Maximize Google My Business Posts

When you are in your account console and click on Posts the options displayed: Add Update, Add Event, Add Offer, and Add Product. Not all of these will make sense in the context of a short-term vacation rental business.

What's New: I use "What's New" to create a post and link it to a Story in Houfy.

Let's look at what this looks like. In the example below, I had already written an article (Story or Blog post - all the same). The options you see for creating a post is an option to include an image or video. You want to make sure you keep a folder where you can have cover images for any of your posts. I re-used a photo from my Story as my Google Post cover image. Under "write your post" you simply want to provide a brief blurb for what the post is about.

The next part is interesting. Yes, you could insert a link to your Story as part of your written post, but a best practice is to include a button with your post that has an action. In this post I used a button "Learn More." A line is provided to paste your Story link.

In the case below, I have my own website with a vacation blog and linked to the article on my vacation blog. But I also include all of my vacation blog posts in Houfy as Stories. So I could just as easily copy and pasted a link to the related Story on Houfy.

Book: What's New is particularly good for linking to a Story, but another variation using another type of button can lead visitors to your listing page on Houfy.

Last week I was particularly enamored by how beautiful the water was in Panama City Beach. I took a 20 second video from my balcony using my phone and I made a teaser video from it.

The Book button is a type of button that can be part of your post. This button links directly to https://www.houfy.com/2811 - my listing page on Houfy.

Want to learn how to make your own videos? See this related Story I wrote: "Making Property Videos for Free."

Want to see the video made part of this post? Click the link below to see the video on my Video Channel on YouTube.

Emerald Coast Waters at Celadon Beach Resort - Unit 2007

The view from our unit at Celadon Beach Resort is really a window onto the world. You can see so much. This month the water has been as beautiful as we can ever remember it. Come and enjoy! Book Direct our Emerald Oasis Condo: https://www.houfy.com/2811

https://www.youtube.com/

Add Offer: Another kind of post is an Offer. Although aspects of this option are better suited to a traditional retail store, it can still be helpful in promoting particular weeks you are wanting to see bookings.

In creating this post, I use another attractive and relevant cover image. Use the title to alert that this is a promotion and for what weeks it is relevant. You can make up your own promotion code and even set terms and conditions as well as the period of time the promotion is valid.

You can include button with this post to drive prospective guests to your website for where they can redeem the offer (i.e. Houfy listing page).

Reviews: While I was in Google MyBusiness for one of my properties, the program actually suggested formatted post from a review a customer left on Google for my property. In this case, I wrote a brief statement and included a Learn More button that directs anyone who clicks it to the listing page on Houfy.

I hope you're able to make use of these tips as a way to continually leverage the work you are already putting into writing content about your property and its location.

Tim & Elizabeth Spaid operate Coast Awhile Vacation Rentals, LLC with properties in the southeast United States. Click to View All Listings.