Business Profile posts and photos: an active profile beats a stale one.
Same reviews, same category, and the profile updated monthly ranks higher. It is five minutes most parks skip.
IN ONE PARAGRAPH
Google treats an updated Business Profile as a more reliable one. Posts, which are short updates with a photo and a link, and new photos are the two easiest ways to keep it updated. A post a month about what is happening, opening day, the new bathhouse, fall rates, the rally, and a few photos each season from the park as it looks now. Posts expire after a while, so it has to be a routine, not a project. It is the cheapest ongoing signal a park can send, and most profiles have not been touched since they were claimed.
What to post
- Opening and closing dates, with the season's first photo.
- Rates and specials for the season ahead.
- What changed: a new bathhouse, a new site loop, WiFi upgraded, the pool open.
- Events: the rally, the fishing derby, the fireworks, the fall weekend.
- Conditions: the river is running, the aspens turned, the road is plowed.
- A link to the website page or post that says more.
A post is a photo, two or three sentences, and a button. It takes five minutes. One a month is enough; one a week in season is better.
What a post looks like
A Business Profile post for early October at a year-round park:
The aspens turned this week along the river loop, and the shoulder rate is on through October 31: $52 a night for full hookups, 30-day stays from $650. Winter sites with heated water open November 1. Book online or call (719) 555-0100. With a photo of the river loop taken that morning and a "Book" button to the site.
Three sentences, one photo, one button. The same month, four new photos go up: the river loop, the bathhouse, a rig on a fall site, the office with the flag. Fifteen minutes, including the review replies.
Which photos
The park as it looks this season: sites with rigs, the bathhouse inside, the office, the view, the road in, the amenities. Add three or four each season so the profile shows spring and fall, not only the summer shot from 2019. Guests use the photos to decide and Google shows them in the map pack. Set a logo and a cover photo. Short videos of the drive in do well.
Why it matters
Google rewards activity with visibility because it suggests the listing is current and the business is open. Profiles with recent photos get more direction requests and clicks, by Google's own numbers. And a post is the only place on the profile where you can say something timely, which is what a guest deciding this week needs.
What it looks like when it is missing
Four photos, one of them a screenshot of the map. No posts, ever. Hours that were set at claiming and never updated for the season. A guest looking at the profile in October sees a park that might be closed, and the park's own site says otherwise, but the guest never gets there.
How to check your own
- Open your profile and click Posts. If there are none, or the newest is last year, that is the state of it.
- Count the photos and check the date on the newest.
- Compare with the top park on the map for your town.
What we do about it
The Listings + Reviews band includes a monthly profile pass: a post matching that month's website post, new photos each season, hours updated on their dates, and questions answered. It is bundled with the review replies because it is the same fifteen minutes. What else the profile controls.
Questions about this.
How often should an RV park post on Google Business Profile?
At least monthly, weekly in season if there is something to say. Posts expire, so it needs to be a routine.
What should a campground post about on its Business Profile?
Season dates, rates and specials, what changed at the park, events, and conditions, each with a photo and a link to the site.
Do photos on the Business Profile affect ranking?
Google reports that profiles with photos get more direction requests and clicks, and an active profile is treated as more reliable. Add a few current photos each season.
Can I schedule Business Profile posts?
Several tools can, but a five-minute manual post each month is enough and keeps it honest. We do it as part of the monthly profile pass.
Want this done for your park?
This is the ongoing work in the Marketing band. Tell us about your park and we will say what we would build first. SEO for parks starts at $250 a month.
Part of the RV park SEO guide, section: What grows a park site. Previous: Local backlinks: the links a park can actually get. Next: Internal linking passes: connect what you publish to what books.