What is the best way to add photos from a new visit to a place I reviewed in the past?

Google Maps tips & tricks
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1

I have a question about the best way to contribute photos to Google Maps.

I reviewed a POI some time ago. Recently, I visited the same place again and took a number of new photos.

I see several possible ways to add these photos:

  1. Add the photos directly to the POI using “Add photos”.
  2. Add the photos to my existing review from my previous visit.
  3. Use “Updates by visitors” (at the computer) for the recent visit, with the new photos and a short description.

My questions are:

  • Is any of the above ways has an advantage in terms of visibility, ranking, or photo views?
  • If the goal is to give other Maps users the best and most useful representation of the POI, which method would you recommend?
  • Is there any difference in how these contributions are handled by the Google Maps algorithm?
2

Not an easy question.
If you add them to your older review, you risk having it all taken down by the spam filters.
If you are hunting points, adding them as individual updates with a short text is the way to go.
I usually add most of my photos to the POI as you described first.

3

Hello @Gaby7, adding to @MortenCopenhagen’s comment:

Since more than two years, I never attach photos to a review. Not only because of the reason Morten described, but also to be able to recognize easily, if a single photo was rejected.

I very rarely use “Updates by visitors” because I always upload from desktop and often post more than one photo to the same POI. I don’t care about the points for that kind of captions. Instead, mainly for food photos, I add a caption after uploading using the Android app, because - unfortunately - this not possible on desktop. Specially for showing dishes, I believe it helps users to know the name of the dish.

4

Hi @MortenCopenhagen and @WilfriedB, thanks for your responses and insights!

As expected, real-world experience provides some interesting perspectives. At this point, I’ll probably go with the simplest approach, just adding the new photos without touching the existing review.

5

Hi @WilfriedB

Can you elaborate?

6

It’s not always about hunting points. A place can undergo a renovation after the previous visit, which can change the experience a lot. This can make the previous review obsolete or unrelatable. In this case, the old review may be deleted and new reveiew can be posted. Alternatively, an update can be posted as well, with photos and descriptions.

7

Hello @Gaby7,

if you attach more than one photo or video to a review and only one of them is rejected, the entire review and all other attached media will be hidden to the public. So, you don’t know, was it just a phrase in the text or which of the photos or video really blocked the entire post.

Keeping reviews text-only and posting photos and videos directly to the POI, allows you to identify, what exactly was rejected. In most cases, it is just a single photo. In the case, the review is hidden, you don’t need to worry about any of the photos, just have a closer look at your words.

Please note, since early August 2026, it takes much longer for our contributions to get published. It can take up to an hour or even more. During that time, contributions for places in Europe show “Not posted” and for the rest of the world, they simply hidden until finally published. Please have a look here: All photos posted since yesterday marked with "Not posted"

8

Clear, thanks