4 Google My Business Photos Killer Tips

do you add photos to your google my business listing regularly if you don't because you think you've got better things to do listen to this according to google businesses with photos on their google my business listings receive 42 more requests for direction on google maps and 35 more click through to their website than businesses that don't if that doesn't convince you it's important to add photos to your listing then check this out google is able to understand the content of the photos you add to your listing using their google vision ai technology tool look at this dog grooming listing for example if i take this picture and drop it in this tool google can easily detect this is a dog with 95 accuracy what impact do you think this might have on this business's listing if you're still not convinced photos on your listing are important then i suggest you just simply skip this video and watch something else if you want to know more and how you can use photos to drive more customers to your business then keep watching because i've got four killer tips for you hey my name is luke the founder of rankingacademy.com if it's your first time here today why don't you subscribe and click on the bell button before the end of this video so you get notified next time i publish a new one as a small business owner optimizing your google my business listing should be a big part of your marketing strategy from gathering more google reviews publishing new questions and answers or updating your business details with the latest google my business features there is no shortage of tasks if you want to stay on top of your game one of these tasks should be to add more pictures to your listing and this is why people process images a lot faster than text so images will speed up the visitors decision to do business with you and not skip to one of your competitors listing i've already mentioned that listings with photos will drive 42 more requests for direction on google maps and 35 more clicks to your website in the google documentation it also says that accurate and appealing pictures may show shoppers that your business offers what they're searching for instead of the cover photo of your listing which is normally the one that gets used here is an example if i search for tire sales or landlord the picture displayed for the third result is some part of tires but if i check the google listing for this business their cover photo is a picture of this tool this is because google's photo recognition technology is now so advanced it is able to identify and categorize objects within a picture like i showed you at the beginning of the video with the dog example so in an entire example google deemed the time picture to be more relevant than the cover image of the listing itself and this is another very strong reason why you should add photos to your listing regularly google scrapes every image you post on your business listing instantly and finds in these images what it thinks the content is and will associate these keywords directly with your listing hopefully you now understand the importance of adding images to your listing but the question is how do you make the most of them let's start with the basics when you first create a google listing you're encouraged to add photos of past services or work you've done with customers while this is a great idea for all the reasons i've already mentioned it's nowhere near enough and google recommends you add category specific photos these categories are detailed in your google my business dashboard for instance you should publish photos of the exterior of your location to help visitors recognize your business photos of the interior of the location so visitors can get a feel of the atmosphere food and drink photos to showcase what people can expect to eat and drink if you are in the catering business team photos that will bring a more personal feel to your listing etc don't skimp through this exercise think of it as your shop window is it tempting enough so people want to walk into it to make sure you get it right i recommend you read the business specific photos recommendation resource from the google help center which details all the categories you need to consider the minimum number of photos you should be adding for each category and what type of photos you should be taking print this off take your camera and start shooting better even if you have a bit of cash commission a photographer who will do these for you so it looks the part and helps you stand out from the competition the list doesn't include what comes under the identity category which is the cover photo that shows on your business panel and your logo so don't forget to add these two there is also the option to add a 360 degree tool and videos to your listing which i recommend you use if you can and now for the killer tips tip number one there is a lot of spam on google maps and many local business owners create fake listings to be more visible google goes through a series of checks to verify the legitimacy of a business and one of those checks is done through imagery this means one of the most important image you can post on your listing is an image of the outside of your business that matches what google is able to see via street view like in this dentist example this will show beyond doubt to google your business truly exists ideally you want to take a photo from every direction from which customers might approach your business and upload photos that show your business at different times of day as specified in a business specific photos recommendation table tip number two use local images that are unique to your business don't use stock images for those of you who don't know stock images are images that can be downloaded from image banks and utilized on any digital properties such as your facebook business page your website your newsletters etc you can either pay for them or download them for free from some specialized websites like pixels.com or pixabay.com although they can be very practical you mustn't use them i repeat you mustn't use them on your google my business listing at best google will remove them at worst it will create confusion if i search for electrician in pixels.com for example here's the first picture that comes up now look at this electrician main google my business cover photo located in london brixton and then look at this electrician located in london wimbledon see anything strange they're both using the same image from the same website remember google can identify the content of images so in this example this is not likely to be very good news for either business it's going to create some confusion for google and not be very useful for customers this leads me to my third tip the fact google can understand what is in a picture can be a real advantage if you want to increase your listing visibility in search let's take the example of this local tire and exhaust business located in twickenham which is close to where i live i'm just going to pull the image of a tire post it on their listing and run it through the google vision ai technology tool and here is what the outcome is this is clearly a tie with all related attributes also strongly related to a tie but in addition to that google is able to identify the logo stuck on the tire which in this instance is pirelli as well as text written on the sticker this is a pirelli cinturator tyre if i now search for purely cinderalto tire near me look at what happens that business gets listed in a map pack pretty cool right imagine if this business did this at scale for every brand and every time they sell what about your business is there any way you could take advantage of this if you do make sure you add clear images of your products or some of the jobs you have completed to make it easier for google to identify what the product is or which service you provided and don't go overlaying text over the pictures before posting them to trick the google algorithm google is a little more clever than that and these pictures will be pushed to the bottom of the list and now for the last tip which is a double whammy one you may know that anyone can add photos to your listing including your customers this is another opportunity to create more relevant content very cheaply and increase the possibility of being discovered further but the chances of customers taking a picture and posting it to your listing are slim unless they are unhappy with you in which case that's not what you want to see but when there's a will there's a way whenever possible once you've finished dealing with a client use your phone to take a picture of a job you've completed or a sale you've made then ask your client to post a google review which is something you are hopefully already doing as part of your strategy and attach the relevant picture which they can include in the review itself you can do this via email or phone but don't forget to use your review short link that will point them directly to your google my business review submission process to make it easier for them if you don't know how to do this watch my video more google reviews faster this works particularly well if you're a car dealer for example and take a picture of your client with a new car but can also work for less glamorous businesses like for this timber merchant so not only you will get a review but you will also get an image added to your gallery i hope this was useful time to get your camera out and to start adding images to your listing regularly this is not a one-time job mobile phones nowadays are equipped with terrific cameras so you have no excuses please like the video as it helps me continue to provide more content to help you if you have any questions post them in the comments below so i can respond to them and until next time happy marketing

Channel: Ranking Academy

Views: 15,424

Keywords: google my business photos, google photos, google my business photo, how to update photos in google my business, upload photo on google my business, add photo in google my business, google my business images, google my business, google my business tutorial, google my business tips & tricks, how to use google my business to get more customers, video ranking academy, google my business optimization, local seo, gmb photo

Id: atSaJI66HDQ

Length: 9min 26sec (566 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 13 2021