type of products and/or services Google understands from crawling your website, so you will need to meet set criteria. However, small business users can still get around this by registering your business with Google My Business.

Another free product, Google My Business allows small businesses to create a free business listing which will then appear in search results when a user searches for your business, businesses similar to you, or services related to you based on location.

A free Google My Business listing allows the combination of you and your users to add and manage;

• • Customer Reviews
  • Opening Hours, along with peak times
  • Add Photo’s
  • Create posts which will appear on the right-side when searching on Google
  • Offer insights on how users find and interact with your website
  • Add Products, perfect for displaying new or sale items
  • List events

If you previously used Google Places, Google My Business or Google+ Pages Dashboard to manage your business information, your account has been automatically upgraded to Google My Business.

If you have previously used Google My Business or Google Places, don’t worry, any data such as personal information, posts, events or social media activity is automatically transferred over.

Google My Business Insights

Regardless of if you post your content through Posts On Google or Google My Business, both products feature a free tool which will help you learn how customers are interacting with your business listing with Google Insights.

Integrated into the dashboard, Google Insights answers all the questions you have, it provides a weekly and monthly overview depicting if users found you through a direct search or through discovery, an overview of what searches users are clicking on your business website for. Insights also records how users interact with your business profile so you can see how many phone enquires came from clicking the phone number listed on search plus much more.

Knutsford Web Design Verdict

Regardless of it’s if Posts On Google, or Google My Business, as a Knutsford web design agency, in our professional opinion, we would highly advice you sign up to either of these free Google Products.

In a matter of seconds, you can quickly manage how customers view your business website, keep your presence fresh, engage your audience and monitor how users are interacting.

If you would like any help setting up any of your Google product lists, or would like advice on improving your search presence, get in touch with your local Knutsford web design agency. Feel free to send me an email at tom@untitledtm.com or give our office a call on 01565 653 616.