11 Google My Business Post Ideas for Painting Contractors
Only 44% of local businesses have claimed their “Google My Business” listing.
Meaning if you jump on the train now and use it correctly, you’ll be way ahead of your competitors in your area.
Posting on Google My Business consistently is one of the best ways to keep your business at the top of the search results on Google.
What Is Google My Business?
What’s really interesting is that many painting businesses have NO IDEA how effective posting on Google My Business can be!
Moreover, many don’t even know that it exists…
Google My Business can provide a wealth of information about your painting business without the user even having to leave Google or visit your actual website.
And my favorite part… it’s free!
Here’s an example of how your Google My Business listing will show up when someone searches for a painter in your area:
If done correctly, they will soon be visiting your website or giving you a call to find out more information about the painting services you offer.
Why is it Important to Post on Google My Business?
“Google Posts” was launched a few years ago which allows businesses to make posts, similar to other social media platforms, like Facebook and Instagram, which keep customers up to date.
[Related — 7 Ways To Utilize Social Media To Get Leads]When you post on Google My Business, this information is, believe it or not, posted on Google so therefore you’ll have a large audience if you can make it to #1.
Google is currently the most popular search engine there is and when you use Posts on Google My Business, you are helping to boost your search ranking.
The higher your search ranking, of course, the more easily your customers are going to find you and the quicker they are going consider booking an estimate with you.
I go more in-depth in my blog post: “7 Benefits of “Google My Business” for Your Painting Business.”
Google posts are generally short, around one 100-300 words, and usually come with either a picture or video that are relevant to them.
Here is an example of TD Painting & Wallcovering showing how your posts will appear on the search results page:
These posts are meant to inform existing customers or potential customers about sales, events, and promotions, that you may have going on.
If you are successful in keeping your posts consistent, you can bet that Google will show you off before giving your competitors the spotlight.
The reason I say it must be “consistent” is because your posts will not stay on the results page forever, they actually expire after 7 days.
Try to post, at the very least once a week, but for the best results, post once a day!
By posting once a day, Google will favor your listing over others, because you’re simply using the tool they created.
How to claim your Google My Business Listing
Step 1: Go to https://www.google.com/business
Step 2: Click “Manage Now”
Step 3: Sign in to your Google account that you want to be associated with the GMB account, or create one if you don’t already have one
Step 4: Enter your business name
Step 5: Enter your business address
**NOTE: This address must be within the limits of your target area. If you’re not too sure, you can go to Google Maps and type in the city of your address and check out the parameter (red line) like in this example here:
Step 6: Check this box:
Step 7: Choose your delivery area radius
Step 8: Choose your business category “Painter”
Step 9: Add your business phone number & website
Step 10: Next you’ll need to verify your Google My Business listing using the following:
- By postcard – This may be your only option, and for this you’ll need to wait about 5 days to receive it
- Instant verification – If you’ve already verified your business on Google Search Console then you may be eligible for instant verification
Step 11: Once your postcard arrives you’ll log back into Google My Business and type in the verification code then click submit
Step 12: Once your listing is set up it’s time to fill out the rest of it, go to your Google My Business dashboard, click your listing, select “info” then fill out as much as you can. (Hours, service areas, etc…)
Step 13: Be sure to add a cover photo –this will show up first on the search results page, see this example of Preble Painting’s cover photo:
If you ever want to make a change to your listing, you can always login to your dashboard > click “info” > click the pencil icon next to any field you want to edit.
After making your changes be sure to click “apply”.
According to Google, businesses with photos see 35% more clicks to their website; this brings us to my next point…
How to Create a Post on Google My Business
It doesn’t take too much to create a post on your Google My Business listing; you can do it from either desktop or mobile.
Step 1: Sign in to your Google My Business account
Step 2: Select “Create Post”
Step 3: Recently Google has changed the post limit to 1,500 characters.
It’s extremely important that you don’t use slang or have any typos so that Google gives your post the full advantage –we’ll get into post examples in a minute.
The first 80 characters should be the most important ones because that’s what people will be reading first — move your most important points to the very top.
Keywords in both your title as well as those first 80 characters are extremely important.
There are 3 types of Google Post categories:
- What’s New – gives your customers recent news about your painting business, like if you have a change of hours, a product or service launch you want to announce, etc…
- Event – when you want to post about a special event that your business is holding, like a sale or a demonstration of a service.
- Offer – pretty self explanatory (:
Ideally, you will want to use all 3 kinds of posts.
Step 4: Upload any images which pertain to your post, add a call to action button, then you can preview your post before publishing it.
11 Google My Business Post Ideas for Painting Contractors:
1. Take before & after pictures of recently completed projects and describe them.
Here’s an example of this from DW Painting & Wallpapering:
2. Take pictures of you and your team during a training session.
Here’s an example from Mike Ausherman Painting:
3. Take pictures of yourself or your team with your happy customers after the project has been completed.
4. After taking a video testimonial why not post it?
People love to see REAL interaction and happy experiences, here’s an example from Sir Paints a Lot:
5. Walk around a newly finished project, explaining the work that was completed.
Here are a couple of great examples of this from Mike Ausherman Painting:
Click here to see another video
Even if it’s not the most perfectly shot video — what matters is that the people who find your business via Google see how “real” and down to earth you are.
6. Simply show off the beautiful work you’ve just completed, and include a “Call to Action.”
In this example from Militello Painting and Powerwashing, they’ve displayed a set of cabinets that needed an update and how great they looked afterward with a call to action — a button to book an estimate.
The recommendation of using a call to action comes directly from Google themselves.
Make sure to always include one!
7. Display the quality products you use and describe why you prefer some over others.
Here’s an example from DW Painting & Wallpapering:
8. Create a video talking about the services you offer.
In this example, we have an animation video from TD Painting & Wallcovering:
9. Post a photo of you and your team.
Then talk about the culture and values you hold.
10. Share your blog posts as posts on Google My Business.
This is a great way to show readers your expertise in the painting industry.
[Related — Steal My 471 Blog Post Ideas]
11. Feature one of your newest hires.
Talk about how they contribute to the crew and maybe a little bit about them.
How Often Should I Post on Google My Business?
It is a good idea to keep some kind of posting schedule.
You don’t want to post for a few days in a row and then suddenly not post anything for a month or two as people will start wondering what happened to your business.
You can use a scheduling tool in Google Posts to make sure they’re posted on a regular and consistent basis.
Many Google My Business advisors suggest that if you post around the same time on the same day every week, it is better than posting at random times.
Use Google Post Analytics to figure out who is actually reading your posts.
Out of those people, find out who is taking an “action” from these posts.
You can see information about visits and clicks that your posts have been getting for either the last seven days or the last twenty-eight days.
Optimize Your Posts for Voice Engine Optimization
With all the effort we have spent in making sure your posts can be found through the Google search engine, let’s not forget about one of the most important new ways that people are doing searches, and that is with their voice.
When someone has a Google home assistant, or even Siri, and they ask where they can find a company to do interior painting, how likely is it that your company is going to come up in the search recommendations?
Optimizing your Google posts for Voice Engine Optimization might have to be covered in a post of its own but for now, I’ll discuss a few important key facts about Voice Engine Optimization, or “VEO”.
The information that goes into your Google My Business listings is exactly what powers the answers that the Google Home Assistant gets when it answers questions for people.
So make sure that your Google My Business information is as complete and accurate as possible with many relevant keywords.
I tested this myself and asked my Google Mini about what companies could do interior home painting and it immediately gave me the name of a company and exactly how far it was from my location.
VEO is fairly new and not a lot of companies are fully taking advantage of it — so it’s a great idea for you to do so, strike while the iron is hot!
I hope this helps you in your journey to ranking #1 in your area for your Google My Business listing!
Check out how we automated “Sir Paints a Lot” social media for life, and quadrupled his engagement.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out: Nadia@DYBVirtual.com
Until then, happy posting!