Using Google Business Profile with Schedulin
Schedulin can post local updates to your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business). One Google account can manage many business locations, and each location becomes its own Schedulin channel.
Coming soon. Google requires per-project approval of the Business Profile APIs before posting will publish. Schedulin shows the channel as Coming soon until that approval lands; this article documents the planned behavior.
Connecting Google Business Profile
- On Schedulin's Channels page, click Connect Google Business.
- Approve Google's consent screen — Schedulin requests the
business.managescope. - After consent, Schedulin lists every verified business location your Google account manages and creates one channel per location. If you only manage one location you get one channel; if you manage 12 you get 12.
- Pick which locations to actually use from the Channels page. Disconnecting one doesn't affect the others.
What you can publish
Schedulin supports STANDARD posts (the most common type). Event, Offer, and Alert post types are on the roadmap.
| Field | Limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Summary (body) | 1,500 chars | Required. This is the visible post text. |
| Image | 1 image, JPG/PNG | Optional but strongly recommended — image posts get far more engagement. |
| Call-to-action button | Pick one | Learn more, Call now, Order online, Book, Shop, Sign up. All except "Call now" require a URL. |
Posts disappear after 7 days. This is a Google rule, not a Schedulin one. Repost regularly if you want a sustained presence.
Analytics
Google Business Profile reports metrics per location, not per post. Schedulin attributes each post a 7-day window of the location's metrics after publish. The shapes we map:
| Schedulin metric | GBP source |
|---|---|
| Impressions / Views | BUSINESS_IMPRESSIONS_* (desktop + mobile, maps + search) |
| Engagement / Shares | CALL_CLICKS + WEBSITE_CLICKS |
| Comments | BUSINESS_DIRECTION_REQUESTS |
This is the same coarse mapping Buffer and Hootsuite use — Google doesn't expose per-post impressions directly.
Required Google approvals
Two separate gates control whether GBP posting works:
- Google API project approval. Schedulin's Google Cloud project must be approved by Google for production use of the Business Profile APIs. Until then, posts will fail with permission errors and the channel stays Coming soon in the UI.
- Location verification. A specific business location must be Google-verified (the postcard or phone-call process Google walks owners through). Unverified locations show up in the picker but Google rejects posts to them.
Known limitations
- STANDARD posts only in v1. Events, Offers, and Alerts are not yet supported in the composer.
- One image max. No carousels.
- No video in posts (GBP supports it, but Schedulin's v1 doesn't).
- No reviews management. Reading and replying to Google reviews is out of scope for v1.
Troubleshooting
"Coming soon" badge on the channel — Schedulin hasn't been approved by Google for production use of the Business Profile APIs yet. Approval typically takes 1–4 weeks.
"403 PERMISSION_DENIED" on connect or publish — Google API approval is missing. Schedulin surfaces this as a connection error.
Locations list is empty after connect — Either no locations on the Google account, or none of them are verified. Add or verify a location in business.google.com and reconnect.
Post published but not visible on Google — Wait 5–10 minutes; GBP posts have a propagation delay. After that, check the post status in Google Business Profile Manager — sometimes Google holds posts for review.
CTA URL doesn't match the action — "Call now" uses the location's saved phone number automatically; you can't override the URL for that action. Every other action requires a URL field.