I have a lawyer client who is losing out in the SERP page results to sites that to me seem inferior. I have noticed, however, that several of these sites have lots of google posts. They are being used however basically like a twitter post - a teaser for and link to a blog post. Click on "learn more" takes you to the blog post on the attorney's website. Doesn't seem like the way google wants posts used, so I am wondering if I might not want to lead my client down this path.
Hi Larry, lately it seems our agency's newer clients are either in highly competitive industries and/or more competive markets. As a result we've been really digging into GMB and Maps optimization to get even the slightest edge (or advantage) on our competition. Fortunately, this forum has great members willing to share along with LocalU Faculty members that have done case studies about GMB posts, such as
@BenFisher and
@JoyHawkins.
I'd highly recommend reading this case study from 2019 about GMB Posts on Moz.com that was authored by
@BenFisher:
Do Businesses Really Use Google My Business Posts? A Case Study
Although it is close to 3 years old, it still is the most thorough study that I've been able to find. I was about to actually create a separate forum post asking Ben if he's done any follow up to the study since then or if he or Joy were aware of anything newer. When I saw your post, I thought maybe I could help you out and also get their expert opinion. Two birds one stone
In any case, when you read the study, I'd highly recommend to also read all the comments at the bottom of the article. The comments were equally as helpful as the article itself because it gave insight from other people's real world practical GMB Posting experiences. Yes, the short answer is that GMB Posts don't directly influence organic ranking in Local Pack or SERP, but the longer answer isn't that simple. It can be a significant indirect ranking factor. In my experience I've found that effective indirect factors can provide much better ROI than many direct ranking factors. Also, as Ben points out, personal injury attorneys post most frequently and you mentioned your client is an attorney.
In regards to the competitor creating GMB posts that go to a blog article/post on the website, that is a totally acceptable practice. Unless the post title is misleading, there is nothing wrong with it. For our clients that have active Blogs, more often than not, most of their clicks to the blog article are a result of the click-thru from the GMB Post about the blog article.
If your lawyer client is actively posting on FB, you may find it easiest just to copy and paste the FB posts image, text, and link to a GMB Post.
I hope the above info is helpful.
Lastly, I'd highly recommend attending the next LocalU webinar in November:
LocalU Advanced November 30, 2021 - Local University
It is only $99. I went to the last one and had two questions answered during Q&A that were well worth the price of admission. By far the best value I've spent on SEO in years!
Who knows, one of the sessions may be "The value of GMB Posts in 2022".
