To successfully upload photos to your Google My Business (GMB) profile, you must follow Google’s terms of service and content submission guidelines. Remember that since your company’s business profile is posted on Google Maps, it is important that customers can easily find you. Add photos showing the exact location of your business, nearby landmarks, and the entrance to your premises. This increases the trust of potential customers and improves business traffic.
Basic requirements for photos in Google Business Profile:
Before adding photos, ensure they comply with Google’s recommendations and requirements for GMB profile photos and do not fall under the category of Restricted and prohibited content.
Technical specifications of the photo:
- format: JPG або PNG (not HEIC or RAW),
- size: between 10 KB and 5 MB,
- the resolution should be at least 250 x 250 pixels, with 720 x 720 pixels being recommended.
The photo should be clear, well-lit, without significant alterations, with minimal use of filters or artificial intelligence, or better yet, without them at all. In other words, the photo should reflect reality.
Importance of orientation: Business owners are recommended to use a horizontal (wide) format for photos published on their profiles.
At the same time, for Google Maps users (your customers), it is better to add photos in vertical orientation.
Recommended types of business-specific photos for Google My Business Profile
- Exterior and interior. The main task of exterior and interior photos is to prove to Google algorithms that there is a real business object at the specified address. This is an important factor for local SEO.
- Facade and landmarks: Take several shots of the building’s facade, clearly showing the company name sign and address plate. Be sure to take a close-up shot of the sign itself, the address plate, and a general shot showing neighboring businesses. If the profile specifies an address, use photos to show the algorithms that there is a real object at this address where a real business operates.
- Entrance details: Take a close-up photo of the work schedule on the door — this is a “plus” for Google’s algorithms.
- Time of day and season: If the sign is illuminated, show an evening photo of the premises. Capture any changes to the premises (e.g. New Year’s decorations, new flower pots, repairs) to ensure the information in the profile is kept up to date.
- Atmosphere: Show the interior of the premises from different angles in the photos and try to convey the prevailing atmosphere. This applies to all types of business, such as cafés, hotels, hairdressers and offices.
- Photos of your products, dishes, drinks or hotel rooms. For shops, hotels and restaurants, new photos are the easiest way to attract customers. You can take close-up photos of products or dishes to show customers all the details, or take photos from a distance to show the interior of your business in the background.
- Employees at work and team photos. Photos showing the work process create an informal introduction to the company and significantly increase customer trust.
- Service process: Take photos of a barista making coffee, a hairdresser styling hair, a tow truck picking up a car. Show your staff doing their actual work.
- Team photo: Add a team photo of employees, preferably in branded clothing.
- ✍️ Important: Do not publish photos of employees without their consent.
How to upload photos to your Google Business Profile:
You can add photos from any device where you have access to your company profile management, such as a mobile phone, tablet or laptop. To add photos and manage visual content, go to your GMB Profile dashboard.
How to add photos from a laptop or computer:
- Go to your business profile account. To do this, enter the phrase “my business” in the Google search bar OR follow this link OR click on the nine-dot square next to your avatar in the Chrome web browser and select the Business Profile Manager menu item.
- When the business profile dashboard (control panel) opens, click on the icon labeled “Photos.”
- In the new tab, you will see several sections:
- View all photos,
- Add photos,
- Add cover,
- Add logo.
- By clicking on the appropriate item, you can add a photo to the section you are interested in. By selecting “Add cover”, you set the main photo that will create the first impression of your company. To add a company logo that will help customers recognize your company on Google and distinguish it from competitors, click “Add logo.”
- When you click on Add photos, a new dialog box will open where you can drag and drop one or more photos that you want to publish in your profile gallery. Alternatively, by clicking on Select images and videos, you can select photos from the folder where they are stored.
Other ways to upload photos to your company profile from a laptop or computer
I. Click on the corresponding button “Add photos” displayed directly on the main photo in your business profile account:
II. If you have multiple profiles, you can add photos directly from the list of companies at this link by clicking on the camera icon.
How to add photos to a GMB profile from a mobile phone (smartphone)?
- Open the Google Maps app, tap the Company icon at the bottom right, then select Add photo.
2. Select the photos you want to add in the tab that opens, then upload them to your company profile.
Cover photo for Google My Business Profile
Recommendations for choosing a cover for your profile:
- Facade and branding: Ideally, the Cover of your GMB Profile should clearly show the facade of the premises and the business’s signage.
- Alternative content: The cover could feature a beautiful photo of your products, dishes, work process or team.
- For service-area businesses: Use a photo of either a branded vehicle or an employee wearing branded clothing.
❗ Please note: adding a cover photo does NOT guarantee that Google will automatically make it the main image in your profile. Sometimes, the system decides which photo will be the main one itself. What can you do about this? Just keep adding new high-quality photos! The more relevant and high-quality content you upload, the more likely Google’s algorithms will be able to choose the best photo for your cover.
How to add a logo to GMB Profile
Adding a logo to the relevant section is crucial for branding, helping customers to recognise your company on Google and distinguish it from competitors. For example, it will be visible when the company responds to customer reviews. To add a logo, go to the ‘Photos’ tab in your company profile account and select ‘Add logo’.
If the logo is not displayed in your GMB Profile, you need to make sure that you have entered all the required information. Check that the following data is available and correct:
- Business name
- Address
- Category
- Phone number
- Business hours
Complete data ensures correct logo display. It also increases trust in the business.
Photo processing statuses in Google Business Profile: What do they mean?
Every photo uploaded to a GBP is reviewed and given one of three statuses.
1. Pending: The photo is being uploaded or processed, or your profile is unverified or suspended. Customers cannot see these photos in your profile, on Maps, or in Google Search.
2. Live: the photos have been successfully verified by the system and your customers can see them in their profile both in Search and on Google Maps. Once your profile has accumulated a sufficient number of photos, the Google system will automatically categorize them by theme (e.g., Interior, Exterior, Products). The algorithms also separate the profile owner’s photos and customer photos into separate sections. There is also a separate category for panoramic photos 360.
❗ Important: You cannot change the category to which the system automatically added the photo.
3. Not approved (or “Not published,” “Rejected”): the photo did not pass moderation by the system. Usually, the reason for this is that the photo does not meet Google’s guidelines (poor quality, blurred image, excessive processing) or contains prohibited content (scenes of violence, nudity).
💡 Tip: If the system immediately rejects a photo, but you are sure that it is of high quality and complies with the rules, wait 48-72 hours. If the status has not changed, delete it and try uploading the photo again. It is recommended to add a small number of photos at a time. It is better to add 1-3 photos per day than to add 30 photos in one day once a month.
FAQs about photos in Google Business Profile
Can I add photos created by artificial intelligence?
Please note that according to Google’s guidelines, all photos posted on a company profile must reflect the REALITY of your business. Using AI-generated images is not beneficial for local SEO, as they do not confirm the physical existence and appearance of the object. Therefore, it is better not to add them.
Can I add captions, advertising slogans, or watermarks to photos?
Yes, but with restrictions. If you add captions, advertising slogans or watermarks to photos, make sure that the text covers no more than 10% of the image. This will help you avoid having your photo rejected by Google’s moderation system.
How many photos to add to GMB? And how often add photos to GMB?
The frequency of posts and the number of photos required depend on the type of your business and the activity of your competitors.
- The golden mean: Google Maps is not a social network. Avoid spamming with hundreds of photos. Of course, you need to show the results of your work, but do so in moderation.
- Optimal frequency: One high-quality photo per day is sufficient.
- Minimum activity: To ensure that Google Maps’ algorithms do not ‘forget’ about your business, it is recommended that you upload one photo per month.
