Google Business Profile photos: size, rules and how to manage them
Updated · By Aviran Aharoni Cohen, founder of Mekomi
Google says Business Profile photos should be JPG or PNG files between 10 KB and 5 MB, ideally 720 by 720 pixels and at least 250 by 250. It doesn't publish separate sizes for the cover photo or logo. You can add, replace and delete your own photos from Google Search or the Maps app, but photos customers add can only be reported. Below are the steps for each device, why photos get held or rejected, and what to photograph.
The short answer
Google publishes one set of photo specs for your Business Profile. Five things cover most of it:
- Use a JPG or PNG between 10 KB and 5 MB. Google recommends 720 by 720 pixels and accepts 250 by 250 at least.
- Upload real photos you took at the business. Google advises against stock photos, screenshots, collages, heavy filters and text on top.
- Verify the profile first. Google says photos show on Google only after the profile is verified.
- Delete your own photos; report customers' photos. You can remove what you uploaded, but a customer's photo only goes if Google agrees it breaks a policy.
- Give a new photo 24 to 48 hours. Until then it can show as pending.
Below are the full specs, the steps on a computer, Android and iPhone, why photos get held or rejected, and a shot list for each kind of business.
What size should Google Business Profile photos be?
Google's page on managing your Business Profile photos and videos sets one standard for all photos: JPG or PNG, 10 KB to 5 MB, 720 by 720 pixels recommended and 250 by 250 minimum. Here is everything it specifies, in one place:
| Item | What Google says | Our note |
|---|---|---|
| Format | JPG or PNG | If an iPhone photo in HEIC format is refused, convert it to JPG first. |
| File size | Between 10 KB and 5 MB | If a phone photo is over 5 MB, export a smaller JPG. |
| Recommended resolution | 720 px tall, 720 px wide | A modern phone photo is far above this. |
| Minimum resolution | 250 px tall, 250 px wide | Anything near the minimum will look soft. |
| Quality | In focus, well lit, no significant alterations or excessive filters or AI | Fix lighting or rotation if you need to, and leave it there. |
| Cover photo | No separate size published | A landscape photo with the subject in the middle. |
| Logo | No separate size published | A square file, simple enough to read when small. |
| Video | Up to 30 seconds, up to 75 MB, 720p or higher | Steady footage of the place itself. |
| 360 photo | At least 4K (3,840 by 2,160 pixels) is best, per Google's media tips | Only matters if you publish 360 photos. |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
Other sites quote exact cover photo sizes. Google's help pages don't state one, and Google says even a cover you set isn't guaranteed to show as the first image. That's why our advice is a landscape photo well above the minimum with the important part in the center, so it still works if it's shown cropped.
Photos you attach to posts follow the same file rules, but posts have their own content rules. Those are in our guide on what to post on Google Business Profile.
How do you add photos, a logo and a cover photo?
Sign in to the Google account that manages the profile first. The steps below are from Google's photos help page, which has a version for each device.
On a computer
- Open Google Search or Maps and search your business name and city.
- Click Photos, then Add photos. For the cover or logo, click Add a cover photo or Add a logo instead.
- Select one or more photos or videos.
On an Android phone
- Open the Google Maps app and tap Business at the bottom right.
- Tap More, then Add photo. For the cover or logo, tap More, then Cover photo or Logo.
- Select your photos, tap Done, then tap Post at the top right.
On an iPhone or iPad
- Open the Google Maps app and tap Business at the bottom right.
- Tap More, then Add photo, or Cover photo or Logo.
- Select your photos, tap Done, then tap Publish at the bottom right.
If you manage 10 or more locations, Google lets you bulk upload photos through a spreadsheet instead.
If your logo doesn't show
Google says the logo is highlighted on profiles that have their basic information filled in. If yours doesn't appear, check that the profile has a name, a valid location with a street address, categories, a phone number and opening hours. Our guide on how to edit your Google Business Profile covers each of those fields.
How do you replace or delete your own photos?
To swap the cover photo or logo, follow the adding steps above: on a computer Google shows Change cover or Change logo once one is set. Any other photo you replace by deleting the old one and uploading the new one.
Delete a photo on a computer
- Open Google Search or Maps and search your business name and city.
- Click Photos and scroll to the photo or video you want to remove.
- Click Delete, then Delete again to confirm.
Delete a photo on Android
- In the Google Maps app, tap Business, then See Business Profile, then Photos.
- Open the photo and tap Delete at the top right, then Delete to confirm.
Delete a photo on iPhone or iPad
- In the Google Maps app, tap Business, then See Business Profile, then Photos.
- Open the photo, tap More at the top right, then Delete this photo, and tap OK.
Our advice: delete photos that now mislead, like an old storefront, last year's menu or a team member who has left, and upload the current version the same day. Google's photo pages don't say that deleting your own photos affects your profile, so there's no reason to keep one that no longer shows the business as it is.
Can you delete photos customers added?
No. You can only ask Google to remove them. Google's page on reporting inappropriate photos or videos says a reported photo is reviewed and "may possibly be removed", and that the review can take several business days.
Report a customer photo on a computer
- Go to your Business Profile and select Photos, then View all photos.
- Select the photo or video and choose Report a problem at the bottom right.
- Pick the reason, for example "Privacy concern" or "Not a photo or video of the place", and select Submit.
Report a customer photo in the Google Maps app
- Tap Business, then See Business Profile, then Photos.
- Open the photo, tap More at the top right, then Report.
- Pick the reason, for example "Spam" or "Personal information", and tap Submit.
Report each photo once. Google says several removal requests for the same content can delay the review.
Removal depends on a policy being broken, not on you disliking the photo. Google's prohibited and restricted content policy applies to every photo on Maps, and its tips for posting media to Maps add that low quality media may be removed. A photo of a different place, someone's personal information or spam is worth reporting. A true but unflattering photo of your shop usually isn't; the better answer is to add good photos of your own.
Photo updates from customers
Customers can also post photo updates, a photo with or without text, from the Google Maps app. Google's page about photo updates from customers says a customer can write only one review but post many photo updates, and that you can't stop them. You find them in the Maps app under Business, See Business Profile, Updates, By visitors. From there you can reply to one, or tap More and Report if it breaks a policy.
Why is my photo pending or not approved?
Google reviews every upload against its photos and videos policy. According to its photos help page, each photo shows one of three statuses:
- Pending means customers can't see it yet. The photo is still uploading or processing, or your profile isn't verified.
- Not approved means it was flagged. Google found a policy problem, and the photo won't show on Search or Maps.
- Live means it's public. Customers see it on Search and Maps.
Google says it can take 24 to 48 hours before a photo shows. If it's been longer, work through this list:
- Is the profile verified? Unverified profiles keep photos pending. Our verification guide covers each method.
- Is it a duplicate? Google says an upload that seems missing may be a duplicate of one already there; check before you upload again.
- Does it meet the specs? JPG or PNG, 10 KB to 5 MB, at least 250 by 250 pixels.
- Is it a real photo of the place? Google's media tips say to avoid screenshots, stock photos, GIFs, collages and images made by others, and to make the place the main subject rather than people.
- Is it plain? The same tips say to avoid borders, text overlays, heavy filters, and very dark, blurry or rotated images.
- Is the profile suspended? Google says content on a suspended profile can be rejected until the profile is reinstated.
If you think a photo was rejected by mistake, Google's appeals page says businesses in the UK or the European Economic Area appeal media restrictions through the appeals tool, and businesses elsewhere use the contact us form. One limit: Google says removals for low quality can't be appealed, so the quicker fix is usually a better photo.
What should you photograph for your business?
Google's page of tips for business-specific photos suggests at least three photos each of your exterior, interior, products, team at work and team, at least three food and drink photos for places that serve them, and for hotels at least one of each common area and three of the most popular rooms. It also suggests showing the outside from each direction customers approach, and at different times of day.
The list below turns that into a first shot list for common kinds of business. It's our suggestion, not a Google rule. The test for each photo is simple: does it help a stranger decide to come, or find you when they get there?
| Business | First photos to add (our list) |
|---|---|
| Restaurants and cafés | The entrance from the street, the dining room when it's set, your five best-selling dishes, the menu board, the kitchen team at work. |
| Trades and home services | Your van or branded equipment, the team on a job, finished work (with the customer's permission), the tools of the trade, your workshop if customers visit. |
| Salons, barbers and beauty | The storefront, each chair or room, recent work in good light, the products you sell, the team. |
| Dentists and clinics | The entrance and parking, the waiting area, a treatment room, the team, anything that helps a nervous patient picture the visit. |
| Shops | The storefront from each direction, each section of the shop, popular products on the shelf, the checkout, new stock as it arrives. |
| Gyms and studios | The entrance, each training area, the equipment, a class in progress (with permission), the changing rooms. |
| Hotels and guest houses | The outside, the reception, each room type, each common area like the breakfast room or pool, the view. |
| Offices (accountants, lawyers) | The building and entrance, the meeting room, the team, the reception, a sign customers can look for. |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
Service-area businesses that hide their address have no storefront to show, so the van, the team and the finished work carry the profile. Whatever your business, ask before a customer's face, home or car is in a photo.
How do you keep your photos up to date?
Google doesn't publish how often to add photos, and it doesn't say new photos help your ranking. Its tips to improve your local ranking list adding photos as a way to show customers what you offer. Our advice is a small, steady habit: when something changes (a new dish, a renovated room, a new team member), take the photo that day and swap out the one it replaces.
To skip uploading by hand, Mekomi's posts and photos feature takes the photos you give it and adds them to your profile a few at a time, during your opening hours, next to the posts it drafts for your approval.
Frequently asked questions
Do photos help my Google ranking?
Google doesn't say photos are a ranking factor. Its page of tips to improve your local ranking does list adding photos and videos, describing them as a way to show customers what you offer. Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity. Add photos because they help people choose you.
Can I choose which photo shows first on my profile?
Not fully. You can set a cover photo, but Google says that doesn't guarantee it will show as the first image, and that a customer's photo may be picked instead if yours is low quality or other sources suggest it isn't the best one.
Can I stop customers from adding photos to my profile?
No. Google says you can't stop customers from posting photo updates. You can report a photo that breaks Google's policies, and you can reply to a customer's photo update in the Google Maps app.
Can I use stock photos on my Google Business Profile?
No, not if you want them to stay up. Google's tips for posting media to Maps say to avoid stock photos, screenshots, GIFs and collages, and to upload photos you took at the place. Low quality media may be removed, and Google says quality removals can't be appealed.
Can I put text or my logo on top of a photo?
Keep it to a minimum. Google's tips say to avoid adding borders, text or collaged images, and that any superimposed content should be relevant to the place. Put your logo in the logo slot instead.
Can I see how many people viewed my photos?
Yes. Google says the photo source and total views show in the bottom left corner of your Business Profile photos on Search.
How many photos can I upload?
Google's help pages we read don't state a maximum. They do suggest at least three photos for most photo types, like exterior, interior and team. If you manage 10 or more locations, Google lets you bulk upload photos with a spreadsheet.