By Nancy Jeng
Creating a business listing on Google is one of the best ways to make sure your small business gets found online. For most business owners, this means covering the basics—updating store hours, adding a website and verifying the location. But one frequently overlooked feature is the ability to add photos to your business listing on Google.
Studies show that Google business listings with photos get 42 percent more requests for directions and 35 percent more clicks than those without (Google/Oxera). It’s true that a photo is worth a thousand words and in the case of small businesses, it could also be worth more customers. Check out our five tips for making the most of your business photos:
Get inspired. We visited three different small businesses to see how they’re using photos to put their best foot forward for the holidays. Find out what a toy store, a salon and a Chinese restaurant have in common when it comes to showcasing their businesses.
Capture the right stuff. The average user looks at 12+ photos before making a decision, so you want to include photos that show the best parts of your business. Check out our printable shot list, which helps you plan the right photos for your business.
Learn the basics. Before you pick up your camera, learn some tips for capturing the perfect photos for your small business. We’ve created these three guides to help: Lighting, Composition and Editing with Google Photos.
Learn from the pros. Sometimes you need a little help from the pros, which is why we invited Google Trusted Photographer Randy Dickey to answer some of your photography questions. Check out our interview with Randy and if you have more questions tweet us using #AskAPhotographer.
Get online! Once you’ve got your business photos, make sure you get them online where your customers can find them (and you). Learn how to upload your photos to your Google listing here.
We would love to hear from you! If you’ve taken photos you want to share, tweet us @GoogleSmallBiz using #YourBestShot. As always, please visit the Google Small Business Community for more tips on how to grow your business online.
BIO: Nancy is the content strategy and operations lead for the Google Small Business Community, whose mission it is to help small businesses succeed online by connecting them to experts and each other. For more about Google Small Business, follow us on Twitter @GoogleSmallBiz or join the Google Small Business Community at g.co/gsbc.