Is your Google listing quiet? Post once a week to show you're open

A Google listing that has not changed in a long time can look closed, even when you are open every day. You can add a short update with a photo in a few minutes. Post once a week and your listing can show people you are still here.

Ramesh runs a hardware and paint shop near a busy market. Taps, pipes, locks, paint in every colour, and he mixes shades on the spot.

His nephew made his Google listing a few years ago. Since then, nobody has touched it. No new photo. No update. The last thing on it was over a year old.

One morning a contractor came in to buy paint. He said, "I almost did not come. I looked you up on Google and nothing had changed in a year. I thought maybe you had shut."

Ramesh laughed. Then he stopped laughing. If this man almost did not come, how many others looked, saw nothing new, and went to the shop down the road?

Your Google listing lets you add short posts. Google calls them updates. An update is a few lines of text, often with a photo.

People who find your shop on Google Search or Google Maps may see your updates on your listing. A recent one tells them something simple: this shop is open and someone looks after it.

There are a few kinds:

• A short note. Something new in your shop, or a simple message.
• An offer. A deal you are really running, with dates.
• An event. Something happening at your shop on a set day.

For a busy shop, a short note with a good photo is enough to start.

1. Sign in with the Google account that manages your listing.
2. Open Google Search and type your business name, or open the Google Maps app and go to your business.
3. Look for Add update or Add post. Google may show it as a button near the top of your business tools.
4. Add a photo. Take a clear one in good light. Our guide on adding photos to your Google listing shows what to shoot.
5. Write two or three short lines.
6. If Google offers a button, like Call now, you can add it.
7. Tap Post.

Google may check your post before it shows. If it does not show, look at your email and the Google Maps app for a message from Google.

Keep it real and simple. Show what a customer would see if they walked in today.

• New stock. "New range of bathroom taps in. Come and see." With a photo of the shelf.
• A simple offer. "Buy two litres of wall paint, get a brush." Only if you really have it, and say till when.
• Work you did. A photo of a shade you mixed for a customer, with their okay.
• A short note. "Open daily. We can help you pick the right paint for your wall."

Ramesh's first post was a photo of his paint mixing machine. Three lines: "We mix any shade while you wait. Bring a photo of the colour you like. Open daily."

Once a week is a good habit. Pick one day, like Monday morning before the shop gets busy. A few minutes is often enough.

You do not need a big idea every week. A new box of stock, a clean shelf, a happy customer's wall. That is enough.

If you miss a week, that is fine. Just do not let it go quiet for months again. A post fits well into a ten minute weekly routine for your Google listing. While you are there, check that your opening hours on Google are right.

• Your latest update is from this week or last week.
• It has a clear photo of your real shop or stock.
• The words are short and true.
• Ask a friend to look you up on Google. They can see your recent update.

Posting does not promise you a higher spot on Google. It shows the people who already found you that you are open and ready to help. To check the rest of your listing, see what people see when they search for your shop.

Do not post things that are not true. No fake offers, no stock you do not have. Customers remember.

Do not stuff your post with phone numbers and links. Google has rules for posts and may remove ones that break them. Keep it to a simple message and a photo.

I do not see "Add update" or "Add post".

Make sure you are signed in with the account that manages your listing. If the listing is not yet yours, claim it first.

Can my staff post for me?

Yes, if you add them as a manager of your listing. Check what they post.

Do old updates stay forever?

Older updates may become hard to find over time. That is one more reason to post again each week.

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