How to Add a Photo to a Google Review

People commonly review businesses to help other customers make an informed decision about where to spend their money. If customers have an amazing experience at your store, they may also leave a review as a way to help your business grow.

While not all reviews feature photos, you’ll find that many reviews do. Photos add an element of proof to reviews, and they give customers additional insights into your business. Photos can add attention to reviews and help people decide to shop at your store.

Adding Photos to Google Reviews

Whether you are leaving a review for another business or encouraging your customers to leave reviews for your business, you need to know how to add photos to reviews. The process is incredibly straightforward.

When you write the review, you will see an option to “Add Photos.” Click on this, and your phone or computer will take you through the process of how to add photos to a Google review. 

A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Add a Photo to a Review on Your Computer 

1. Open Google Maps or Google and search for the business you want to review.
2. Once you find the business, select “Write a Review.”
3. Enter your desired text and star rating.
4. Click “Add Photos” below the text box.
5. Choose photos from your computer or drag-and-drop them.
6. Select “Post” and your review with photos will be published.

A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Add a Photo to a Review on Your Phone 

1. Open Google Maps and search for the business to review.
2. Select “Write a Review.”
3. Write your review and include your star rating.
4. Choose “Add Photos,” which appears below the text box.
5. Select the photo from your phone’s gallery.
6. Select “Post.”

How to Add a Photo to an Existing Review

What if you already wrote and posted the review on Google but realized that a picture would be helpful? You can easily go back and add photos to Google reviews. The only caveat is that the photo won’t necessarily be linked to your review; it will be linked to your business. Additionally, you’ll need to have taken the photo on your phone while your location was turned on.

1. Start by opening Google Maps.
2. Click on “Your Contributions” in the top left corner.
3. Scroll to the “Contribute” tab.
4. Click “Add Your Photos to Maps.”
5. Choose your photo(s) and select “Post.”

Removing a Photo From a Google Review

You can only remove photos from Google Reviews that you wrote. This process is incredibly simple. Do the following:

1. Open Google Maps (or Google Search on the computer) to find the business.
2. Find your review under the business.
3. Select the photo, which will expand it and your review.
4. Click on the three dots in the upper-right.
5. Choose “Remove Photo.”
6. Confirm you want to delete it by selecting “Remove.”

You can also replace the first three steps with the following to find your review:

1. Open Google Maps.
2. Select “Your Contributions” or “Contribute” on the top left corner.
3. Select “View your profile.”
4. Scroll to “See all reviews.”

Flag Photos If You Didn’t Write the Review

The above process only works if you are the person who wrote the review. So, what can businesses do about undesirable photos in their reviews?

If the photo doesn’t violate any of Google’s policies, you won’t be able to remove it. You can use other methods, such as responding to the reviewer to take control of the situation.

But if the photo violates Google’s review policy, you can flag it. You can also flag reviews themselves.

To flag a photo:

1. Find the business on Google Maps or Google Search.
2. Select the large photo appearing on the top left of the screen to open the photo gallery.
3. Select the photo to report.
4. To the left of the photo, select “Report a problem.” This may also appear as a flag symbol.
5. Select or enter a brief description of the problem, including how it violates Google’s policies.
6. Select “Send.”

The Google team will review your report and remove the photo if they agree it violates its policies.

Can Businesses Add or Remove Photos from Reviews?

When it comes to photos in Google Reviews, the only way to add or remove photos is to write a review or flag a photo that violates Google’s policies.

You should not leave reviews for your own business, so you won’t want to add photos to Google Reviews yourself.

Add Photos to Your Google Business Profile

While you shouldn’t write a review of your own business, you can easily add photos to your Google Business Profile. If you haven’t already done this, make sure you do so as soon as possible. It will make your business profile more appealing and attract customers to your store. You can even add videos.

How to Add a Photo to Your Business Profile

To add a photo to your business profile, do the following:

1. Navigate to your business profile.
2. Select either “Promote” and then “Photo” or “Add photo” and then “Photo,” depending on your device.
3. Select your photo to add it.

How to Add a Cover Photo or Logo to Your Business Profile

The process is incredibly similar when adding a logo or cover photo to your business profile.

1. Navigate to your business profile.
2. Select either “Edit profile” or “Add photo,” depending on your device.
3. Select “Cover photo” or “Logo.”
4. Select the photo and add it.

How to Remove a Photo from Your Business Profile

Remember that you can only remove photos you posted to your business profile. If you want a photo posted by someone else removed, you will have to flag it and wait for Google to remove it. As mentioned, this is only an option if it violates Google’s content guidelines.

To remove a photo that you added, do the following:

1. Go to your business profile.
2. Select “Photos.”
3. Select “By owner.”
4. Select the photo to remove.
5. Select the trash can symbol in the top right. Click on the confirmation.

Other Ways to Optimize Your Google Business Profile

Now that you know how to add photos to your Google Business Profile, what else should you do to optimize it? Keep these tips in mind:

• Always verify your business.
• Use the actual name of your business.
• Include a local phone number.
• Ensure all information is accurate, including hours of operation, address, and more.
• Craft a compelling description.
• Include keywords in your description.
• Use special attributes to highlight features, like outdoor seating or being minority-owned.
• Take full advantage of posting photos and videos.
• Encourage customers to leave reviews.
• Respond to negative reviews (and sometimes positive ones).
• Make it easy for customers to message you.
• Respond to questions regularly.
• Consider adding questions and answers before customers ask.
• Make Google posts.
• Use the product catalog.

Remember that using Google Business Profile and most of its services is completely free. As such, it only costs you time to add photos or other content. 

Get More Reviews With Podium

Consider encouraging your customers to add pictures to their reviews on your business to help it stand out. For the best results, take advantage of tools like Podium to encourage customers to leave reviews automatically. Supplement this by asking for reviews in person after transactions. In time, you’ll see your number of reviews grow.

Ready to see what all the hype is about? Start a free 14-day trial of Podium today.