Google appears to be testing a higher placement for the Posts section on local knowledge panels, undoing a choice made in 2018, when the section was pushed to the bottom. Search Engine Roundtable’s Barry Schwartz reported the shift, which Ben Fisher first described on LinkedIn.
Fisher’s observation is that the position is not stable. Posts rise for three days, then drop back three days later, a pattern that looks like an experiment rather than a settled layout. The higher position is what Schwartz currently sees.
Google has not announced anything, and no figures exist yet on how many panels are affected. Schwartz expects a higher slot would likely push more businesses to publish Posts on their Business Profiles. That incentive logic is plausible, since placement near the top of a panel earns attention that a buried section never did.
Local teams that let Posts lapse should restart a light publishing cadence and keep dated screenshots of when the section moves, so any lift in profile engagement can be tied to placement.
Search Engine Roundtable, Barry Schwartz, October 19, 2026.
