By the time you finish this post, you will know everything you need to about Google My Business photos to create a fully optimized account and dominate local SEO.
Photos are an important part of a properly optimized Google My Business account. Studies have shown that GMB accounts with plenty of high-quality pictures do better than others with few or no pictures.
BrightLocal found that 60% of consumers said local search results with good images captured their attention and pushed them towards a decision.
This guide will help you make sure you have the correct sizes and a few secret tips on how to optimize them for maximum local search impact.
Before we get started, let me answer a few questions about Google My Business.
- Do I need a Google My Business account? Yes, yes, and yes. And just in case there is any confusion, YES. GMB is the most powerful local SEO tool a business has. If you haven’t claimed your Google My Business, immediately click HERE.
- Is Google My Business Free? Yes. There is absolutely no cost other than the time you invest. And based on the incredible impact GMB has on local businesses, it is well worth the time.
- Do I need to hire a professional to manage my Google My Business? Absolutely not. To set up and maintain a fully optimized GMB is incredibly easy. It will take about a half-hour to initially set up your account, then around 15 minutes a week to maintain. There is no coding or technical knowledge needed.
- How can I optimize my Google My Business? Google makes it incredibly easy to set up a basic account. But to take it to the next level and have a fully optimized GMB, read my Ultimate Guide to Optimizing Google My Business. That post will show you how to set up an optimized GMB account from scratch.
- What is the Knowledge Panel? Your Google My Business account displays your business information in the right column of a desktop search. While on a mobile search, it is the first thing you see.
What are the different sizes for Google My Business Photos?
Google My Business has several different opportunities to utilize images to enhance your account. Each image has different size requirements for proper optimization.
What Size is the Google My Business Logo?
The first image you need to upload to your account is your logo which appears just to the right of your business’ name. While the requirement for a logo is a square image, keep in mind that the logo displayed will be a circle, so make sure to center it versus filling the entire square.
In addition to appearing on your GMB, your logo image is also what customers will see when you reply to Google Reviews.
The requirements for your logo are:
- Format: JPG or PNG
- Size: Between 10kb and 5mb
- Ideal Resolution: 720px X 720px
- Min/Max Resolution: 120px X 120px and 5200px X 5300px
- Centered to allow corners to be cropped for circle appearance
What Size is my GMB Cover Photo?
Your cover image is the first and largest image shown in your Knowledge Panel. On a mobile search, it is the only image shown in the Knowledge Panel.
Your cover photo will remain fixed in this position, while the rest of the Google My Business photos is displayed in chronological order. (Technically, Google states a cover photo is only the preferred first image, but I manage dozens of accounts, and I have never not seen it in the first position.)
This important image should identify your business. Using a picture of the front of your building is a great choice. So is a snapshot of your lobby.
If you are a delivery service, a good choice might be your delivery vehicle. While if you are a service company, a team shot could be ideal.
There are two things to keep in mind for your cover image. First, it should be representative of your company. Secondly, make sure it is a high-quality image (all your pictures ideally should be high-quality).
The requirements for your cover image are:
- Format: JPG or PNG
- Size: Between 10kb and 5mb
- Ratio: 16:9
- Ideal Resolution: 1080px X 608px
- Min/Max Resolution: 480px X 270px and 2120px X 1192px
What are the sizes for the additional images?
In addition to your logo and cover photo, there are several more images you want to add to your Google My Business. Your account has categories for:
- Exterior – Show off various images of the exterior of your building.
- Interior – Share pictures of your lobby, conference rooms, labs, etc. Think of this as a guided tour of your business for customers; include anything exciting or important.
- At Work – These images are a chance to show off your business in action. This can be your team doing what they do or interacting with your customers. Make sure you stay authentic!
- Team – Similar to the At Work pictures, here is your chance to feature your team. Show off their smiles, personalities with high-quality photos of your team. Make sure you include a pic of the entire team.
One thing to keep in mind, the images you upload to Google My Business photos have to be taken at the business and can’t be stock images. Remember, the purpose of the pictures is to show potential customers about your business.
The requirements for your account images are:
- Format: JPG or PNG
- Size: Between 10kb and 5mb
- Ratio: 4:3
- Ideal Resolution: 1200px X 900px
- Min/Max Resolution: 480px X 270px and 2120px X 1192px
Make sure you resize your images to the proper 4:3 ratio before uploading them to your GMB account. If you upload a vertical or panoramic picture, you risk Google awkwardly cropping them to fit the 4:3 ratio. Often your customers won’t see essential elements of your images due to the random cropping. Even at with the 4:3 ration you will want to keep the critical portions of the image in the center.
What Is the Right Image Size for a GMB Post?
From an image standpoint, you want to use the same 4:3 dimensions for your GMB Posts as I just listed for your team and at work pictures.
Posts are an essential element to a successfully optimized Google My Business account. As a result, you want to post regularly, and your posts should include targeted messaging as well as great images.
Posts are a great way to communicate with your customers, and they can be done quickly with minimal effort. While posts don’t directly impact your SEO, they do indirectly by driving traffic to your website.
Google gives you a whopping 1500 characters to tell your story. But for a post to be effective, you only need to use 150 to 200 of them. Be informative but concise. It is better to post frequently than stress about writing long ones.
Unlike a blog post on your website, most posts on your Google My Business account have a finite life of seven days, and this is a big reason why you should post often.
Five different types of posts are available:
- Updates – This is the most general of the posts. Essentially you can post about anything you want to share with your customers. This is an excellent opportunity to promote a new service, announce a new team member, or just share news. Updates have a lifespan of only seven days.
- Offers – The name pretty much tells it all. You can share special promotions and sales with your customers. You select a date range for your offer, so this does allow you to extend your post beyond the standard seven-day lifespan.
- Products – Products are a fantastic opportunity to showcase key products. You provide a description, price, and other attributes of your products, and customers can even purchase directly from your GMB listing.
- Events – This one is self-explanatory as well. You can inform your customers of events that you have coming up, and you will include the event title, date, time, and description.
- COVID-19 – While COVID-19 impacts people and business, Google has created a temporary post category that allows you to share COVID-19 policies and updates.
Is Video Available on Google My Business?
Yes, ever since 2018, users have been able to upload video to Google My Business accounts.
The guidelines for video are similar to pictures, and they must be relevant, and stock video is prohibited. Superimposed graphics can not take up more than 10% of the screen and must be relevant.
The requirements for video are:
- File Size: < 100mb
- Resolution: 720p and higher
- Duration: :30 and less
Conclusion
Google My Business is one of the most powerful tools a business has for reaching customers. Optimizing your Google My Business photos is also something you can do yourself without needing to hire an expensive digital professional.
I will sound like a broken record, but make sure you are using great-looking pictures. Remember, this is your brand, and customers will be judging you by the quality of the photographs.
Follow the guidelines I have outlined, and your images will look great on both desktop and mobile.
If you need more tips on optimizing your account, visit The Ultimate Guide to Optimizing Google My Business.
