Module 3

Preparing Photos for Upload

Before uploading your photos, a bit of preparation ensures they look their best and meet Google's requirements. Here's how to review, resize, and lightly edit your photos.

Selecting Your Best Photos

What to do

Go through all your photos and select the best ones. Quality matters more than quantity.

Step by step

  1. Transfer photos to your computer. It's easier to review and edit on a larger screen. Email them to yourself, use AirDrop, Google Photos, or plug in via USB.
  2. View at full size. Look at each photo at 100% zoom. Photos that look fine as thumbnails might be blurry when enlarged.
  3. Check for sharpness. Is the main subject in focus? Blurry photos look unprofessional. Delete any that aren't sharp.
  4. Check exposure. Is the photo too dark or too bright? If you can't see important details, discard it.
  5. Look at the background. Anything distracting or embarrassing you missed while shooting? A customer picking their nose, a visible price list you don't want shared, personal items?
  6. From multiple shots of the same subject, pick the best one. You don't need to upload all 5 photos of the same angle — just the best.
  7. Aim for 15-30 final photos. Enough to comprehensively show your business, not so many that you're padding with mediocre shots.

Basic Photo Editing

What to do

Light editing can improve your photos, but don't overdo it. The goal is reality, just looking its best.

Step by step

  1. Straighten crooked horizons. If the photo is slightly tilted, rotate it so horizontal lines are truly horizontal.
  2. Crop to improve composition. Remove distracting edges or empty space. But don't crop so much that quality suffers.
  3. Adjust brightness if needed. If a photo is slightly too dark, brighten it. Most photo apps have simple sliders for this.
  4. Minor contrast adjustment. A slight increase in contrast can make photos look more punchy and professional.
  5. Avoid heavy filters. Don't use Instagram-style filters that dramatically change colours. Your photos should represent reality.
  6. Don't add text, logos, or watermarks. Google's guidelines prohibit promotional text on photos. Keep them clean.

Free Tools for Editing Photos

What to do

You don't need expensive software. These free tools can handle basic photo editing.

Step by step

  1. On your phone — built-in editor: Both iPhone and Android have built-in photo editors. Open a photo, tap Edit, and you'll find crop, rotate, brightness, and contrast tools.
  2. On your computer — Canva (free version): Go to canva.com and create a free account. Upload photos and use the adjustment tools. Also great for cropping to specific sizes.
  3. On Windows — Photos app: The built-in Photos app has basic editing. Open a photo, click Edit, and adjust as needed.
  4. On Mac — Preview or Photos: Preview can do basic edits (Tools > Adjust Color). The Photos app has more options.
  5. Online — Photopea: Free Photoshop alternative at photopea.com. More advanced, but handles everything you might need.

Resizing Photos for Upload

What to do

Photos straight from your phone might be larger than necessary. Resizing speeds up uploads and ensures they meet requirements.

Step by step

  1. Check if resizing is needed. Google accepts photos between 10KB and 5MB. Most phone photos are 2-4MB, which is fine. If your photos are larger, resize them.
  2. Aim for 1200-2000 pixels on the longest edge. This gives good quality without excessive file size. Google's minimum is 720px wide, but bigger is better for display quality.
  3. Batch resize if you have many photos. Rather than resizing one by one, use a tool that handles multiple at once.

How to Resize Photos Using Canva (Free)

What to do

Here's a step-by-step guide to resizing your photos using free Canva.

Step by step

  1. Go to canva.com and sign in (or create a free account if you don't have one).
  2. Click "Create a design" and select "Custom size". Enter 1600 x 1200 pixels (or 1200 x 1600 for portrait photos). Click "Create new design".
  3. Click "Uploads" in the left sidebar and upload your photo.
  4. Drag your photo onto the canvas. Resize and position it to fill the canvas. The corners have drag handles for resizing.
  5. Click "Share" then "Download" in the top right. Choose JPG format and download.
  6. Repeat for each photo. You can also duplicate the design and replace the image for faster workflow.

Naming Your Photo Files

What to do

Good file names help you stay organised and might provide a tiny SEO benefit.

Step by step

  1. Rename from default camera names. "IMG_4582.jpg" tells you nothing. Rename to something descriptive.
  2. Use descriptive, keyword-rich names. "cafe-interior-seating-area.jpg" or "plumber-bathroom-installation-complete.jpg".
  3. Keep names lowercase with hyphens. No spaces, no special characters. "exterior-front-entrance.jpg" not "Exterior Front Entrance!.jpg".
  4. Include your business name or location if you like. "smiths-bakery-cake-display.jpg" — though this is optional.
  5. Organise into folders. Create folders like "Exterior", "Interior", "Products", "Team" to keep things organised before upload.
Do file names affect SEO?

Probably minimally. Google says they use file names as one small signal for understanding image content. It's not a major ranking factor, but good file names don't hurt and they help you stay organised. The bigger SEO benefit comes from Google's image recognition actually seeing what's in your photos.

Google's official guidelines

Geotagging Your Photos

What to do

Geotagging adds location data to your photos, which can help Google verify they were taken at your business location.

Step by step

  1. Photos taken on your phone usually include location data automatically. If you have location services enabled for your camera, your photos already have GPS coordinates embedded.
  2. Check if geotagging is on. On iPhone: Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Camera. On Android: Open Camera app > Settings > look for "Location tags" or "GPS tags".
  3. For photos without location data, you can add it manually using free tools. GeoImgr (online) or various apps can add GPS coordinates to existing photos.
  4. Use accurate coordinates. The location should be your actual business location, not your home (if different). Look up your coordinates on Google Maps if needed.
  5. Don't stress too much about this. It's a nice-to-have, not essential. Google has other ways to verify your photos are legitimate.

Before uploading, confirm each photo: