Google Upgrades Business Photos

Google My Business is the central hub that allows your agency to appear across all Google properties including search, Google+, and Google Maps. In February, Google announced a major update to their platform that allows you to tell Google which photos and images you’d like to appear when customer search for your agency on their search engine platform.

When it comes to attracting the attention of new customers, photos can both entice them to your agency website when they are browsing online and give customers confidence that they’ve come to the right place.

Historically, it was difficult from an interface point of view to add a cover photo and control which photos Google displayed for your organization. With this upgrade, you can add photos to your profile from a simplified single platform — Google My Business.

Just log in to Google My Business on the web or in the Android or iOS apps, and visit the Photos section. While you’re there, it would be a good idea to give your agency a fresh look online by updating your profile, logo, and cover photos.

The following are some best practices from the Google help files:

• Format: JPG, PNG, TIFF, BMP
• Size: Between 10KB and 5MB
• Minimum resolution: 250px on the longest side for profile & logo photos; 720px on the longest side for other business photos
• Aspect Ratio: The longer dimension of the photo should be no more than four times the shorter dimension. Landscape photos look better than portrait photos on Google products. Panoramic photos may use different aspect ratios.
• Quality: The photo should be in focus, well-lit, have no Photoshop alterations, and no excessive use of filters. The image should represent reality.

Photos you add through Google My Business can be displayed on Google Search, Maps, and Google+.

Having pictures and images associated with your agency are a great way to attract attention. So, make sure someone in your organization logs in to Google My Business and updates your pictures. This will help give you a consistent-looking brand across all Google properties.

What Google features have worked for you? Let me know.