Google Business Profile Photos: What to Add
The photos on a Google Business Profile show customers what they will actually find when they arrive, and Conqueror Capital adds real, current photos to every client profile it manages. Many profiles still carry a blurry logo and one batch of pictures from years ago. Here is what to add, what Google's photo rules say, and how to keep the gallery current without much effort.
AT A GLANCE
By Conqueror Capital · Published
The short answer: Add a clear logo, a cover photo, an exterior photo that helps people recognize you on arrival, and real photos of your work, products, team and space. Google asks for JPG or PNG files between 10 KB and 5 MB, recommends 720 x 720 pixels, and says photos should be in focus, well lit and not heavily filtered so they represent reality. Use only photos you took or have the rights to, and add new ones regularly.
WHAT TO ADD
Google names three types of photo: a logo, a cover photo and business photos that "highlight features of your business."1 A useful core set:
- Logo: clean, square and readable at small sizes.
- Exterior: Google says an exterior photo "helps customers recognize your business when they visit."1 For a service business, that can be your branded vehicle.
- Interior or workspace: what a customer sees when they walk in.
- Your work: finished jobs, products, dishes or treatment rooms, whatever customers are buying.
- Your team: people at work, with their permission.
Google also says your cover photo may not be the one shown first: if it is low quality, or other sources suggest it is not the best photo of your business, a user-submitted photo may be shown instead.1 A sharp, honest cover photo is the way to keep that choice in your hands.
GOOGLE'S PHOTO RULES
- Format: JPG or PNG.1
- File size: between 10 KB and 5 MB.
- Resolution: 720 x 720 pixels recommended, 250 x 250 minimum.
- Quality: "in focus and well lit, and have no significant alterations or excessive use of filters. In other words, the image should represent reality."
- Video: up to 30 seconds, up to 75 MB, 720p or higher.
- Review: uploads show as Pending, Not approved or Live, and can take 24 to 48 hours to appear. Photos only show after the profile is verified.
Photos also sit inside Google's wider rule that a profile should represent the business as it is in the real world.2
REAL PHOTOS, NOT STOCK
A stock photo of someone else's kitchen, crew or storefront tells a customer nothing about yours, and it can mislead them. Google's own standard is that the image "should represent reality."
There is a legal side too. A photo copied from another website, a search result or a supplier's page belongs to someone else, and using it without a licence can bring a copyright claim. Use photos you took, photos a photographer you hired has licensed to you, or photos whose licence you have checked and recorded. That is the rule we follow on every client profile and website.
A recent phone and good daylight are enough. Wipe the lens, shoot in landscape and portrait, and take the photo the customer would want to see, not the one that flatters the logo.
KEEP IT CURRENT
Google's ranking help page lists adding photos and videos among the ways to show customers what you offer.3 It does not say how much they count for ranking, so treat them as information for customers first. A simple routine:
- Add a few new photos every month, ideally of recent work.
- Replace photos of anything that has changed: a new sign, a renovation, a new vehicle.
- Remove photos of products or services you no longer offer.
- Look at customer-added photos and request removal of any that break Google's policies.
SMALL, MID-SIZE AND ENTERPRISE
Small businesses: start with the core set above, then add two or three new photos a month from your phone.
Mid-size businesses: give one person the job and a shared folder. Staff can drop in job photos, and that person checks permissions and quality before upload.
Multi-location and enterprise brands: Google says businesses with 10 or more locations can bulk upload photos through a spreadsheet.1 Keep brand photos such as logos consistent, but give every location its own exterior and interior photos, because that is what helps a customer find the right door. Our guide to Business Profiles for multiple locations covers the rest, or see how we work with enterprise teams.
FAQ
What size should Google Business Profile photos be?
Google asks for JPG or PNG files between 10 KB and 5 MB, recommends 720 x 720 pixels and sets a minimum of 250 x 250 pixels.
Why isn't my Google Business Profile photo showing?
Uploads are reviewed first and show as Pending, Not approved or Live. Google says photos can take 24 to 48 hours to appear, and they only show after the profile is verified.
Can I use stock photos on my Google Business Profile?
Google says photos should represent reality, and a stock image of someone else's work does not show customers your business. Use photos you took or have a licence for.
Why does Google show a customer's photo instead of my cover photo?
Google says a cover photo you set may not be the one shown first. If it is low quality or other sources suggest it does not represent the business well, a user-submitted photo may be selected instead.
Can multi-location businesses upload photos in bulk?
Yes. Google says businesses with 10 or more locations can bulk upload photos through a spreadsheet.
SOURCES
- Google Business Profile Help, Manage your Business Profile photos & videos.
- Google Business Profile Help, Guidelines for representing your business on Google.
- Google Business Profile Help, Tips to improve your local ranking on Google.
Platforms change often. Check the sources for the current version before acting.
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