Importance of Pictures in Google My Business

Most businesses know that they need to be registered with Google my Business to be visible to their local audience across Google’s services.  However depending on the experience level with SEO, you may fill in your hours, phone number and basic information and leave it at that.

When it comes to competing for local search real estate, there are a lot of factors that can make a difference. Just one of those factors is the use and optimization of images.

In Google’s eyes, images help to show that your business is a legitimate organization.  It shows off some of your business personality and helps to increase trust, putting a face to a name as such.  It is little surprise that Google rewards businesses that include more images (and higher quality ones) on their GMB profile.

Having several, relevant images in your listing will help your business to stand out from the crowd, achieve higher rankings and attract attention.

How to add the right images to your business

You can update the images on your Google my Business profile by visiting https://business.google.com, choosing the appropriate business and selecting the “photos” tab.

At very least your listing should include:

• A profile photo
• A cover photo
• Business logo

Ideally your profile should include at least 5 images of your products/services/team or business premises.

Images are categorized as:

• By owner
• By customer
• At work
• Interior
• Exterior
• Product
• Team
• Identity (logo/branding etc.)

If you are a retail store you might take a picture of the front of your building, the owner and some of the staff, as well as displays of your products.  If you are a landscaper you could upload pictures of completed projects.  If you fix cars you might take a photo of your staff working on a vehicle.

It’s easy to say: “I have no images,” “there aren’t any relevant pictures I can take.” This simply isn’t true! With a little creativity you can find something to add.  Whether people are interested in the photo or not, having something that shows you are a real, is better than looking at a blank business profile.

Looking for an easy, quick solution?

While it is not entirely “true to life” if you absolutely have nothing to put on your listing, you can settle for stock photos or pictures from the web.

How does your business stack up?

It is worth looking at your Google my Business insights to get an idea of how you stand against your competitors.  It may be that your competitors have few photos in which case it shouldn’t be difficult to stand out.  Conversely you may have none and they may have dozens.

The Google my Business insights also show how many times your photos have been viewed by searchers:

Google has published some guidance on uploading images to your Google my Business profile.  If you’re stuck for ideas or want to see what they say you may wish to take a look.