As @YK1001 mentioned, it's determined by an algorithm. I have to say that this is an instance of Google working in mysterious ways, since odd, old, or inappropriate pictures are quite often used to represent businesses and other points of interest on the knowledge graph panel on Google Search and on Google Maps.
There is a serious problem with photos in various places / locations. There is the report option to notify Google for a photo which is inappropriate or not relevant to a place, but it is not very helpful because it takes forever for changes to be applied. I think Google Local Guides should be able to select the best cover photo for a certain place. Local guides are supposed to know their area well, so they will do a better job selecting photos than Google’s software.
Also, when I add several photos to a certain place, I should be able to select which one is more appropriate for the cover.
This would be a great feature to add but limit it to people over certain points to avoid people abusing this system and causing havoc. It won't completely stop people from messing up photos, choosing theirs over others simply because they took it ect. but will lower the chances of that happening.
@Kev perhaps it should be limited to guides level 3 and higher. Also, since people can vote for a useful review, why can’t they vote for the best cover photo? I think cover photos should be selected according to the number of votes they get.
Hi @HashimN, there is an existing discussion here but you can always check out Google My Business Help Centre article that states that "Google determines which photo will be shown first using a number of factors, like how well the photo represents the services or products the business offers."
@YanniY it is obvious that Google uses a special algorithm to determine which photo to use as a cover photo for a certain place, but in many cases humans know better than software.
There are many places with wrong cover photos or low quality ones. Google could use the thousands of volunteers, who have joined the LG program, to improve the cover photos. I hope we will see this feature added to Google Maps soon.
I came across an algorithm selected photo by google that had GPS coordinates linked with it that where kilometres away from the actual map point. In mysterious ways, google maps works indeed. Clearly, it is not helpful if a map point is a mountain (or in my case a volcanic vent) and the cover photo is of another mountain that is close to it.
A voting system by LG’s of a certain level should prioritize a cover photo over the algorithm result(s) and a reporting system should enable people to complain about inappropriate photos to higher level moderators.
2022
