How Google My Business Photos Help You Connect With Customers

Your Google My Business (GMB) profile is your business’s greatest online asset in building local search visibility. As a primary resource for gathering information about your business, GMB is also a great place to showcase photos of your business and attract more customers to your store. 

The Importance of Google My Business Photos

 
When performing a local search, one of the first things customers notice at the top of search results is your GMB listing. When your GMB posts and listing contain photos, customers can see what your business is all about. These images also communicate that your brand is authentic, which is critical when your target customers form their first impression – a deciding factor in whether or not they buy from you.

Customers are more willing to engage with businesses that publish Google business photos than those that don’t because they appear more credible. In fact, a BrightLocal study proved a correlation between the number of photos uploaded and the amount of engagement businesses get. 

This local SEO services study found that businesses publishing two to five photos received 58 percent more website visits and 100 percent more requests for directions and direct calls than those with only a single image. Meanwhile, those with more than 100 Google business photos received 520 percent more calls, 2,717 percent more direction requests and 1,065 percent more website clicks. 

Quick Guide to Adding GMB Photos to Your GMB Profile

 
There are three types of images you can add to your GMB profile to make it more authentic. These are your company logo, a cover photo and several types of business photos that highlight different aspects of your business, such as your store’s exterior and interior, products and other features that attract your customers.

Here’s a quick guide detailing how to add GMB photos and videos to your profile from your computer:

1. Sign in to your Google My Business account.
2. Select the location you want to update (for multiple store locations).
3. Select Photos from the menu on the left side.
4. To add a logo or a cover photo, click on Identity and choose an image to add as a Logo or Cover.
5. Find a photo you want to add as your cover or logo from those already uploaded or find an image to upload from your computer. 
6. Once you’re happy with your logo or cover cropping, click on Set Logo/Set Cover.
7. For other types of Google My Business photos, select a tab representing the photo (At Work, Team Photo, etc.).
8. Click on the (+) on the top right.
9. Choose a photo to upload from your computer.

Note: Your photos should meet the following standards if you want optimal performance from your GMB profile:

• Format: JPG or PNG
• Size: Between 10 KB and 5 MB
• Recommended resolution: 720 px tall, 720 px wide
• Minimum resolution: 250 px tall, 250 px wide
• Quality: The photo should be in focus and well lit with no significant alterations or excessive use of filters. In other words, the image should represent reality.

What Are Google My Business Photo Updates?

 
In the previous section, we discussed the different types of photos you can add through Google My Business management. But there is another type of photo that your profile can have – and this one is outside of your control. These are user-generated photos that people can add to your GMB profile after leaving a review or selecting the “Add a photo” option under the Photos tab.

Google recently launched an update to Google Maps, aptly called Updates, where users can upload photos directly without leaving a lengthy review. Photos that users share are in the form of a Google photo update, where people can share recent photos they’ve taken along with a short description. houston commercial security system solution. According to Google, this enables other users to decide based on the most recent information they receive through a Google photo update.

With the recently-launched Photo Updates, all your previously uploaded photos will appear under the “Updates > By Owner” tab on Google Maps. Meanwhile, user Google Maps photos will be shown under “Updates > By Visitors,” so there’s a distinction. 

How Do Google Business Photos Help You Connect with Customers?

 
Having Google Maps photos does more for your business than just showing potential customers how and where to find you. Even before the Google photo update feature was introduced on Google Maps, businesses didn’t need to rely on local SEO services since customers were already sharing business photos. 

By attaching photos to reviews and sharing Google Maps photos with others in their circle, users were able to show they were actively engaging with your brand. And with 70 percent of users trusting images taken by others more than brand images, it goes a long way to increasing your brand’s authenticity.

Google’s launch of Photo Updates helps businesses and local SEO services generate more user-generated content (UGC) without any need for review generation services. Just like what you’d see on Google posts or Facebook business profiles, users can now share updates about a business, and this will be one of the first things people see. While managing the content on this feed, you now have an opportunity to connect with your customers directly by responding to their photo updates. 

Reputation management agency experts agree that sharing UGC is one of the most powerful tools for building long-term relationships with customers. When your customers are actively sharing photos of your business, they’re actually sharing their experiences. Whether negative or positive, this shows that they are engaged with your business. Acknowledge their involvement, and you effectively foster a more positive relationship with your customers. 

How To Deal With Unflattering GMB Photos

 
While managing GMB posts, you will most likely come across unflattering photos of your business, which could range from relatively harmless to potentially damaging. Or perhaps you’ve previously uploaded a photo yourself, but you’ve decided it doesn’t accurately reflect your business anymore. In either scenario, your first course of action would be to find out how to delete photos from Google My Business. 

Look no further! Here’s a quick guide on how to delete photos from Google My Business:

For Desktop Users:

1. Log in to your Google My Business account and select the location you want to change.
2. On the left menu, click on Photos.
3. Find and click on the photo(s) you want to delete.
4. On the top right corner of the screen, you will see a trash icon. Click on the trashcan to make the photo disappear.

For Mobile Users:

1. Open the Google My Business app (iOs: My Business) on your mobile device.
2. At the bottom, tap Profile.
3. Select Photos.
4. Scroll to the photo you want removed.
5. Tap on the three-dot icon on the top right corner of the photo and choose the Delete option as it pops up.

There is a bit of bad news here. Unfortunately, the guide above will only work on photos that you’ve uploaded. Google doesn’t allow businesses to delete pictures submitted by their customers unless they violate Google’s policies on submissions. But you can request a photo to be removed by flagging and reporting it to Google. Simply follow the guide above – a flag will appear instead of a trash can for user-submitted photos.

Alternatively, you can flag photos for removal through Google Maps. Here’s how to remove photos from Google Business using Google Maps:

1. Search for the name of your business on Google Maps.
2. Scroll to the image you want removed.
3. Select the image in question to have it fully displayed.
4. Select the Report a Problem option on the top right.
5. Choose the reason why you flagged the photo.
6. Finally, choose Report to complete the request.

Being unable to remove user photos immediately should be a good enough reason to manage your Google posts proactively. By actively monitoring your reputation, you can stay on top of your Google posts feed, giving you ample time to fix any issues and avoid a potential crisis. 

Your best course of action here is to work with a reputable reputation management company that offers ORM services for active online monitoring.

Forging Meaningful Connections

 
In many ways, having photos on your GMB posts and profile can improve your relationship with your customers. Your customers are willingly engaging with your brand by choosing to provide relevant information to their peers through the content they share. 

To get more reviews, use this simple tactic employed by reputation management agency experts frequently in their review generation services: respond to those reviews actively. This alone acknowledges customers’ participation, which encourages them to continue interacting with you, leading to more meaningful connections and a positive online reputation.

Do you need help with Google My Business management? You’ve found it in Rize. Our reputation management company offers ORM services that help you stay on top of any activity on your GMB profile. We help you leverage positive reviews through our review generation services and attract quality user content from your customers to improve your online presence. Get in touch with our reputation management agency today and build your online reputation.