Anybody still bothering with GBP posts?

[Zero1987]

Honest question. I have around 8 local clients, mostly dental. On some profiles i was doing the 2-3 posts per week thing, on others i ignored it completly, and i cant see difference in map pack or in insights.

Reviews move something for sure. Filling all the service and attribute fields move something. Photos maybe little bit for 2 weeks. Posts i see nothing at all.

Anybody actually seeing result from them or we all just doing it because google say so?

 

[iFreelancer]

Results differ one niche to another

Mostly GBP posts to keep the listing active and freely use the targeted keywords.

 

[Noah-Bennett]

I still post occasionally, but I haven't seen a big ranking boost from GBP posts alone. Reviews, accurate business information, and regular profile updates have made a much bigger difference for me.

 

[Fun_bitesX03]

Same here, I think reviews are the main thing for local SEO. Google Business Profile posts maybe help a little but not a major factor.

 

[Titans]

We still include GBP posts as part of our local SEO strategy for clients, but we don't rely on them to improve rankings.

From our experience, the biggest impact comes from a well optimized Google Business Profile, genuine customer reviews, consistent local citations, relevant high quality backlinks, and strong location specific content.

GBP posts are useful for keeping the profile active and sharing updates, but they're only one small piece of the overall strategy.

 

[Thunder Digitals]

GBP posts doesn't have any ranking factor.

 

[CloudMerchant]

Yeah your not imagining it. Posts are basically dead weight for map pack ranking. What you noticed lines up... reviews and filling out every field actually move stuff, posts dont.

The only real value i see from them is the activity signal and getting your keywords in there naturally, plus if someone is already looking at your profile a fresh post might push them to call. But as a ranking lever, nah.

Honestly for dental clients id spend that posting time chasing more reviews instead. Way better return.

 

[SOCOM]

Get real people to visit the GMB, click on a post, go through to the site for real CTR.

 

[hamadlocalseo]

Interesting discussion. My experience has been somewhere in the middle.

I don't treat GBP posts as a direct ranking factor, mainly because I haven't seen consistent Map Pack improvements from posting alone across different local projects. Google has never clearly documented GBP posts as a ranking signal, so I consider them more of a communication and engagement feature than an SEO lever.

Where I have found value is on the conversion side. Fresh posts with seasonal offers, new services, FAQs, or community updates can give potential customers another reason to interact with the profile once they're already viewing it. That doesn't necessarily improve rankings, but it may improve the user experience and increase the likelihood of a call, website visit, or direction request.

If I had to prioritize my time for a local business, especially in a competitive niche like dental, my order would be:

• Keeping the GBP 100% complete and accurate.
• Earning genuine customer reviews consistently.
• Building strong location-specific landing pages.
• Strengthening local authority with quality backlinks and citations.
• Publishing GBP posts when there's something genuinely useful to share, rather than just posting to maintain a schedule.

One thing I'd be interested to see is whether anyone has run a controlled test where two otherwise similar GBP profiles differed only in posting frequency over several months. Most of the opinions I've seen are based on observation, but I haven't come across convincing evidence that posts alone move Map Pack rankings.

 

[alwaysrank]

I think GBP posts are more about keeping the profile active than improving rankings I have seen better results from getting quality reviews, accurate business details,and regular local photos. Posts can still help with user engagement if they promote real updates or offers but I would not expect them to move the map pack by themselves

 

[FistFullOfCash]

I see a certain guru who now says it is a waste of time as of lately. So yeah, I don't do much with the update posts yet still get emails to update my hours for every holiday.

 

[proxygo]

Honest question. I have around 8 local clients, mostly dental. On some profiles i was doing the 2-3 posts per week thing, on others i ignored it completly, and i cant see difference in map pack or in insights.

Reviews move something for sure. Filling all the service and attribute fields move something. Photos maybe little bit for 2 weeks. Posts i see nothing at all.

Anybody actually seeing result from them or we all just doing it because google say so?

there days of having use is slowly fading

 

[sharifawan]

@hamadlocalseo asked a couple of weeks ago whether anyone had run a controlled test, and the thread just carried on with more observations. Worth picking that up, because OP is closer to a test than anyone here.

Eight clients, mostly the same niche, some posted 2-3x a week, others ignored completely. That's a split that already ran. What it can't tell you is which way the answer goes, because we don't know if the two groups started comparable. Same size city, similar review counts, similar profile completeness, similar competitor density. If the posting group happened to be the harder markets, you'd see nothing even if posts did something.

So if anyone wants to settle it rather than keep trading observations: matched pairs, one variable, and write down which profiles are in which group before you start rather than deciding after you look.

One other thing. "Keeps the profile active" appears in most replies here, and nobody explains what it means. Active in what sense, and visible where? If you can't say where you'd observe it, you can't test it, which is probably why this question comes round every few months without landing anywhere.

 

[MarketThinker]

I still use GBP posts, but more for conversion than rankings. They’re useful for offers, updates, and trust when someone checks the profile, even if they don’t move map positions much.

 

[DigitalVertex Agency]

I've had a pretty similar experience. I don't treat GBP posts as a major local ranking lever anymore. they seem more useful for keeping the profile active and giving potential customers another piece of information to see.