What is a 360\u00b0 Google Maps virtual tour?

A 360\u00b0 Google Maps virtual tour is an immersive walkthrough of your business \u2014 captured as a series of 360\u00b0 photos and published directly to your Google Business Profile, Google Maps and Street View. Visitors navigate from room to room in their browser, exactly as if they were there.

How long does a 360\u00b0 virtual tour shoot take?

A typical small business shoot (caf\u00e9, retail unit, gym studio) takes 2\u20134 hours on site. Larger venues such as hotels, car showrooms or universities take a half or full day. We deliver the live, hosted tour within 5\u201310 working days of capture.

How much does a 360\u00b0 virtual tour cost in the UK?

Pricing starts from around \u00a3300 for a small retail outlet, and scales based on the number of 360\u00b0 points captured, travel to your UK location, and whether you need Google Street View publishing, custom-hosted tour, or both. We shoot all shapes and sizes of business and offer a free quote on every project.

Do virtual tours improve Google Business Profile rankings?

Google Business Profiles with a published 360\u00b0 virtual tour typically receive significantly more customer interest than profiles without one \u2014 per Google's own internal data. Tours increase dwell time on your listing, signal to Google that the business is verified and active, and appear directly on Google Maps and Search.

Where in the UK does Trusted Photography work?

We cover the whole of the United Kingdom \u2014 all 51 English counties, plus Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Our HQ is in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, and our team travels UK-wide for shoots.

What types of business is a virtual tour good for?

360\u00b0 virtual tours work especially well for hotels and resorts, car dealerships, restaurants and caf\u00e9s, retail stores and showrooms, gyms and fitness centres, pubs and bars, property and estate agents, and universities and schools. Any business where customers benefit from seeing the space before they visit.

What's the difference between Google Street View and Matterport?

Google Street View tours are published directly to your Google Business Profile and Google Maps and are free to host. Matterport tours are hosted on Matterport's platform with a small ongoing subscription, but offer 3D walkthrough and floor-plan features. We offer both and can advise which suits your business.

Do you still publish to Google Maps now the Trusted Photographer programme has ended?

Yes. Google retired its formal Trusted Photographer programme, but the underlying ability to publish 360\u00b0 tours to Google Maps and Street View remains fully available via Google's Street View Studio. Trusted Photography has been publishing tours to Google Maps since 2012 and continues to do so today.

Uncategorised

Google Business Profile Photo Requirements 2026 (UK Guide)

If you manage a UK Google Business Profile, you’ve probably wondered what the Google Business Profile photo requirements actually are — what size, what format, what content. Google itself is light on official specs, so here’s a practical 2026 guide drawn from current platform behaviour and what we’ve learned publishing imagery for hundreds of UK businesses since 2012.

Why photos matter on Google Business Profile

Google’s own research shows that Business Profiles with photos receive 42% more requests for directions and 35% more click-throughs to their websites than profiles without. Photos are not optional — they’re the single most-engaged-with element of any listing.

Google Business Profile photo requirements — technical specs

File format: JPG or PNG
File size: Between 10KB and 5MB
Minimum dimensions: 250 × 250 pixels (smaller will be rejected)
Recommended dimensions: 720 × 720 pixels or larger
Aspect ratio: Use 4:3 for general photos; cover photo is 16:9; logo is 1:1 (square)
Resolution: No specific minimum DPI, but blurry/low-light photos get filtered or pushed down
No filters, frames or text overlays — Google’s algorithm flags heavily edited photos as low quality

How many photos should you have?

There’s no hard cap, but Google’s own guidance suggests a minimum of:

1 logo (square format)
1 cover photo (16:9)
3+ exterior photos (storefront, signage, visible from street)
3+ interior photos (customer-facing spaces)
3+ product / team / “at-work” photos

Profiles with 10+ photos consistently outperform those with fewer. Profiles with a 360° virtual tour outperform photos-only profiles dramatically.

Photo categories and what works best

Exterior photos

Shot in daylight, showing your signage clearly. Multiple angles help customers find you.

Interior photos

Bright, uncluttered, customer-facing. Avoid empty venues — show people enjoying your space where appropriate.

Product photos

Clear product shots that match the categories you serve. For restaurants, food. For retail, your bestsellers. For service businesses, before-and-after results.

Team photos

Helps humanise your listing and builds trust. Particularly important for service businesses where customers want to know who they’re dealing with.

360° virtual tours — the ultimate Google Business Profile photo asset

Beyond static photos, you can also publish a 360° virtual tour to your Google Business Profile. Tours are immersive walkthroughs that let visitors explore your premises before they visit. They sit alongside your standard photos and behave like Google Street View. Google Business Profile photo requirements for 360° tours are stricter — you’ll typically need a professional photographer with the right equipment. Trusted Photography has been publishing tours to UK Google Business Profiles since 2012.

Common Google Business Profile photo mistakes to avoid

Heavy filtering. Instagram-style edits get filtered as low-quality.
Text or logos overlaid. Google’s policy disallows promotional overlays.
Stock photography. Google’s image-search detection flags duplicate stock photos and downranks them.
Old photos. Refresh imagery when you refurbish or rebrand — outdated photos damage trust.
Empty venues. A photo of an empty restaurant looks worse than one with diners — within reason.

Frequently asked questions

Can I upload 360° photos myself?

Yes — Google’s Street View app and Street View Studio both accept consumer 360° imagery from cameras like the Insta360 or Ricoh Theta. Quality is usually a step below a professional shoot. For customer-facing tours, most UK businesses commission a professional.

How often should I update my photos?

Add new photos monthly if you can. Google rewards active profiles. At minimum, refresh annually and immediately after any refurbishment.

Can customers add photos too?

Yes — and you can’t stop them. The best response is to add plenty of high-quality photos yourself so customer photos appear alongside, not instead of, yours.

Need professional photos or a 360° tour for your Google Business Profile? Get a free quote from Trusted Photography — UK-wide photography service since 2012.