Most standard Google Business Profile posts expire from view after about seven days, unless they're marked as an Offer or Event, which run until their own end date. That's why a profile with no recent posts can look inactive even when the business behind it is busy every day.
A fresh post from this week signals a business that's paying attention. An empty feed signals the opposite, right at the moment a customer is deciding who to call. This is the practical system: how often to post, the four post types, and the standards that make a post actually worth reading.
Posts don't move your map pack ranking directly. They lift click-through, and they feed the freshness signals AI summaries increasingly pull from.
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The four post types, the standards checklist, and the sample month below, condensed onto a single printable page. No email required, just the download.
Download the one-pager →Why this matters
Customers increasingly ask Google or an AI assistant a question instead of typing a search and browsing links. Those systems favor businesses that look current: recent reviews, recent posts, an active profile. Posting is one of the easiest signals a business controls, and one of the most overlooked.
Posts don't move your position in the local map pack directly. What they do is lift click-through once someone finds you, occupy space a competitor could otherwise fill, and feed the freshness signals that AI-generated summaries now pull from. Treat them as a conversion tool, not a ranking hack.
The four post types
Type 01
Update.
General news: a new service, a team change, a seasonal note. This is the default post type for most weeks.
Type 02
Offer.
A specific promotion with a start and end date. Google displays these with extra visual weight, and they stay live until the offer ends rather than expiring in a week.
Type 03
Event.
Anything tied to a date: a workshop, an open house, a seasonal appointment push. Runs until the event date passes.
Type 04
Product.
A single service or item with its own name, price, and description. This is different from a services list on the website; each post should stand on its own.
How often to post
Once a week is the practical minimum. That's the only way to guarantee at least one active post is visible at all times, since standard posts expire after seven days. Two to three times a week is stronger if a business can sustain it, but skipping weeks entirely is worse than committing to a steady, lower cadence.
The realistic target for most small businesses: 2 to 4 posts a month, batch-created in a single sitting so posting doesn't become a daily chore.
What makes a post actually work
A handful of standards separate a post that gets read from one that gets scrolled past.
Standard 01
Use a real photo, not stock.
1200x900px or larger, horizontal, well-lit.
Standard 02
Keep it to 150 to 300 words.
The character limit is higher, but shorter posts perform better and Google truncates long previews anyway.
Standard 03
Name the specific service, not just the category.
"Acupuncture for lower back pain" tells a customer something a generic "acupuncture" post doesn't.
Standard 04
Always include a CTA button.
Book, Call, or Learn More. Never leave a post with no next step.
Standard 05
Write like a person.
Skip the keyword stuffing and the repeated business name in every sentence.
Standard 06
Never duplicate content.
Each post should say something the last one didn't.
Lead with the most important information. Google truncates previews aggressively, so the first sentence has to carry the message on its own.
A simple system to keep up with
Here's a four-week rotation that covers the bases without demanding daily attention:
Week 1
Update.
A service, specialty, or team note worth mentioning that month.
Week 2
Skip, or a short seasonal note.
Only if something's actually changed.
Week 3
Offer or Event.
If one exists that month. If not, another Update.
Week 4
Product post.
One specific service, described in real detail.
Batch-write all four in one sitting at the start of the month, then schedule them out. It's the difference between a profile that looks current and one that looks forgotten.