Google Business Profile Photos: Rules, Sizes and What to Upload

Google Business Profile photos should be JPG or PNG, between 10 KB and 5 MB, in focus, well lit and a true picture of your business, with no heavy filters. Videos can be up to 30 seconds and 75 MB at 720p or higher. This guide covers what to upload, how many, the sizes people recommend, why photos stay pending or get rejected, and how to take pictures that make a stranger choose you.

Photos help, but reviews decide many choices. Check your Google reviews against your nearest rivals and get your review link and a printable QR sign, free.

Google's photo rules

Google's help page for photos sets a few clear standards:

• Format: JPG or PNG.
• File size: between 10 KB and 5 MB.
• Quality: in focus, well lit, no significant alterations or excessive filters. The image should represent reality.
• Video: up to 30 seconds, up to 75 MB, 720p or higher.

Content rules apply too: no stock photos pretending to be your premises, no text-heavy ads, and nothing offensive or misleading.

What size should the photos be?

Google gives few pixel sizes. Many guides recommend 720 by 720 pixels as a good size and 250 by 250 as a minimum, and 16:9 or 4:3 pictures for covers and posts, but we could not confirm those numbers on Google's page, so treat them as practical advice. A safe rule: upload the largest clear original under 5 MB, keep the main subject in the middle, because Google crops previews.

Google Business Profile photos: what to upload

1. Outside. The front from the street, and the entrance, so a first-time visitor can find you. Add the parking if it is not obvious.
2. Inside. The room as customers see it, tidy and lit.
3. Team. Real people at work, with their consent.
4. Work. Finished jobs, dishes, haircuts, repairs, with a short caption in your head of what each shows.
5. Products or menu. What you sell, close up.
6. Logo and cover. So your listing looks like your brand.

Aim for at least ten to start and add a few each month. New photos signal that the business is active, though we have not seen Google state a number that ranks you higher.

How to add photos

1. Search for your business name while signed in to the account that manages it.
2. Choose to add a photo, or open the profile editor and pick Photos.
3. Select a category such as exterior, interior or team, and upload.
4. Wait for review; most photos appear within a day, but it can take longer.

Customers can also add photos, and you cannot block them. You can report ones that break policy. If your profile is not set up yet, start with How to set up a Google Business Profile.

Why are my photos pending or rejected?

Common reasons, from the usual to the rare:

• Review delay. New uploads wait for Google's check. Give it a day or two before changing anything.
• Quality. Blurry, very dark or heavily filtered pictures.
• Not representative. Stock images, or photos from another business.
• Too much text, phone numbers or promotions on the image.
• Format or size outside the limits above.
• Profile issues. A suspended or unverified profile can limit what shows. See Google Business Profile suspended and verification.

If a photo is rejected, do not upload the same file again. Retake it in better light or crop out the text and try once more.

How to take better business photos with a phone

• Shoot in daylight when you can and wipe the lens.
• Hold the phone level and keep lines straight.
• Clear clutter first: bins, cables, personal items.
• Show scale: a person, a hand, a counter.
• Take the picture a customer would want to see before they come: where to park, where to enter, what the room feels like.
• Skip filters. Google asks for pictures that represent reality.

Photos and verification video

Do not confuse the photos on your listing with the video some businesses must record to verify. That has its own rules, covered in Google Business Profile verification video: what to record.

Do photos help you rank?

Google's local ranking page names relevance, distance and prominence. Photos help people choose you once you show; they make your listing complete and believable. We do not claim an exact ranking effect. For the factors Google states, read Google Maps ranking factors.

A monthly photo habit

1. Pick one day a month and set a reminder.
2. Take three to five photos of recent work or changes.
3. Upload them with the right category.
4. Look at your photo list as a customer would. Remove or report any that are wrong.
5. Keep holiday and special hours in line with what the photos show: Google Business Profile hours.

Google Business Profile photos: what to upload for each type of business

The right mix depends on what customers are deciding. Use this as a starting list and replace each item with a real picture of yours:

• Restaurant or cafe: the front, the dining room, five popular dishes, the menu board, the team, the outdoor seating.
• Salon or barber: the chairs, reception, finished work with client consent, the products you use, the team.
• Home service (plumber, electrician, cleaner): your van with the name, the team in uniform, before-and-after jobs, tools and equipment. A service-area business can hide its address but still show its work.
• Shop: the front, shelves, best sellers, the counter, the car park.
• Clinic or office: the entrance, waiting room, treatment room, the team. Never show patient or client details.

Getting permission and avoiding problems

Before you upload a picture of a person, ask them. For customers, get their agreement in writing, even a text. Do not post photos that show addresses, licence plates, screens with private information or other businesses' branding. Check the background of every shot. If a customer posts a picture of your premises that is wrong or offensive, report it rather than arguing in a reply.

How to check how your photos look to customers

1. Open Google Maps on your phone while signed out of your business account.
2. Search your business name as a customer would and open the listing.
3. Scroll through the photos. Is the first one a good first impression? Do the latest ones look like yours?
4. Search for your category near you and compare your first photo with the top three rivals.
5. Fix the weakest gap first. Often it is the exterior picture, which tells the customer how to find you.

Common photo mistakes

• Only uploading a logo and no real pictures.
• Old photos that show a previous layout, sign or owner.
• Photos with a phone number or discount banner drawn on them.
• Pictures taken at night with the flash on, which come out grainy and flat.
• Uploading the same picture again after it was rejected.
• Forgetting to remove duplicate or low-quality photos that you added earlier.

Photos are one part of a complete listing. For the rest, work through the Google Business Profile optimization checklist.

Seasonal and special photos

Update pictures when something real changes: a new menu, a refit, a holiday display, a new vehicle or a new team member. Seasonal pictures show a customer that the listing is current, and they keep your photo list from looking stale. Take them the week the change happens, while you remember, and upload them in the right category. If you close for a holiday, pair the photo with correct special hours so that what customers see matches what they find at the door.

Keep a simple folder on your phone called "profile photos" and drop good shots in as you take them during normal work. At the monthly reminder you then pick the best three and upload. This is far easier than trying to stage a photo shoot, and the pictures look like the real business because they are.

Frequently asked questions

What size should Google Business Profile photos be?

Google requires JPG or PNG between 10 KB and 5 MB. Many guides suggest 720 by 720 pixels or larger for standard photos; that figure is advice, not a Google rule we could confirm.

How many photos should I add?

At least ten to begin, across outside, inside, team and work, then a few every month.

Why are my Google Business Profile photos still pending?

Uploads are reviewed. Wait a day or two. If they stay pending, check quality, format and whether your profile is verified and in good standing.

Can I delete customer photos from my profile?

You cannot delete them yourself, but you can report ones that break Google's policy.

Can I use stock photos?

Avoid them. Google asks that photos represent the real business.

Can I add a video?

Yes: up to 30 seconds, up to 75 MB, 720p or higher.

What to do next

Photos get the click; reviews get the choice. Check your Google reviews against your nearest rivals and get your review link, QR sign and replies free. More on the guides page.

Sources

• Google Business Profile Help: manage photos and videos for your Business Profile (support.google.com/business/answer/6103862).
• Third-party size guides (Semrush, Advice Local), searched 2026-11-12; pixel sizes are advice, not Google rules.