Google Business Profile Post Views Are Back: What the New Post Report Shows and How to Read It

What are Google Business Profile post views?

Google Business Profile post views are a new metric that shows how many times local customers saw each update, offer or event you published on your profile. The count combines views from Google Search and Google Maps into one number and covers posts from the past 18 months.

Google announced the feature on 10 September 2026. After roughly three and a half years without post data, local marketers can finally measure this part of the profile again. In this guide I explain what Google Business Profile post views measure, what they leave out, where to find them and how to read them with your own analytics.

How did Google announce post view counts?

The news arrived in the September edition of the Google Small Business Bulletin, published in the official Business Profile Help Community. The title leaves no room for doubt: "Track your Google Post views".

Google calls post view counts one of its most requested features. That framing makes sense, because owners and agencies have asked for post data since it disappeared in 2023. In addition, the bulletin says the rollout is global but gradual. So if you cannot see the numbers yet, nothing is wrong with your account.

Before the announcement, a few accounts already showed signs of a test. For example, screenshots in the search industry press showed view counts under individual post cards. In other words, this is not a rumour. It is a confirmed feature that Google is rolling out step by step.

My advice here applies to every local search update: check the source first. New feature rumours circulate every week. However, only information from Google's own channels should shape your budget and your content plan.

What do Google Business Profile post views cover?

According to the bulletin, the new metric has four clear boundaries. If you read the number without them, you will draw the wrong conclusions. Here is the scope in short:

• Time window: posts published in the past 18 months, on a rolling basis.
• Post types: all of them, including updates, offers and events.
• Surfaces: Search and Maps views arrive as one combined total, not as two figures.
• API: the data lives only in the dashboard for now; Google states that API support is not available yet.

The 18 month window is the most interesting detail. Google's official help page for posts says that posts older than six months get archived unless they carry a date range. As a result, you can now look back at archived posts too. For seasonal campaigns, that is a real opportunity.

One practical tip: on the first day you see the numbers, copy the view count of every past post into a spreadsheet. The rolling window will drop the oldest posts month by month. That small habit turns today's history into a permanent record.

Where can you see post view counts on your profile?

There is no separate report screen. Instead, the number sits on the post list itself. Based on press coverage of the rollout, the flow looks like this:

1. Sign in with the Google account that manages the Business Profile.
2. Search for your business name on Google, or open your profile in the Maps app.
3. Open the Posts section from the management menu.
4. Read the view count shown on each post card.

During testing, some users reported the label "people viewed" on the cards. That said, Google has not published the final wording for every language. So rather than hunting for an exact menu name, look at the post cards. Also, because the rollout is gradual, different profiles under the same account may get the feature on different days.

Why did Google remove post insights in the first place?

In the old Google My Business days you could see views and button clicks for every post. According to industry reports, both metrics retired on 20 February 2023, during the move to the Business Profile Performance API. Photo view counts disappeared at the same time.

Since then, the Performance tab has offered profile level data only. The official Performance help page lists views, searches, directions, calls, website clicks, messages and bookings. However, it never showed the share of individual posts.

As a result, many businesses stopped posting altogether. Honestly, I had to describe posts to clients as work "we cannot measure but should not drop". The new report finally moves that debate back to data.

There was also an upside. Businesses that kept posting stayed visible in a space their competitors had abandoned. Now they will find 18 months of history ready for comparison, while the quiet profiles start from zero.

How do new post views compare with the old post insights?

Putting the two periods side by side makes the differences clear. I built this table from the official bulletin and from industry reporting:

The key row is button clicks. The new report shows interest, but it does not show action. To measure clicks, you need the UTM method I describe below.

Does a post view count people or impressions?

There is no official answer yet. Google did not define a post view in the bulletin. Therefore we do not know whether the figure counts unique people or every appearance.

Profile views offer a useful comparison. According to the official Performance page, profile views work on a unique user basis. Google counts a person only once per day. Also, visits from different devices and platforms can count a limited number of times.

Whether posts follow the same logic is unclear. For that reason, I would not divide post views by profile views to create a "post reach rate" for now. Instead, compare posts with each other. Two posts measured with the same method give you a much safer comparison than two numbers with different definitions.

Do post views affect local rankings?

No official source says they do. Google's local ranking help page describes three main factors: relevance, distance and prominence. Post views do not appear there as a ranking signal.

That said, posts help indirectly. A profile with fresh, regular posts tells people the business is active. As a result, engagement on the profile can grow, and the new metric shows you the first step of that engagement.

The real foundation of local visibility is still category choice, consistent business details, reviews and a matching website. I cover that foundation in my Google Maps SEO guide, and I suggest reading it before you plan posts. In short, posts are a layer on top of a solid profile; they cannot rescue a weak one.

I also want to correct a common myth. A post is not a place to stuff keywords. Piling district names and service terms into the text pushes readers away, and there is no official sign that it helps rankings.

How should you read Google Business Profile post views?

A raw number says little on its own. Three hundred views can be great for a neighbourhood café and weak for a retail chain. So I read the figure in three contexts:

• Against profile views: check how many people saw your profile in the same period. That gives a rough sense of how far your posts travel.
• By post type: group offers, events and updates separately. You will quickly see which type earns attention.
• Over time: compare the same season across two years. The 18 month window makes that possible.

Also note how long each post stayed live. An event post that ran for two weeks and an update that stayed up for six months do not belong on the same scale. In practice, I add a "days live" column next to the total. Average views per day then give a far fairer comparison.

Which post type gets more views?

Google has not published an official comparison. Most figures you see online come from tool vendors and their own samples. Therefore I recommend testing with your own data instead of trusting a general rule.

The official posts help page describes three types. Updates can carry photos, videos and an optional action button. Offers need a title and a date range, and they include a "View offer" button plus an optional coupon code. Events work with a title and start and end dates.

My own observation is that offers and events often attract clearer intent, because they carry a deadline. Still, that is a field impression, not a rule. The new report gives you, for the first time, a solid way to confirm or reject it on your own profile.

How is this different from offer data in the Performance tab?

Many people miss this detail. The official Performance help page already lists offer views and clicks among the profile metrics. So offer posts had a limited signal for a while.

The new report extends that visibility to every post type and to individual posts. For example, you can now see which of two offers drew more attention, card by card. For updates and events, the data is genuinely new.

So keep the two sources apart in your reports. The Performance tab shows the overall picture of the profile, while the post card shows the scorecard of one piece of content. Separate columns protect you from double counting at the end of the year.

How do you measure clicks on post buttons?

The new metric brings views back, but not clicks. The most practical fix is to add UTM tagged links to your post buttons. Then every visit from a post appears as its own source in Google Analytics 4.

1. Give every post its own campaign name, for example "october-breakfast-offer".
2. Use "google" as the source and a distinct medium such as "gbp-post".
3. Create the link with a UTM builder to avoid typos.
4. Match sessions and conversions to each post inside GA4.

Next, put the post view count next to the GA4 session count. The ratio gives you a rough post click rate, and a CTR calculator makes that quick. Because the definitions differ, the figure is not exact. Still, it works well for comparing posts.

One caveat: GA4 only sees visits to your website. Some people see a post and then call or ask for directions without pressing the button. UTM tags miss that behaviour, so also watch calls and direction requests in the Performance tab during busy posting periods.

How can you combine post views with GA4 data?

Without API support, you will merge the data by hand for now. That sounds tedious, but half an hour a month is enough. Here is the simple setup I use:

• Keep one sheet with date, type, title and campaign name for each post.
• At month end, copy the view counts from the dashboard into the sheet.
• Pull sessions, engaged sessions and conversions for the same campaign names from GA4.
• Finally, read the "views, visits, conversions" funnel for each post on one row.

Setting up events and conversions correctly in GA4 is the weakest link in this funnel. I explain the basics in my GA4 guide. In addition, when you present this sheet to a manager, the framework in my article on how to read a digital marketing report helps you explain what each number means.

What does the missing API mean for agencies and multi-location brands?

For a business with one profile, reading the dashboard is fine. However, a brand with dozens of branches, or an agency with many clients, faces a different reality. Automated reporting dashboards cannot pull this metric yet.

The bulletin gives no timeline for the API. So instead of waiting, build a temporary process. For instance, if you manage many locations, record only the best and worst performing posts each month. That keeps the workload low without losing the learning.

Be careful with third party tools that claim to "show" this metric already. Without official API support, always ask where the numbers come from. Reporting scraped or estimated data as an official figure can quickly damage client trust.

For agencies, one more tip: add a one line note to every client report, such as "taken manually from the Google dashboard, combined Search and Maps total". That note answers questions before anyone asks them.

What do low post views tell you?

A low number does not always mean weak content. Start with the basics. If your profile views are low, your posts will naturally get few views as well; the problem lies in discovery, not in the post.

If profile views look healthy but post numbers stay weak, focus on content and timing. These are the causes I see most often:

• A profile full of archived posts because nobody posted for months.
• Stock images or low resolution photos that nobody notices.
• Long, generic text that never says what the offer is in the first line.
• Posts that failed the content policy while the owner never noticed.

The last point matters. According to the official help page, Google rejects posts that break its policies and shows the status in the dashboard. So when you see zero views, first confirm that the post actually went live.

How do you write posts that earn more views?

A post is a short shop window. People see it in search results or in the Maps panel for a few seconds. Therefore the first line should say what you offer, for whom and until when.

For visuals, use your own photos. A real shot of the venue, the product or the team builds more trust than stock imagery. Also, give each post a single clear action button, because several goals leave people undecided. The principles in my call to action guide apply to post buttons too.

On rhythm, Google lets you schedule posts and repeat them weekly, monthly or on a custom schedule. That way your profile never goes quiet. Still, I suggest changing something small in each repeated post instead of recycling the same text. The new metric lets you measure the effect of those small changes for the first time.

Which tests can you run with post view data?

Now you can manage posts by comparison rather than by guesswork. Change one variable at a time; otherwise you cannot tell where a difference came from.

• Image test: share the same offer with a product photo one month and a venue photo the next.
• Type test: set up the same campaign once as an update and once as an offer.
• Timing test: announce an event one week ahead in one period and three days ahead in another.
• Copy test: try one version with the price in the first line and one without.

When you read the results, note outside factors such as holidays, weather and local events. Do not read too much into small gaps. In short, wait for a pattern that repeats over several months before you change your strategy.

Write your hypothesis down before each test as well. A one sentence prediction keeps you honest when the results come in. Keep the record even when the result disappoints, because negative results shape the next campaign too.

Which businesses benefit most from post views?

Post view data matters for any business whose customers check the map before they decide. That said, the effect is stronger in some sectors. In my experience these groups stand out:

• Restaurants and cafés: you can see quickly which daily menu, brunch or live music announcement draws attention.
• Clinics: you can compare seasonal information posts year on year.
• Retail stores: testing new product, stock and discount announcements by type becomes easy.
• Local service businesses: plumbers, locksmiths and salons can measure interest in campaign posts for the first time.

On the other hand, for businesses whose visitors mostly land on the website directly, this data stays secondary. For an online only store, for instance, post views are a small signal. So decide how much effort to invest based on your customer journey.

How often should you check post views?

Daily checks are unnecessary for most businesses. Posts stay live for weeks, so the number builds up over time, and the first two days can mislead you. Therefore I recommend a regular monthly review.

Short events and offers are a different case. For example, record the result of a three day discount in the week after the campaign ends. Then you can compare it fairly with the next similar campaign.

Always note the date when you record numbers. Because of the rolling window, older posts will drop out of the report. If you do not keep your own sheet, you will not be able to compare today's campaigns two years from now.

How do Google Business Profile post views fit with review management?

After a visitor sees your post, they usually check your reviews next. So a strong post cannot make up for a weak review profile on its own. You need to think about both together.

In practice, watch for this pattern: high post views but low website clicks and calls. That can mean people show interest and then drop off somewhere on the profile. Very often the drop off point is unanswered negative reviews or outdated information.

Replying professionally to negative reviews is always the first step. For fake, abusive or policy violating reviews, Google offers official reporting routes. My team and I handle such reviews only through those official channels as part of our Google review removal service.

How should you add post views to your measurement plan?

The most common mistake with any new metric is adding it to your KPI set without thought. Post views measure awareness and interest. They do not replace sales or lead metrics.

I suggest treating post views as a leading indicator: the first step on the path to a business result, not the result itself. Keep measuring success through calls, direction requests, website visits and conversions. My guide to digital marketing KPIs helps you decide which metric serves which goal.

Also, if in store materials send people to your profile through a QR code, track that traffic separately. Turning a UTM link into a code with a QR code generator takes a few minutes.

What should you do if the feature is missing from your profile?

First, wait. Google says the rollout is gradual, which means some profiles may get it weeks later. Meanwhile, run these checks:

1. Make sure the profile is verified; the official Performance page says data requires a verified profile.
2. Confirm that you signed in with an owner or manager account.
3. Check that you published at least one post in the past 18 months.
4. Open the profile on another device, through both Search and Maps.

If the number still does not show, look again in a few weeks. In the meantime, set up UTM click tracking. Then you will already have a data set to compare with once the feature arrives.

Ignore forum tricks that promise to "unlock" the feature. No setting or form speeds up the rollout. Never give account access to anyone outside Google's official support channels.

Are Google Business Profile post views worth tracking?

Yes, with the right expectations. The metric tells you how often people saw your posts; it does not tell you whether they bought anything. If you keep that distinction in mind, the feature closes a gap that local marketing has lived with for years.

For me, the most valuable part is that it turns the old "do posts work?" debate into a data question. You can now answer it with numbers from your own profile. Moreover, the 18 month history lets you learn from the past, not only from today onwards.

If you want to handle local visibility end to end with this data, my team and I can work with you on profile structure, content planning and measurement as part of our SEO consulting.