In today’s digital age, a picture can be worth a thousand clicks. Online business profiles filled with eye-catching images attract more customer attention and drive higher levels of engagement. This is particularly true when it comes to Google Business Profiles (GBP), the primary platform customers use to find and connect with businesses when searching locally.
Recent studies have proven the importance of photos on a GBP. Here, we’ll delve into the compelling research on this topic and provide actionable tips to optimize your business’s GBP with engaging photos.
The Impact of Photos on GBP Performance
A 2021 article on Search Engine Land highlights the critical role photos play in driving traffic and engagement on your dealership’s Google Business Profile. The study analyzed 580,853 images across 15,191 GBP listings, revealing strong correlations between photo quantity and various performance metrics.
Photos Drive Engagement
Photos make your dealership’s profile more attractive, encouraging customers to interact. Businesses with more than 100 photos receive significantly more website clicks, calls, and direction requests than those with fewer images. According to the research:
- Businesses with over 100 images receive 520% more calls than the average business, whereas those with just one image receive 71% fewer calls.
- Businesses with over 100 images receive 2,717% more direction requests than the average business, while those with one image receive 75% fewer direction requests.
- Businesses with over 100 images receive 1,065% more website clicks than the average business, while those with one image receive 65% fewer website clicks.
Photos Enhance Visibility
Photos also boost your dealership’s visibility in local search results. When a GBP has an ample amount of photos, it’s more likely to appear in both direct searches (where a customer searches for a specific business name or address) and discovery searches (where a customer searches for a category, product, or service).
- Businesses with over 100 images get 713% more discovery searches and 1,038% more direct searches than the average business.
- Businesses with one image get 65% fewer discovery searches and 71% fewer direct searches.
In addition to these findings, the data also showed that businesses with more than 100 images receive 960% more search views and 3,459% more Google Maps views than the average business. Those with only one image receive 62% fewer search views and 71% fewer maps views.
It’s worth noting that while these correlations are compelling, they don’t necessarily imply causation. A high number of images on a GBP might reflect an overall dedicated effort to boost local search performance.
Boosting Your GBP Photos
Despite the correlation-causation debate, it’s clear that there is a powerful argument for investing time and effort into increasing the number of images on your GBP profile. Here are some ways to do this:
Post them yourself: Sounds simple, but many businesses underutilize this feature. You can post photos of special events, interesting parts of your office interior, and multiple images of your location building to showcase your business.
Encourage customers to post: Customers can add authenticity to your GBP with their own photos. Encourage customers to take photos during their experiences with your business and post them online.
Create an Instagram wall: Auto dealerships can set up a specific spot in their lot that’s designed to be an attractive backdrop for photos. This can be where they snap a pic with their new (or new to them) vehicle. This “Instagram wall” encourages customers to take photos and share them on GBP and their own social media profiles.
A well-optimized GBP, rich with high-quality photos, can significantly impact your business’s online visibility and engagement. So pick up that camera and start clicking — your business’s online profile will thank you. Contact us today to let the experts at The Automotive Advertising Agency help your dealership navigate the social media landscape and help your business grow.
