{"id":232200,"date":"2026-07-03T13:20:57","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T13:20:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/influencermarketinghub.com\/?p=232200"},"modified":"2026-07-06T14:09:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T14:09:27","slug":"google-business-profile-photos-local-seo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/influencermarketinghub.com\/google-business-profile-photos-local-seo\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Bill Ross: Using Brand Videography & Photography to Boost Google Maps Rankings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photos and videos are one of the most underused ranking levers in local SEO<\/a>. For this article we interviewed Bill Ross, Founder of <\/span>Emulent Digital Marketing<\/span>, to dig into how visual content\u00a0 influences Google Maps rankings, what Google\u2019s algorithm actually reads in an image, and the\u00a0 publishing cadence that separates profiles that rank from profiles that stall.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q: What first made you realize that photos and videos directly impact Google Maps\u00a0 rankings, not just engagement?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

We were onboarding many service-based clients, and because they didn\u2019t have a physical\u00a0 address, they were having trouble getting ranked for the geographic area they served.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We also had clients that were based in the suburbs outside a main city but wanted to rank within\u00a0 the city limits. They needed to prove to Google that they served a specific area; and photos and\u00a0 video helped do that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Q: For business owners who think Google Maps rankings are mostly about reviews\u00a0 and citations, how big a role does visual content play?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Reviews are still a big part of why a business ranks - if they are done properly. <\/span>BrightLocal\u2019s <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>2026 Local Consumer Review Survey <\/span><\/a>found that the share of consumers who will only use\u00a0 businesses rated 4.5 stars or higher nearly doubled in a single year.<\/span><\/p>\n

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However, when we look at the impact of images, businesses with photos on their Business\u00a0 Profile receive 42% more requests for driving directions and 35% more click-throughs to their\u00a0 website than businesses without photos.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Q: What types of photos should every local business be uploading to their Google\u00a0 Business Profile?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

We have found that on-the-job and behind-the-scene videos, and customer stories cover the\u00a0 different user needs, and thus do well with both engagement, building trust, and increasing\u00a0 leads.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q: How often should businesses add new photos, and does freshness matter to the\u00a0 algorithm?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Yes, freshness and publishing frequency matters.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Volume compounds over time, too. <\/span>BrightLocal\u2019s <\/span>Google My Business Insights Study found that\u00a0 businesses with more than 100 images on their profile get 520% more calls, 2,717% more\u00a0 direction requests, and 1,065% more website clicks than the average business.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the chart below shows, the gap between a high-volume profile and the average listing isn\u2019t\u00a0 incremental; it\u2019s an order of magnitude. A twice-weekly cadence puts you past the 100-photo\u00a0 mark in under a year.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Q: Owner-uploaded photos vs. customer-uploaded photos? <\/b><\/p>\n

Each type of photo adds value in its own way.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n