Photos on Your Google Business Profile: A Practical Guide | How-to Guide

Which photos to add to your Google Business Profile, Google's technical and content requirements, how to handle unwanted customer photos, and how often to refresh them.

Photos are often the first thing a customer looks at on your profile, before reviews and long before your description. They answer simple questions quickly: what does the place look like, what does the work look like, will I find the door.

Google's technical requirements

Google's Business Profile Help sets out the basics: JPG or PNG files, between 10 KB and 5 MB, with a recommended resolution of 720 pixels by 720 pixels and a minimum of 250 by 250. Google says photos should be in focus and well lit, with no significant alterations or excessive filters. Videos are accepted too: up to 30 seconds, up to 75 MB and 720p or higher, according to the same page.

Which photos to add

  • Logo. Helps people recognise you.
  • Cover photo. Your best single image. Google may still choose a different photo to show first, depending on the search.
  • Exterior. The front of the building from the street, in daylight, from a few angles, so customers can find you.
  • Interior. What a customer sees when they walk in.
  • Work and products. Finished jobs, dishes, haircuts, products on the shelf.
  • Team. People at work, with their permission.

Service-area businesses without a storefront should focus on finished work, vans and team photos rather than a building.

What not to upload

Stock photos tell customers nothing about you and make the profile look like every other one. Avoid images with phone numbers or promotional text laid over them, screenshots, and heavy edits that misrepresent the place.

Customer photos

Customers can add their own photos to your profile. Most are helpful. If one is offensive, off topic, shows someone's private information or is clearly not your business, use the option to report it for review. Google decides whether to remove it, and a photo you simply dislike usually stays. The best answer to a poor customer photo is several good ones of your own.

File names and location data

You will see advice to rename files with keywords or to add GPS data before upload. Google has not said that either one affects local ranking. Spend the time taking better photos instead.

How often to refresh

Add new photos whenever something changes: a refit, a new menu, a new van, a seasonal display. A handful of fresh photos every month or two keeps the profile current without becoming a chore. Old photos showing a previous sign or layout confuse visitors and are worth removing.

Photos on your website too

Use the same real photos on your website, with short, descriptive alt text that says what the image shows. Google's guidance on images in Search recommends descriptive alt text and placing images near relevant text. A service page with a photo of the actual work done is more convincing to visitors than any stock image.

A quick photo session

Pick a bright day, clean the space, and spend twenty minutes with a phone. Shoot the outside, the entrance, the main room, three examples of work and one of the team. That small set covers most of what a new customer wants to see.

Real photos and real details give every page on your site something specific to say. SEO God Mode builds its drafts from your own business facts too, and a quality gate checks each one before it reaches you.

Frequently asked questions

What size should Google Business Profile photos be?

Google recommends 720 by 720 pixels, in JPG or PNG, between 10 KB and 5 MB, with a minimum of 250 by 250 pixels.

Can I remove a customer photo from my profile?

You can report it if it breaks Google's content policy. Google reviews the report and decides; photos that are simply unflattering usually stay.

Does renaming photo files help ranking?

Google has not said that file names or added location data affect local ranking. Better, more current photos are the better use of your time.

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