How to set up Google Business Profile posts in 10 minutes a week

The one-time setup: 20 minutes, once

1. Confirm you have owner or manager access. Search your business name in Google while signed in, or open business.google.com. If someone else set up the profile, ask them to add you as a manager.
2. Check the basics first. Name, primary category (Real estate agent), service area, hours, phone and website. The name must match your real-world name. In Colorado, an agent who shows a team name in advertising also shows the brokerage name with it, under Real Estate Commission Rule 6.10. Keep that line the same here, on your website and in your social bios.
3. Make a photo folder. Create one folder on your phone called "GBP posts". Every time you take a listing photo you own, a photo of a street sign in your area, or a picture at a closing (with the client's written OK), drop it in.
4. Write your four post starters. One sentence each for the four posts below. Save them in a note on your phone.
5. Set a weekly reminder. Same day, same time. We use Monday morning, before the first call block.

The 10-minute weekly routine

1. Minute 1 to 2: pick the post. Rotate through the four post types below, one per week. Week five starts over.
2. Minute 3 to 5: get one fact. Pull one current number from your MLS or your own sales: homes for sale in your city, median list price, or days on market. Write down the date and the source.
3. Minute 6 to 8: write 80 to 150 words. Lead with the fact. Add one sentence on what it means for a buyer or seller. End with one plain next step.
4. Minute 9: add the photo and the button. Pick a photo from your folder. Choose Call now or Learn more.
5. Minute 10: read it once out loud, then post. Check the number, the date and the brokerage line.

That is the whole routine. The time goes up only when you skip the setup.

Four posts that work for real estate agents

1. The market number

One dated number for one city. Example: "Littleton had [count] homes for sale on [date], with a median list price of [price] ([your MLS]). Sellers: that is the competition your home lines up against this month. Ask us for the numbers on your street." A dated number is specific, useful and hard to copy.

2. The listing or the sale

A new listing, a price change or a recent sale, with one photo you have the rights to. Give the address or the neighborhood, the beds and baths, and the price. Leave out who the home is "perfect for". Describe the house, not the people.

3. The question you answered this week

Every week a client asks you something worth repeating. "How much are closing costs in Colorado?" "What is a metro district tax?" Write the short answer with one number and its source. This post does double duty: it is the same answer you can turn into a page or a social post.

4. The event

An open house, a first-time buyer class or a seller seminar. Use the event post type so the date and time show. Delete or let it end after the event, so the profile never shows something that already happened.

Photo and text rules

• Photo files: Google's photo guidelines ask for JPG or PNG between 10 KB and 5 MB. Export at 1200 by 900 pixels and keep the subject in the middle; some views crop toward a square.
• Your own photos only. Use photos you took or have written rights to. MLS photos belong to the photographer or the listing agent.
• No phone numbers in the text. Google's posts content policy does not allow a phone number in post content. Use the Call now button, which dials the number verified on your profile.
• No text-heavy images. A photo with a few words is fine. A flyer full of text reads poorly on a phone and adds risk of rejection.
• No emojis and no hype. Our house rule. Plain sentences read as trustworthy.
• Fair housing applies. Posts are advertising. No school ratings, crime claims or descriptions of who lives in an area.

Mistakes that get posts rejected or ignored

• Phone numbers, email addresses or unrelated links in the text. These trigger rejections. Keep contact details in the profile and the button.
• Recycled stock photos. They tell the searcher nothing about you.
• Claims you cannot prove. "Number one agent in Parker" is a claim Google, the Commission and a competitor can all question. Swap it for a fact: years licensed, reviews with a source, sales with dates.
• Posting ten times in one week, then stopping. A steady pace beats a burst. Old posts stay visible, and a profile whose newest post is from March looks abandoned.
• Different names in different places. If the profile says one team name and your website says another, fix the mismatch before you post anything.

How to tell if it is working

Open the Performance report on your profile once a month. Write down three numbers: calls, website clicks and direction requests. Compare the month to the month before. Also note which posts got clicks; Google shows views and clicks on each post. After three months you will know which of the four post types your market responds to, and you can lean on that one.

Be patient with the numbers. Posts are one part of a profile, next to reviews, photos, categories and the answers you give to questions. A steady routine helps the whole profile look current.

When to hand it off

If the 10 minutes keeps slipping off your calendar, that is the signal. Our Google Profile Weekly Posts service writes and publishes four posts a month for an agent: a local market or listing post each week with a photo, the brokerage line, no emojis and no claims we cannot prove. You approve each one. It can help keep the profile active; it does not promise calls or rankings, and nothing honest does.