Local photography that helps customers recognise the business
Local photographs should answer practical questions about the real place, entrance, product or service.
AI-assisted practical guide · Editorial approach
The useful starting point
Local photographs should answer practical questions about the real place, entrance, product or service. Use approved current images with accurate captions. Stock or generated scenes can illustrate a concept, but they should not imply that a fictional premises is where customers will arrive.
Understand the decision
Plan images for recognition and decision needs: entrance, accessibility information where verified, service environment and useful details. Review permissions for identifiable people and privately owned spaces. Keep old photographs from contradicting a changed location or layout. Write alternative text according to the information the image provides.
A practical approach
Make the business’s real identity, services, opening information and contact routes consistent and easy to verify. Publish pages for locations you actually serve and include useful local facts. Google describes local results using relevance, distance and prominence; neither paid work nor repeated location names can guarantee a position. Use genuine customer questions to decide what information belongs on a location page.
- Map photographs to customer questions.
- Use current approved premises images.
- Record source and permission.
- Label illustrative material clearly.
Illustrative example
A cafe could publish its real exterior and seating area so a first-time visitor can identify the entrance and judge the setting. A generated dining scene might be suitable for a mood article with a label, but not as the cafe's actual interior.
A mistake to avoid
Avoid relying on a beautiful generic image when customers need to recognise a real entrance or understand the service environment.
What to review
Review recognition questions, outdated imagery and mobile crop quality; ensure useful details remain visible rather than being cut out by the layout.
Turn the guide into a working brief
Keep a location register with an owner for hours, service availability, contact details and approved photographs. Check the journey from a listing to the website and onward to the correct team. Ask how the business handles requests outside its service area. Review enquiry fit by location and service rather than treating every map interaction as a lead. Avoid fabricated addresses, invented reviews and pages that merely swap a city name into generic copy.
Common questions
What should I prepare before asking for help?
Start with this checklist: Map photographs to customer questions. Use current approved premises images. Record source and permission. Label illustrative material clearly. Add your business context, existing materials and the decision you need to make. A useful initial brief can include uncertainty; you do not need to invent answers before discussing scope.
How should I judge whether the work helped?
Review recognition questions, outdated imagery and mobile crop quality; ensure useful details remain visible rather than being cut out by the layout. Keep the observation period and definitions visible. Use the responsible team's evidence alongside the website journey; do not attribute every change in results to one asset or article.
Sources & scope
AI-assisted practical guide. Examples are illustrative; business-specific facts and sector claims need the responsible owner’s approval.
- Google Business Profile: local ranking guidance
Reference for relevance, distance and prominence in local discovery. The practical planning methods here do not guarantee map rankings.
Use this guide to start your brief.
Share your business context, existing materials and what is still unclear. The guide title will be included so the conversation starts with the right problem.
Prefer email? Send a brief with this guide’s context.Related guides
A useful Google Business Profile audit checklist
Audit a business profile for accurate identity, category, services, opening information, photographs and maintained contact routes.
Read the guide →Location pages that provide more than a city name
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Read the guide →Local service-area communication for mobile businesses
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