Updated May 7, 2020
Google rolled out a new post type, COVID-19. The COVID-19 post does not allow a photo, likely because they will be featured higher up on the GMB listing. These posts will last up to 14 days as opposed to the normal 7 days posts.
Google is trying to make it easier for businesses to communicate with their customers and searchers. We are seeing this post higher up in the Knowledge Panel/Business Listing on mobile devices, but not on desktop results. For our Sterling Sky Inc listing, our Google posts show up below our Twitter Facebook URLs. Once I created the COVID-19 post, it was visible higher up in the content and much more visible on mobile.
Google provided us with handy FAQs.
Q: How do COVID Posts differ from regular Posts on GMB?
A: COVID-19 posts would appear more prominently on your business page, allowing customers to more easily understand the current status of your business and how you operate during these times.
Q: What is the length of time this will display on the listing? I would assume Google will display this throughout the entirety of COVID-19 issues, but it’s not clear. Are you able to confirm?
A: COVID-19 post type will be available for 14 days. We might adapt to different lengths based on the ongoing status of COVID-19.
Q: Are COVID-19 posts available for listings verified after January 1, 2020?
A: We are making posts available to all listings as soon as the bug gets fixed.
Q: I would love to know how long these stays posted. Also, will they be in front of other posts? Or if another post is made will they be pushed back?
A: COVID-19 posts will immediately appear on the post carousel and “Updates” tab on this Business profile. We are working to make COVID-19 content appear in an even more relevant way to consumers (this is not part of today’s launch). On consumer surfaces, COVID-19 posts will be live for 14 days. We might adjust the duration based on ongoing events.
Q: Any plans to allow for images?
A: Our goal is to ensure these updates are useful for customers and as informational as possible, given their high prominence on the page. We will continue to monitor support for additional use-cases as we go.
Q: Are these coming to the API?
A: This is in the discussion, stay tuned.
Q: How do COVID Posts differ from regular Posts on GMB?
A: COVID-19 posts would appear more prominently on your business page, allowing customers to more easily understand the current status of your business and how you operate during these times.
COVID-19 posts are great if you need to communicate important information to your customers in a more prominent location. They will come in handy if you need to advise hours changes, closures or new procedures with your business. Hopefully, they become available on desktop results soon.
We are now noticing that Google started displaying the COVID-19 posts higher on desktop. Previously, Google would display the posts under the business description. The Covid-19 posts are also lasting longer than 14 days. The Sterling Sky Covid-19 post was created on April 20th and would have expired on May 4th. It also appears that the message, “hours may vary” warning was also removed. Google has not released a statement for either update yet.
