There’s a new tool for establishing your digital presence on the web, but it isn’t available to your small business just yet.
Google Posts lets your business create content on Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), which can then be optimized to rank high in search results.
When it was first launched in 2016, it was during the Presidential campaign, and it was intended for the candidates. This greatly limited its use, and Google expanded the service to a number of local businesses in March of the same year.
Fast forward one year later, and it now includes sports teams, museums and movies, along with select people and businesses.
What Can Google Posts Do?
Put simply, the goal of Google Posts is to allow users to communicate directly in search results. This goes beyond the Knowledge Panel by highlighting content, information, products or services.
The posts can be images, videos or even animated GIFs. You can add inline links on the posts to drive traffic to a particular page, service or product.
Google says, “This enhanced format allows searchers to hear directly from the primary source — you — and complements existing results from across the web.”
Posting
Your postings show up instantly in search results on mobile and desktop platforms. Whether they are text, images, videos or events, you can schedule the time and duration of a post. If you are launching a product, opening a pop-up store or running a promotion, this is a great feature for getting immediate access.
Once you post, Google’s analytics goes to work and gives you updates on how many people see and interact with your content.
How is Google Posts Different from Google+?
Google+ will help your small business by working together with Google Search to rank your content high on search results. It also integrates with Google for Business services to provide business information, such as location, directions, phone number, photos and reviews. And when it comes to posts, you can promote posts, specials, deals and other content.
The difference with Google Posts is the interaction capability. You can communicate something directly in search results.
Availability
There is no telling when Google will make Google Posts available to everyone, but if you want to use it for your small business, you can request access. If the company supports your category and geography, it will verify some information and keep you updated on the status of your approval via email. Google says you can expect the first correspondence within a week of submitting your form.
Images: Google
This article, “What is Google Posts? If You Don’t Know, You’d Better Read This” was first published on Small Business Trends