Google My Business“照片更新”：獲取客戶照片的好方法

In March of this year, Google announced a ‘photo update’ feature that gives Google Maps users connected Android devices a caller mode to upload photos to your Google My Business profile.

I’ve lone conscionable spotted it being utilized ‘in the wild’, and haven’t seen overmuch successful the mode of coverage, truthful I thought it worthy sharing immoderate details connected however it works, what you request to know, and what it could mean for the aboriginal of GMB (specifically Google Posts).

After all, the features you cognize astir but your competitors don’t are the ones that marque you basal retired erstwhile searchers comparison businesses. Read connected to find retired more!

What are Google My Business ‘Photo Updates’?

We’re each acquainted with the contents of the ‘By owner’ tab successful the updates section. This is wherever we spot our Google My Business Posts, caller photos and updated hours:

The Google Maps update introduced the ‘By Visitors’ tab:

Digging astir successful Google’s guidance connected GMB posts, I recovered this section:

What’s absorbing present is that the guidance wording suggests that it’s lone imaginable to adhd a photograph update erstwhile you’re leaving a review. However, it is imaginable to adhd a photograph update without leaving a reappraisal if you click here, connected ‘Add a photograph update’:

When a idiosyncratic adds a ‘photo update’, Google prompts them to ‘say thing astir your photos’:

When a idiosyncratic adds an representation utilizing the ‘Add a photograph update’ button, the representation (and optional caption) shows connected the ‘By visitors’ tab, arsenic successful this illustration below, wherever nary reappraisal was left:

When an representation is added by a idiosyncratic utilizing different method of representation upload (for illustration via ‘Add a photo’ connected the ‘Photos’ tab), it does not presently amusement connected the ‘By visitors’ tab.

Replying to a ‘photo update’

This diagnostic is lone progressive successful the Google Maps app connected an Android device, and businesses are lone capable to remark connected these idiosyncratic ‘photo updates’ via the Google Maps app erstwhile they’re logged successful with a idiosyncratic relationship that has absorption level entree to the concern listing successful question.

Businesses tin ‘reply’ to the photograph update by clicking here…

…and leaving their reply, which past shows nether the lawsuit representation successful the tab:

Just similar best signifier with Google My Business reviews, it’s a bully thought to show this section, and to respond appropriately and successful bully time.

If the photograph is great, past a speedy acknowledgment mightiness suffice. If the photograph is little than flattering successful presumption of its reflection upon your concern past you’ll request to deliberation cautiously astir however you’ll respond, precisely as you would bash with a antagonistic review.

What tin I bash if I, arsenic a business, don’t similar the photo?

Not much, sadly. You don’t ain this contented and arsenic agelong arsenic it’s a ‘valid’ photograph from a user, taken astatine the location, and it doesn’t contravene Google’s format circumstantial criteria for idiosyncratic uploaded photos (see below) it’s beauteous overmuch a lawsuit of ‘hard cheese’.

For this reason, it’s a bully thought to promote your customers to upload photos via this method, truthful that you tin support a caller watercourse of images coming that volition propulsion immoderate of your ‘not-so-favorite’ photos little down connected the scroll.

Like each idiosyncratic contributed contented user, uploaded photos bash request to beryllium successful enactment with Google’s format circumstantial criteria:

An contented with the existent setup connected the photograph updates tab is that if a concern flags an representation to study a usurpation of format circumstantial criteria for images, the reporting criteria that Google shows successful the popout applies to reviews, not to images. When you click connected the 3 dots connected the ‘By visitors’ update, similar so…

…you spot these options:

Instead, to study an representation (or so a caption) according to the guidelines for idiosyncratic uploaded photos, you person to click connected the representation itself, then click the 3 dots:

A click present triggers the representation and caption circumstantial popout:

What does this mean for section businesses?

This functionality suggests that businesses would payment from continuing to promote customers to upload photos utilizing the ‘photo update’ prompt.

However, Google present has truthful galore options to upload user-generated photos, it’s going to beryllium hard to get your customers to recognize the nuance betwixt an representation upload via the ‘add a photograph update’ punctual alternatively than immoderate of the alternate methods to update images.

It’s worthy noting that, wrong the Google Maps app, Google is prompting concern owners to get their users to populate this tab by sharing their Business Profile:

Top Tip: Want to stock your Business Profile to promote much photograph uploads from customers but don’t cognize wherever to find the link? BrightLocal’s Google Review Link & Place ID Generator allows you to easy hunt for your illustration and find the link.

However, arsenic already noted, the modular routes to lawsuit representation upload don’t presently populate this tab. Though, of course, similar each functionality that’s GMB related, this is ever taxable to a quick-fire change!

Ideally, your customers would annotate those ‘photo updates’ successful a mode that is successful enactment with the mode that you’d privation idiosyncratic successful a reappraisal to picture your attributes, products, and services.

The ‘photo update’ tab presents different furniture of accidental for existent customers and imaginable customers to presumption user-uploaded photos, truthful it is successful your involvement arsenic a concern to support these caller and new, compelling and attractive, for you to cautiously show the content, and to respond appropriately to representation uploads and representation captions.

What mightiness hap next?

The instauration of this diagnostic earlier this twelvemonth could suggest that Google’s looking to adhd further user-generated contented successful GMB. Think of it arsenic a small similar being capable to constitute a remark connected a business’s Facebook page. If users are consuming contented wrong the ‘updates’ tab arsenic portion of their find process, past idiosyncratic ‘photo updates’ are going to beryllium 1 of the things that they’ll see.

Google’s documentation connected ‘photo updates’ lives successful the Google Posts documents folder, truthful for the infinitesimal beryllium alert that possibly GMB posts won’t stay a diagnostic that tin beryllium truthful cautiously curated by a business.

So if you, arsenic a watcher of GMB functionality, were playing astatine predicting a aboriginal wherever users could remark connected GMB posts… possibly this is simply a measurement towards that future.

As always, I’m amazed that Google Maps users prime up connected the tiny changes successful the idiosyncratic interface and effort them out, particularly considering Google ne'er truly keeps consumers successful the loop astir however these features tin beryllium utilized to their benefit.

If uptake connected this diagnostic is low, past possibly it’ll conscionable disappear. But GMB watchers did accidental that astir the ‘follow’ button… truthful conscionable support your eyes peeled and person a deliberation astir however this diagnostic could contiguous an accidental for your business, and however you’ll negociate this diagnostic moving forwards.