Having great photos on your google business profile is one of the best ways to attract customers. This includes pictures of the interior and exterior of your building, the products or services you offer and, especially for local businesses,’real’ photos of people using your services (think white water rafting, surfing lessons, weddings etc).
It’s important to keep in mind that Google doesn’t prioritize your own uploaded images over customer-uploaded ones when ranking your listings. This means that someone could upload a photo that is low quality or does not represent your business accurately and, if Google prioritizes this image over your own, it could negatively affect the trust potential customers have in your listing.
To prevent this, it’s a good idea to have a process in place for your team to request removal of customer-uploaded photos as soon as they come across them. This can be done by visiting the ‘Photos’ tab of your google business account and selecting the ‘Edit Photos’ option.
Once there, select the flag icon next to each of the photos that need to be removed and provide a reason why you want them to be taken down. Providing as much information about the images in question as possible, including evidence such as proof of copyright or signed privacy release forms, can help the process go faster.
Once the request has been processed, the photo will be moved to ‘not approved’ where it will remain invisible on Maps and in searches. It will then be displayed to your customers once it’s been deemed to comply with Google’s guidelines.