4 Things to know about Google posts in the 3-pack and local finder

In early 2019, Google started to display post highlights in the 3-Pack and Local Finder. We are seeing these more and more lately and have learned a lot about how they function. Here is everything we know about them so far.

1. The highlights pull in content from posts older than seven days so even if a Google Post isn’t showing live on your Knowledge Panel, it can still get featured in a post highlight.

2. Posting about a single topic looks much better than having a long post that lists all your services.

3. The highlights in the search results get updated in real-time. I was able to see a post highlighted for a client in the Local Finder that I had just posted five minutes prior.

4. Different types of posts can get highlighted. We have seen event posts get highlighted (we use these to make the post stick longer than seven days) and we’ve seen regular update-types highlighted. 

So far we have not found that the content used in the Google Post has any impact on ranking, (for example: posting about “dog bites” doesn’t make you rank higher for “dog bite lawyer) so I would suggest focusing your posts on keywords you’re already ranking for that could use a boost in click-through-rate.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.

About The Author

Joy Hawkins

Joy is the owner of the Local Search Forum and Sterling Sky in Canada. She is also the author of The Expert’s Guide to Local SEO, which is an advanced training manual for people wanting a detailed look at what it takes to succeed in the Local SEO space. She has been working in the industry since 2006. She is a faculty member at LocalU and enjoys speaking regularly at marketing conferences such as SMX, LocalU, Pubcon and State of Search. You can find her on Twitter or volunteering as a Product Expert on the Google My Business Forum.