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Public Photo Upload Links ​

Photos drive Google Business Profile engagement more than any other content type — but they're hard to get out of busy business owners. Public photo upload links solve that: send the client a single URL they can open on their phone, snap and upload, done.

See Uploading Photos (end-user) for the client's-eye view of the same flow.

How agencies use this ​

  • Monthly photo prompts — send the upload link with each monthly report's "what we need" section.
  • Job-site cadence — clients in service trades send photos after each job; the link is bookmarked on their crew's phones.
  • Onboarding — first month, ask for 10–20 brand photos so the team has a working library.
  • Seasonal pushes — restock photo library before peak season.
  1. Profile detail → Media → Request Photos → Generate Link.
  2. Choose:
    • Expiry: 7 days, 30 days, 90 days, never.
    • Reminder cadence: weekly, biweekly, none — automatic reminder emails to the contact.
    • Recipient: the profile's primary contact, or a specific one.
  3. Save & Send.

The platform emails the contact with the link. They can also bookmark the URL.

What the contact does ​

(Detailed in end-user docs):

  1. Tap the link on their phone.
  2. Select from camera roll or take a new photo.
  3. (Optional) Add a description.
  4. Tap Submit.
  5. Each upload appears in their list with a checkmark.

What you see (agency side) ​

Open the profile → Photos tab. Uploads from the public link appear in the photo grid alongside any photos already pulled from Google. Use the standard Upload dialog on that tab to push selected photos to the Google Business Profile.

Heads up

A separate Pending Media review queue with per-photo Approve / Reject / Edit & Approve buttons and an in-browser image editor (crop, rotate, brightness/contrast) is on the roadmap (see Pending Media review workflow). Today, photos uploaded via the public link land in the profile's photo grid and are pushed to GBP via the standard upload action; quality screening happens by reviewing the grid before clicking Upload.

Pausing reminders ​

If the client says "we're slammed, stop bugging us":

  • They can tap Pause Reminders at the bottom of the upload page (creates a token-scoped pause).
  • You can pause from the agency side: Media → Request Photos → Pause Reminders.

Both pause the email reminder cadence without invalidating the upload URL.

Bulk upload from desktop ​

The same URL works on desktop browsers — useful for clients who have a folder of photos they want to drop in all at once. Drag-and-drop the folder onto the page; uploads in parallel.

Storage & cost ​

Photos are stored in Google Cloud Storage. Storage cost is included in your plan. There's no per-photo upload cap.

Image processing (resize, format conversion, watermarking) happens automatically:

  • Originals stored as-is.
  • A web-optimized version is generated for previews.
  • A GBP-sized version (1200×900) is generated for publishing.

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