How to Change Photos in Google My Business

Your Google Business Profile photos are often the first impression a potential customer has of your business, so getting them right matters. A strong set of images can be the difference between a click and a scroll. This guide walks you through exactly how to change, add, delete, and optimize the photos on your profile to attract more customers.

Why Your Google Business Photos Are a Big Deal

Before we get into the "how," let's quickly touch on the "why." Think of your Google Business Profile (GBP) as your digital storefront. When someone searches for "coffee shop near me" or "plumber in Brooklyn," your profile is what they see. The photos you display instantly communicate your quality, atmosphere, and what you offer.

Here’s what great photos accomplish:

• They Build Trust: Authentic photos of your space, team, and products show you’re a real, legitimate business. Grainy, outdated, or stock photos can have the opposite effect.
• They Set Expectations: A customer can tell if your restaurant is family-friendly, a boutique is high-end, or a mechanic's workshop is clean and professional - all from your images.
• They Increase Engagement: According to Google, businesses with photos receive 42% more requests for driving directions on Google Maps and 35% more clicks through to their websites than businesses that don't have photos.
• They Answer Questions Visually: Is there street parking? Is the entrance wheelchair accessible? Do you have outdoor seating? A good photo can answer these questions faster than a line of text.

In short, investing a little time in your GBP photos is one of the highest-impact local SEO activities you can do.

Understanding the Different Types of Google Business Photos

Google organizes your photos into a few specific categories. Knowing what each one does will help you make a stronger profile. When you go to upload a new image, you’ll typically be prompted to choose one of these categories.

Logo

This is your official brand mark. Your logo helps customers recognize your business instantly. When you upload one, it will appear in a small circle on your profile, often next to your business name in search results and on Maps.

Tips for Your Logo:

• Use a high-resolution, square version of your logo.
• Keep it simple and avoid too much text - it will be displayed in a small format.
• Make sure it’s the same logo you use across all your social media profiles and your website for brand consistency.

Cover Photo

Your cover photo is the big, "hero" image you want to be the default photo for your listing. It's meant to be the best possible representation of your business's personality. It appears prominently at the top of your profile.

A small catch: While you can set your preferred cover photo, Google’s algorithm has the final say. It may sometimes choose a different photo if it believes another image (either one you uploaded or one from a customer) is a better representation. Still, you should always set one to signal your preference to Google.

Tips for Your Cover Photo:

• Choose a high-quality, wide-format photo.
• Show off the best of your business. For a restaurant, this might be a stunning shot of your dining room or most popular dish. For a service business, it could be your branded vehicle or your team in action.
• Make sure it is an accurate representation of the customer experience.

Business Photos

This is the general category for all the other photos you upload. It’s where you can show off every aspect of what you do. Customers can browse these images to get a feel for your business. The more high-quality photos you have here, the better.

Types of Business Photos to Add:

• Exterior Shots: Help customers find your location. Take a few photos from different angles and at different times of day.
• Interior Shots: Show off your decor, ambiance, and layout. Capture the waiting area, seating, workspaces, etc.
• Product Shots: Display your best-selling items clearly and attractively.
• Photos of Services in Action: If you're a service-based business, show your team helping customers. For example, a hair stylist working on a client or a personal trainer with a class.
• Team Photos: Put a face to the business. Professional but friendly headshots or group photos help build a personal connection.

Step-by-Step: How to Add or Change Photos in Google My Business

Managing your photos is done directly through Google Search or Google Maps. The old Google My Business dashboard app is a thing of the past.

On a Desktop Computer:

1. Make sure you’re logged into the Google account you use to manage your Business Profile.
2. Go to google.com and search for your exact business name, like "Brooklyn Bicycles." You might need to add your city if the name is common.
3. You should see your Business Profile management panel at the top of the search results.
4. Click on the button labeled “Add photo.” You'll see several buttons, like “Edit profile,” “Read reviews,” etc.
5. A popup window will appear. Here you can choose what type of photos you want to add: Photo, Logo, or Cover photo.
6. Select the appropriate tab, then drag and drop your photo into the window or click "Choose photos to upload" to browse your computer files.
7. And that's it! The photo will upload and appear on your profile after a short review period by Google.

On a Mobile Device (Using the Google Maps App):

1. Open the Google Maps app and make sure you’re signed into your management account.
2. Tap your profile icon in the top right corner and select "Your Business Profiles."
3. Choose the business profile you want to manage.
4. You’ll see a row of buttons below your business name. Swipe left and tap on "Add photo."
5. From here, you can choose a photo from your phone's gallery or take a new one. Select the photo you want to upload.
6. After selecting it, you can add a short caption if you like, and then post it. The process is very similar to posting on a social media feed.

How to Delete Photos from Your Google Business Profile

Sometimes you need to clear out old or low-quality photos. The process is different for photos you've uploaded versus photos customers have added.

To Delete Photos You Uploaded:

1. Find your Business Profile management panel via Google Search.
2. Click on your photos. This will open up the photo gallery view.
3. Navigate to the photo you want to delete and click on it to open it in full-screen.
4. In the top right corner, you’ll see a trash can icon. Click the icon.
5. A confirmation box will appear. Click "Remove" to permanently delete the photo.

Important Note: It can sometimes take a little while for a deleted photo to disappear from your public profile completely, so don't worry if it doesn't vanish instantly.

To Remove an Unwanted Customer Photo:

You can't directly delete photos uploaded by customers. This is to maintain transparency and authenticity. However, if a customer photo violates Google's content policies, you can flag it for removal.

Valid reasons for flagging a photo include:

• It's spam or clearly fake.
• It contains hateful or violent content.
• It reveals personal, private information.
• It's off-topic or irrelevant to your business (e.g., a selfie someone accidentally posted).
• The photo quality is extremely poor (blurry, dark, and unrecognizable).

How to Flag a Customer Photo:

1. Navigate to the customer photo in your profile's gallery.
2. Click on the photo to open it.
3. Look for a flag icon, usually in the top right corner, and click "Report a problem."
4. Choose the reason why you are reporting the photo from the list provided.
5. Submit your report.

Google’s team will review the report and remove the photo if it indeed violates the policy. This process isn’t guaranteed, so the best defense against negative user photos is to bury them by consistently uploading new, high-quality images of your own.

Best Practices for High-Impact Google Business Photos

Uploading photos is just the first step. Following a few simple guidelines can make your profile much more effective.

Photo Guidelines (The Simple Version)

• Format: Use JPG or PNG files.
• Size: Keep file sizes between 10 KB and 5 MB. Photos that are too small will look blurry, and photos that are too large may fail to upload.
• Resolution: Google recommends a resolution of 720px tall by 720px wide. For your cover photo, a landscape-oriented image often looks best.
• Quality: Photos should be in focus, well-lit, and represent reality. Significant filters or heavy edits that misrepresent your business are not recommended.
• Content Rules: Make sure your photos are yours. Don’t use stock photos. Avoid adding promotional text, logos (other than the official logo upload), or other overlays to your images. Let the picture speak for itself.

Stay Fresh, Stay Relevant

Your photo gallery shouldn't be a "set it and forget it" project. Adding new photos regularly - once a month or once a quarter - is a powerful signal to both Google and customers that your business is active and up-to-date. Showcase new products, seasonal decorations, or recent projects. An active profile tends to rank better in local search results.

Final Thoughts

Effectively managing your Google Business Profile photos is a simple yet powerful way to build trust, engage potential customers, and improve your local search visibility. By uploading a variety of high-quality images for your logo, cover, and business galleries, you create a compelling digital storefront that stands out from the competition.

While you're updating your visuals on Google, it’s a brilliant time to get all your content aligned across your social channels. For that part of your brand, we built Postbase to make it incredibly simple to plan and schedule all of your social media content - especially video - from a single, crystal-clear calendar. It helps ensure your brand looks fresh and consistent everywhere your customers find you, without the headache.