A picture can be worth a thousand words, especially when it comes to your Google Business Profile photos (formerly known as “Google My Business”). The power and potential of branded images and product photos to transform business listings makes your healthcare brand more appealing to patients. This article shares how visual storytelling through images enhances your online appeal and provides instruction on how to change Google Business Profile pictures or upload new ones.
Uploading Photos and Videos to Your Google Business Profile
Uploading Google Business Profile photos and videos can significantly enhance online presence, allowing businesses to show customers what they have to offer. Thanks to marketing tools like image enhanced Google directory listings, patients have the opportunity to preview a medical office before they book an appointment. To enhance your profile with images, you need to be a verified owner of the business. If you’re unsure about your verification status, check the status in your Google Business Profile account.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to uploading photos or videos:
- Open your web browser and navigate to Google.
- In the search bar, type in the name of your business.
- Once your business profile appears, look for the ‘Add Photos’ button. This is usually located in the ‘overview’ tab of your Business Profile.
- Click on ‘Add Photos’ to open a window where you can select the photos or videos you want to upload from your device.
- Select the photo(s) or video file(s) you want to upload.
- Click on ‘Open’ or ‘Upload.’ The uploaded photos or videos will then be added to your Google Business Profile.
Remember that Google Business Profile photos and videos should be relevant, high-quality, and in line with Google’s content guidelines.
What Types of Photos Should You Upload?
When it comes to curating photos for your business on Google, the images you choose should feature areas that consumers are interested in, making potential patients familiar with your facilities, and a general idea of the building’s orientation, including access to the establishment.
Exterior Photos
Take clear, well-lit pictures that showcase the exterior of your building from different angles. Include distinctive features such as signage, entrances, parking areas, or nearby landmarks. This helps patients get their bearings for when they arrange travel to your location and helps them confirm that they reached the right destination.
Interior Photos
Interior photos show a sneak peek of your medical practice’s ambiance and facilities. Whether it’s state-of-the-art equipment, common areas, or a cozy guest room waiting area, interior photos can make your practice more inviting to potential patients. This is also a prime opportunity to showcase amenities unique to your facility.
Staff and Provider Photos
Highlighting your team in their working environment can humanize your business and bring an element of authenticity that stock photos lack. Remember to keep these photos professional yet warm and approachable. Avoid photos that include patient identification such as patient faces, screens with patient records, or paper documents with patient information, as HIPPA laws apply to your online marketing.
What is the Correct Photo Size for “Google My Business” Profiles?
Ensuring your Google Business Profile photo image size is correct is essential for optimizing your profile. When your Google Business Profile photo size is oriented correctly, it looks professional, loads quickly, providing a better user experience.
Google business profile cover photo size standard guidelines are:
- Cover photo: 1024 x 576 pixels allows the photo to display correctly across different devices without distortion or cropping.
- Logos: 720 x 720 pixels ensures your logo appears clear and sharp, even on high-resolution screens.
- Interior, exterior, and staff photos: 720 pixels minimum width provides a good balance between image quality and file size, ensuring your photos are decent quality without slowing down the page load time.
In terms of general requirements, all Google Business Profile photo sizes or logo dimensions must be less than 10mb in size, no smaller than 720 x 720 pixels, and in either PNG or JPG format. Following these guidelines will help ensure that your images upload successfully and display clearly on your Google Business Profile.
How Do I Delete Photos from My Google Business Page?
When you’ve uploaded the photos yourself, you can remove them by going into your Google Business Profile, locating the photo you wish to remove, then selecting “Delete > Remove” in the top right corner of the image.
Did you know Google allows the public to add photos to business profiles? Unfortunately, your medical practice has no moderation control over what is uploaded to your profile. However, Google allows business owners to request the removal of user-generated photo content that violates Google Maps photo policies.
Examples of Google Business Profile photos not approved include images not relevant to the business, those containing prohibited content, or photos that infringe on copyright laws. For more detailed instructions on how to remove photos, refer to Google’s support page here.
You can set up to receive alerts when a new patient review or photo has been uploaded to your profile. Upon receiving these alerts, you can review the new user-generated content and determine if action is needed. For more tips on managing online reviews, read our blog on online reputation management.
Summary: Google Business Profile Photos (Formerly Known as “Google My Business)
Uploading photos and videos is a straightforward process. However, the Google Business Profile picture size, and photo quality are essential for optimal display and user experience. The recommended size for your Google Business Profile cover photo is 1024 x 576 pixels, while logos should be 720 x 720 pixels. Other photos, such as interior, exterior, and team photos, should be at least 720 px wide. All photos must be less than 10mb in size and in either PNG or JPG format.
Business owners sometimes wonder why their Google business photos are not approved. It could be because Google finds them in violation of their photo policies. If you believe your photos have been rejected in error, you can appeal to Google for a review. Moderators can make mistakes sometimes.
Managing your Google Business Profile photos involves uploading correctly sized images, adhering to Google’s photo policies, and regularly updating your gallery to ensure it accurately represents your business. This not only helps customers recognize your business but also enhances your visibility on Google Search and Google Maps.
Because the general public can upload photos to your Google Business Profile, it is a best practice to set up notifications for when a new review or photo is added. This way you can know when there is new user-generated content to review and determine if action is required. When photos are irrelevant to your medical practice, inappropriate, or violate copyright laws, you can request their removal.
Unleash Your Google Business Profile’s Potential to Boost Visibility in Local Searches
Google Business Profiles are a key component of your medical practice’s digital front door. Optimizing your profile on Google by adding photos establishes your brand online and helps your medical practice get more attention in search results. iHealthSpot’s team of healthcare digital marketing experts employ multiple techniques to not only enhance the appeal of your healthcare brand, but also to help your overall search engine visibility on Google. Contact us to learn more about our listings management services.
