Uploading methods

C1 How to upload

The recommended method for uploading a lot of photos is demonstrated below in two videos. After that 3 other uploading methods are discussed.

Make sure to skip instructions intended for platforms that you don't use. Don't waste your time!

1. Uploading pics via the place's pages and Google Photos

In the videos below, you can see how pictures can be uploaded to Google Maps from Google Photos using Android and Desktop. Since you are not allowed to upload duplicate images on Google Maps, and all the 250 images were already uploaded at the time of recording these videos, I needed a different set of images for this demonstration. So I went out on a second photo walk and got these 22 new evening images.

These are the new 22 colorful images to be uploaded to Google Maps in the videos below. All of them were processed in Google Photos, so they are now ready to be uploaded. I took these images on February 3rd, 2020 in downtown Copenhagen. It was late in the afternoon, and since the sun sets before 5 pm, the glowing yellow light from inside the shops is dominant and also reflected by the wet streets. You can take a closer look at them in this album.

The uploading process is covered in two separate videos. The first video shows uploading from an Android phone, and the second is done from a desktop computer.

Normally I would combine the uploading with also editing the listings. To keep the video from getting painfully long I did this editing before recording the videos. Also, I made sure all the businesses were already on Google Maps.

Every upload is marked with a ding-ding sound in the videos.

PS: On IOS uploading via the place's pages and Google Photos is not possible. You can't select photos from Google Photos - only photos stored locally.

Note for reviewers:

The Android video has now been replaced with a new version. So don't waste time commenting the Desktop version. Thanks.

Video: Uploading (Android version)

Uploading images to google maps from Google Photos using an Android phone.

Two different methods are demonstrated.

Best viewed in full-screen mode. Duration: 10:40.

Video: Uploading (Desktop version)

Uploading photos to Google Maps via Google Photos using a Desktop computer.

Duration: 7:05. Best viewed in full-screen mode.

In the next chapter on Getting Feedback, you will learn to count how the photo quality algorithm in Google Maps rates your pictures into one of these 4 quality categories:

Cover pics (Only the best pic uploaded to a place gets this rating)
Featured pics (Your pic is among the 8-9 best pics uploaded to a place)
Accepted pics (Your pic is not rejected and will be displayed on the place)
Rejected pics (Your image will not be displayed)

Below you can see the result of uploading these 22 images.

An hour after recording the videos, I vent back to check how the Google Maps Photo Quality Algorithm rated these 22 pics.

8 (36%) turned out as COVer pics.
2 (9%) was FEAtured.
10 (45%) got ACcepted.
2 (9%) got REJected.

The two rejected was from the Lingerie shop. This was kind of expected. The cover pics were all at stores with few existing pics. This is important to know. 1 picture was rejected at first but was accepted in the second try. Probably the uploading process was not completed in the first try.

Getting 45% of your pictures to become cover pics or features is pretty awesome. It seems like the Photo Quality Algorithm likes my pictures. Or maybe I was just lucky to find a lot of stores with only a few existing pictures. Uploading only one pic per store certainly also helps.

Please try to beat me. And let me know how you are doing on localguidesconnect.com. (deep link #soon2come).

Other ways to upload photos to Google Maps

If you upload a few photos or very small batches of photos to Google Maps you can consider using one of the methods mentioned below.

On all platforms you can:

1. Add photos via the place's page (This is method #1 explained in the above).

On Android and Desktop you can also:

2. Add photos while on location

3. Add photos from "Your contributions" by following Google Maps' upload prompts

And finally, on Android and IOS you can also:

4. Add directly from Google Photos or your Gallery app.

Method #1 is my preferred method. #2 and #3 are more or less useless. #4 has potential but fails when places do not exist and when there are many places nearby. You may want to skip forward to method #4.

2. Adding photos while on location

If you are on location and have the place open in Google Maps app you can tab Add a photo and then tap Camera as seen in the photo. If your phone has zoom or other advanced features these will not be available to you. And as your photo is uploaded directly you will not be able to process (blur, crop, or adjust) your image before uploading it.

If you want to make use of any of your cameras more advanced functions you should not use this method. Instead, use your standard camera app to take your shot. And then select the image in Google Maps. Tap Folder after tapping Add a photo. But still, this will not let you process the image before uploading.

So if you want to contribute better pics to Google Maps these methods should be avoided. Most of your images will need a review to select only the best shot and should be processed to look their best before you upload them. And finally, you will not have the opportunity to adjust your shots later in Google Photos.

3. Adding photos via Your contributions

Desktop

On Desktop, you find the prompts for photo upload under Your contributions and click on Add your photos to Maps.

Use the dropdown boxes to search for the place to upload each of your photos to. You can also point it out on the map.

Be careful using this method on a desktop for several reasons including:

Photos will be shown even when you have already uploaded them. This can cause you to upload duplicates. You need to remember if you already uploaded the images - this can be impossible if you have a lot of photos to upload.
The suggested places are rarely correct in densely populated areas. We should never upload pics to the wrong places according to the rules.
You get no help to ensure that all your photos get uploaded. You need to remember and check this manually.

So this method is currently not usable for local guides uploading lots of photos to Google Maps. Hopefully, this method will be improved soon so prompting us to re-upload images will cease and the suggested places are more accurate.

Android

Tap Contribute then Add Photo.

Select the photo you want to upload.

Tap on Select a place to see a list of suggested places.

In this example, the first one is the correct one. Use the "Somewhere else" link to search if the correct place did not show up.

Using this method on Android can be useful and quick if the places are not very close together and they already exist on Google Maps.

A few drawbacks worth noting include:

You need a second device at hand should you need to zoom in to read details on an image.
The list of suggested places is far from perfect, so you need to do a text search to find most of the places.
After each upload, you are returned to the Contribute page and need to tap Add Photo again.
If you need to make a quick edit to a place you need to abort what you are doing and then come back later.
Also, if you need to create a new place you need to abort what you are doing and then come back later.

The benefits of this method include:

This method allows you to process your images before uploading them
It is relatively easy to keep track of which photos are next to be uploaded and make sure you don't miss any.

IOS

This uploading method is not available on IOS.

4. Upload directly from Google Photos or your Gallery app

Android

Open Google Photos or your Gallery app.

Select a photo or video.

Tap Share.

Tap Add to Maps.

Select a place. To search for another place, tap Somewhere else.

Tap Post.

PS: You can only share one photo at a time.

Open Google Photos and tap an image.

Tap the Share Icon

Tap Add to Maps

Check if the correct place is suggested. Not the case here. So tap the suggested place to suggest another place.

Check if the right place is on the list. Not the case here. So tap Somewhere else?

Start typing. When the correct place shows up on the list tap it.

Complete the operation by tapping Post.

This method is working okay on Android.

After each uploaded picture you have to manually switch back to Google Photos to select the next image. This is not optimal when you have a lot of pictures to upload. Even though the official help text (shown above) indicates that you can only upload one image at a time, you can easily select more photos before tapping Post.

If you want to make edits to places you can do so easily.

But the suggestions for places to upload photos to is as bad as mentioned for the other alternative ways to upload your photos.

Once the algorithms for suggesting places get better this method has the potential to be more efficient when uploading larger batches of photos. There is no risk for uploading duplicates and you can easily keep track of which image is next and not miss uploading any of your images.

IOS

Open your Gallery app or Google Photos.

Select a photo or video.

Tap Share.

Tap Post to Google Maps (If you don’t see that option, tap More and then Post to Google Maps + Done.)

Choose where to post:

If it’s clear where your photo or video is from, Google Maps will select a place for you.

If not, tap Pick a place and search for an address or place.

Tap Post.

After selecting an image just tap the share icon.

Then this window opens. Tap the Post to Google Maps icon.

Then you need to wait for the image to be downloaded!

No place was suggested, so you need to tap Pick a place.

The correct place is not suggested on this first list. So you need to start typing the name. You need to manually delete the suggested place before you start typing!

After typing some of the names, the right place shows up.

Then tap Post.

Then you need to wait again. This time for the image to upload. This can take a long time.

This method is not working okay on IOS.

If you have a lot of photos to upload it makes no sense they need to be downloaded and then re-uploaded. And it takes forever on most internet connections.

Secondly, I would expect that the opportunities to modify the image after upload to Google Maps are lost.

Thirdly, after uploading a few images previous images show up again making it difficult to know for sure which image you currently are uploading.

Finding places and suggested places are not working efficiently.

Hence using this upload method on IOS can currently not be recommended.

TIP

Select which uploading method works best for you by testing them all. Then stick to your preferred method. If you mix the methods you face a huge risk for uploading duplicates since it gets more difficult to keep track of which images are already uploaded and which still need to be uploaded.

I don't think it is a difficult choice. Currently, only method 1 can be recommended. Once the algorithm for suggesting places is improved methods 3 or 4 on mobile devices will become serious contenders.

IOS users may need to upload using a desktop computer if you wish to harvest the benefits of uploading via Google Photos.

In the next module, you can get an overview of the Photo rules related to uploading pictures to Google maps. Just click/tap "Suggested next page" below.

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