Google Maps new search results makes photos significantly more important

Google is launching a new Google Maps search results interface that brings to focus the photos that are associated with Google Business Profile listings. Google is calling this a “photo-first” search result listing interface that is going live this week in France, Germany, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S..

What it looks like. You can see from the GIF below that the search results in the Google Maps listings show photos above the other parts of the listing, like the company name, star reviews, address, phone number and more details. Photos here are coming first.

Here is that GIF:

Why photo-first. Google said when it comes to some local searches, searchers want to see photos of the food, the attractions, the venue and more. Google wrote, “you’ll soon see better-organized search results to spark your imagination.”

“Thematic results for activities and dining roll out globally on Android and iOS in the coming weeks,” Google added.

Which photos are selected. Google said it picks the photos using AI, so algorithms decide which photos to choose. “These results are based on the analysis of billions of photos shared by the Google Maps community — all done with AI and advanced image recognition models,” Google wrote.

Why we care. As business owners, you should be more conscious of which photos are showing up in your local maps listings. You can upload your own using Google Business Profiles and you may want to encourage customers to upload positive photos, if possible, when they review your business within Google Maps and Local.