In today’s digital landscape, visibility is key to driving customer engagement and, ultimately, business success. DAC continually tests and refines strategies to ensure our clients not only reach their target audiences but also convert that reach into meaningful interactions and transactions.
One of our recent initiatives involved leveraging Google Business Profile (GBP) posts—a tool that has become increasingly crucial for businesses looking to stand out in local search results. Google offers two primary types of posts through GBP: “Offers” and “Events.” These posts provide businesses with the opportunity to promote their products, services, and special promotions directly within their local listings, making them highly visible to potential customers.
“Offers” posts are typically geared towards mobile listings and focus on a single promotion or discount, driving immediate action. On the other hand, “Events” posts are displayed across both desktop and mobile platforms. These posts are designed to highlight specific events, such as sales or in-store promotions, and usually link users to a dedicated event page, encouraging attendance or participation.
DAC had a client that was running lots of offer posts geared toward single promotions but we noticed that a significant portion of their website traffic was coming from a generic all-offers link we were running as an event. This observation led us to hypothesise that presenting these coupons as “Events” might drive more targeted traffic and lead to higher engagement rates.
1. The Hypothesis: Could Visibility Drive Engagement?
DAC’s hypothesis was based on the visibility of these posts. We believed that users might engage more with “Events” because of their broader visibility. Since “Event” posts appear on both desktop and mobile devices, they have the potential to catch more attention than “Offers” posts, which only show up on mobile. By turning promo-specific coupons into “Event” posts, we expected to reach a bigger audience, leading to more website visits, leads, and coupon interactions. We aimed to see if this change would result in a higher click-through rate (CTR) from the posts. To test this, DAC launched both the generic all-offers content and the promo-specific coupons as “Events” and carefully monitored the results.
2. Putting ‘Event’ posts to the test: Our approach and metrics
In July, we tested our hypothesis by launching both the generic all-offers content and promo-specific coupons as “Event” posts on Google Business Profile, to see if these posts would result in higher engagement than the “Offers” posts. Over a 28-day period, we tracked key metrics like click-through rate (CTR), website traffic, leads, and coupon interactions to measure the impact of this change.
After running the test for 28 days, the results were clear: switching to “Event” posts had a positive impact on engagement. Although the overall traffic volume from these posts remained less than 1% of the total listing traffic, the specific metrics showed impressive growth. Website traffic from “Posts” increased by 531%, leads generated from these posts grew by 333%, and coupon prints or texts saw a 189% rise.
These results confirmed our hypothesis that the broader visibility of “Event” posts would lead to higher user engagement. By presenting promo-specific coupons as “Events,” the client was able to capture more attention and drive significant improvements in both traffic and interactions. This test underscores the value of continually optimising digital strategies to take full advantage of the tools available in platforms like Google Business Profile.
This test demonstrated the power of “Event” posts in driving engagement and enhancing visibility. By simply shifting promo-specific coupons from “Offers” to “Events,” our client saw substantial increases in web traffic, leads, and coupon interactions. The broader reach of “Event” posts allowed the promotions to connect with a larger audience, proving that small strategic adjustments can lead to significant results.
At DAC, we remain committed to exploring innovative strategies that maximise our clients’ online presence. This case study is a reminder that continuous testing and optimisation are key to staying ahead in the digital marketing landscape. By leveraging tools like Google Business Profile effectively, businesses can achieve more impactful outcomes and connect with their target audiences more efficiently.
