We all love taking that perfect, mouth-watering shot of our meals, but recently, I noticed something incredible: many of my short videos are being prominently featured on the main Google Maps location pages for various restaurants and cafes.
This got me thinking about the unique impact videos have compared to our standard photo uploads, and why we should all be hitting the “record” button more often. Here is why video contributions are making such a massive difference on the platform:
Capturing the True Vibe: A photo of a cafe shows the decor, but a 10-second video pan captures the ambient music, the chatter, and the actual lighting. It immediately helps people understand the atmosphere of the places you have been and answers the question, “Is this a good spot to relax, or is it too loud?”
The Power of Sizzle and Steam: Food is a sensory experience. A still image of a fresh Chicken Biryani is great, but a video showing the steam rising as the dish is served, or a close-up of a rich dessert being sliced, instantly makes the viewer crave it in a way a static image cannot.
Authentic Spatial Awareness: Photos can sometimes distort the size of a space depending on the angle. A quick video walkthrough from the entrance to the dining area gives potential customers an honest feel of the restaurant’s layout, seating availability, and cleanliness.
Higher Engagement & Points: Because videos are immersive, they are incredibly helpful for users making quick dining decisions, which is why they frequently get spotlighted on the main listing. As a bonus for our efforts, videos earn 7 points per upload, compared to 5 points for a photo.
My Go-To Tips for Restaurant Videos:
Keep it brief: 10 to 15 seconds is the sweet spot to hold attention without dragging.
Focus on the action: Capture a drink being poured, a bustling open kitchen, or a slow pan across a loaded buffet table.
Keep it steady: Plant your elbows on the table when filming food, and rely entirely on the venue’s natural lighting rather than the camera flash.
Sharing Google Map location of some places where my short video is featured
Thank you @Manishhh for sharing valuable information for upload short videos on Google Maps. For me, short videos helps in finding that cosy & inclusive atmosphere, crowd & seating arrangements.
Oh man, spot on! I’ve totally started doing the 10-second clip thing for busy coffee counters or just panning the lighting instead of snapping boring pics. Stills completely miss out on that ambient chatter and background hum. Appreciate the great tips—definitely gonna remember to lock my elbows down next time!
Completely agree, Manish — and your ‘true vibe’ point is the one I feel the most. A photo of a small dhaba here in Saharanpur can look fine, but a 10-second clip tells you in one go whether it’s actually busy, how much space there is to sit, and whether the food is being made fresh right there. I’ve put up 217 videos myself, and the ones that seem to help most are the simple ones — a slow pan from the entrance to the counter, or the food being served. Your steady-elbows tip is a good one too, mine used to shake a lot before I started doing that. The 10-15 second rule is about right — anything longer and people just scroll past.
Thank you @Ayaanali , yeah i was going through all the videos i posted and was surprised to see many of them got featured in the google maps page of that place. Planning to have a virtual meetup on this topic to share good practices with the community
That’s a great idea, Manish — a virtual meetup on this would be really useful, especially for people who are still only posting photos. I’d love to join if you host one. If it helps, I can share one thing from my side too — for small shops here, a quick clip of the entrance and the counter usually tells people more than five photos. Do share the link here when you fix a date, I’ll try to be there.
All your tips and points are very valuable and important, dear @Manishhh
I do agree that videos have definite upper position to a still shot in many ways…
Appreciate your efforts
As rightly mentioned by our @Rahul001 , the video is also helpful in explaining inclusivity in many ways.
Thanks for sharing these…
Regards
