If there’s one absolute truth in this world, it’s that Google My Business listings are essential to a business's success in search results.
And thanks to Google’s constantly evolving algorithm, it’s necessary for businesses to regularly optimize their listings. So what essential information do we need to know to maintain an effective listing in this new year?
Below we’ll discuss best practices, as well as Google My Business photo requirements for 2020.
As we mentioned, there’s key information every business must provide on their listing in order to achieve any sort of visibility.
This includes,
That’s right, photos on your business listing are not a modern luxury anymore - they’re a necessity. In fact, 60% of consumers say they give more consideration in making a decision to their local search results that have good images.
And since Google has the last word on search content, 2019’s number 9 most valuable Google ranking factor was optimized images - so keep that in consideration.
| Related: 5 Best Practices for Google My Business Photos
With that being said, here’s our guide to Google My Business image size requirements for 2020 for a listing with purpose.
As far as what types of photos that have shown to be most valuable on a listing, the most important - if not essential - photos to be of quality and clarity are the cover and profile photos since they are the first ones seen.
A good thing to remember is that the cover photo should be the preferred photo for your listing. Often times businesses think a profile photo is the one that represents a company, but although the cover photo doesn’t always register as the first users see, it’s actually labelled as the preferred one by Google.
Aside from those two, a good rule to follow is always have a variety.
People gauge whether or not your website/business is worthy of visiting based on your listing, so a collection of photos or videos that showcase a good portion of your brand and products can be informative as well as trustworthy.
Considering the fact that Google listings are fair game for user-generated content, there can -and will- be individuals posting photos of your business online.
The problem is, often times these are low-quality photos that don’t always show your business and community in the best light. And unfortunately, Google doesn’t really prioritize this content, so professional photography is typically a must.
So if we all have to go out and schedule a professional photo shoot, might as well make sure it pays off, right? Because, as Vero states, “a picture is worth a thousand words, or a 42% higher click through rate.”
With that being said, here are Google's requirements for images to effectively optimize business listings:
And for those who value video content marketing as much as we do, here are Google’s guidelines:
To learn more about how to optimize your Google My Business listing or to request a demo, click here.