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Apartment Marketing Digital Marketing Lead Generation

Exploring Google Posts Available to Google My Business Users for Apartment Marketing

In case you haven’t noticed it in local search results lately, Google My Business rolled out a new feature back in June enabling all Google My Business users to create social media-like posts under their local Knowledge Panel on the Google search results page. These Google Posts also appear within the Local Finder window in Maps results.

Google Posts for Google My Business

“The new feature presents a huge opportunity to get property-specific content with call-to-action buttons directly in front of people when they’re searching,” reports Gary Magnone, GTMA’s Director of SEO. “In my opinion, there is little benefit for apartment communities to be posting to Google Plus anymore.” Ouch.

How is Google My Business Different from Google Plus?

If you’re wondering how Google My Business is different from Google Plus, then allow us to clear up the confusion. While Google Plus is primarily a social network designed to connect users with similar interests, Google My Business serves as a one-stop-shop for business owners to manage their entire Google presence within a single dashboard.

Screenshot of GTMA's Google My Business Dashboard

Once upon a time, your Google Plus page was directly linked to your Google Business listing so it was important to keep your business listing updated. Now the two operate independently from each other, but they are both accessible through the same platform.

Screenshot of Business Listing Info in Google My Business Dashboard

As you can see in the screenshot above, your Google Plus page is still tied to your business listing through the “Info” tab in Google My Business.

Why Google Posts for Google My Business

Google Posts (not to be confused with Google Plus) can enhance SEO results by tailoring your listing as it appears in the Knowledge Panel so that it matches your current business objectives. Google Posts can also help increase your visibility online and drive additional traffic to your website or landing page by capturing the attention of users with eye-catching visuals. As an added plus (pun intended), Google Posts gives business owners the opportunity to push down potentially negative review content within the sidebar while sharing timely and relevant information at the same time.

One thing important to note is that whatever you post here will NOT appear on your Google Plus page, and whatever you post to Google Plus will NOT appear with your Google My Business listing. This is because Google Plus and Google My Business operate independently of one another. It’s also important to note that Google Posts (for Google My Business NOT Google Plus; we know, it’s confusing) have a shelf life of seven days, which means they disappear from the knowledge panel unless you post a new Google Post for the next seven days. Once a Google Post expires, it continues to live on in the “Posts” tab on mobile but is no longer displayed in the knowledge panel beyond the initial seven days.

Google My Business Mobile Overview

GTMA Now Manages Google My Business Listings

For a low monthly rate, or as a bundled service with our Yelp offering, GTMA maintains your Google My Business listing with an emphasis on driving business results. We keep your listing fresh with at least four Google Posts per month featuring current leasing specials, property updates, upcoming events and the latest news about your community.

Each Google Post consists of 100 to 300 words plus a call-to-action link (options include: Learn More, Reserve, Sign Up, or Buy) and a photo. Each post has a shelf life of seven days before they expire and live on in the “Posts” tab on mobile. Event-specific Google Posts are the exception to the seven-day lifespan and remain active for the entirety of the specific date range. Google Posts also get their own unique URL so we can reshare that content on other networks once the post has expired.

Interested in learning more about GTMA’s Google My Business Listing Management Service? Contact our Partnerships team by filling out the form below!

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Categories
Apartment Marketing Digital Marketing Lead Generation

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