Guide
How to use PlaceSnap
A step-by-step guide from signing up to keeping your places looking great on Google — covering every feature along the way.
Create your account
Sign up with your email address or use Google OAuth for one-click registration. There's no credit card required to start — every plan begins with a free trial so you can see your area's Visual Gap Score before committing.
If you manage business listings on Google, signing in with Google also prepares your account for connecting your Google Business Profile later — the same login works for both.
Email & password — enter your details and verify your email. Best for council and tourism staff using shared credentials.
Google sign-in — one click, no password to remember. Recommended if you plan to connect a Google Business Profile.
Create account
Define your area
Define your area & see the gap
Draw a boundary on the map to cover your entire area, or search for specific places by name or address. PlaceSnap pulls the current Google Places photos for every location and calculates a Visual Gap Score (VGS) from 0 to 100.
Colour-coded pins make it instant — red means poor, amber means needs work, green means healthy. The priority feed surfaces your lowest-scoring places first so you know exactly where to focus.
What the score measures
Resolution (30%) — Are the top photos above 720px?
Recency (25%) — Were the top 5 photos taken in the last 6 months?
Category diversity (25%) — Exterior, interior, and human-signal shots — or just one type?
Owner ratio (20%) — Is the primary photo from the business or a random user?
Upload & tag your photos
Drag and drop your photos — batch upload is supported. PlaceSnap validates every image against Google's photo guidelines before it leaves your browser, so nothing gets rejected later.
Validation rules
Minimum 720 x 720 px, maximum 5 MB
JPG or PNG format only
Avoid text overlays — Google’s AI demotes photos with visible text
In focus and well lit — blurry photos are rejected instantly on the client
Tagging & categorisation
Tag each photo to a place using the map picker or search. Then assign a category so Google knows what the photo represents:
Composition tip
Google's algorithm favours “helpful” photos with human signals — people dining, shoppers on the street, families in the park. A professional shot of an empty restaurant often loses to a blurry photo of one full of people. PlaceSnap shows contextual tips per category during upload.
Upload photos
Drag & drop or browse
Channel A — GBP API Push
Channel B — Citizen Photographer Kit
Publish to Google
PlaceSnap offers two publishing channels depending on your situation. Use one or both.
Channel A: GBP API push
For businesses with a verified Google Business Profile. Connect your profile via OAuth (one-time setup), select your photos, choose the target locations, and hit publish. PlaceSnap pushes directly through the GBP API.
Status tracking shows each photo as queued → uploaded → live or rejected.
Channel B: Citizen Photographer Kit
For public places (parks, landmarks, streets) and businesses without profile access. PlaceSnap generates a shareable upload link for each place — no app download or login needed.
Distribute links to your staff, trusted local photographers, or council workers. The contributor opens the link on their phone, saves the photo to their gallery, taps through to Google Maps for that exact place, posts the photo, and taps “Done!”. Three clicks, no training needed.
Automatic verification
When a contributor marks a task as done, PlaceSnap polls Google's Places API and uses perceptual hashing to confirm the photo went live. Status updates to confirmed live or unverified with a prompt to retry.
Monitor & defend
Getting your photos live is only half the battle. Google Maps users upload millions of photos daily, and a single blurry snapshot can displace your professional image. PlaceSnap's UGC Shield checks your places regularly and alerts you when something changes.
Your dashboard
Map-first overview
Colour-coded pins for every place. Red pins demand attention. Green pins are healthy.
Pulse Feed alerts
Real-time activity stream — not a static list. See exactly which photo was displaced and by what.
One-click re-publish
Each alert includes an action: re-push via GBP API or generate a new Citizen Photographer task.
How UGC Shield works
PlaceSnap periodically polls the Places API to check whether your photos still appear in results. When a low-quality user photo displaces yours, the alert tells you exactly what happened:
AlertYour High Street cover photo was replaced by a blurry photo of a bin. Click here to re-publish your Seasonal Winter photo.
Google's algorithm favours recent uploads, so responding quickly gives you the best chance of regaining the primary position. PlaceSnap prompts you to upload a fresh photo when timing is on your side.
UGC Shield — Pulse Feed
New user photo (Quality: 22/100) took the primary slot for The Blue Bell Cafe
New user photo (Quality: 18/100) took the primary slot for Central Park Gate
Your photo is confirmed live for Town Hall
Ready to get started?
See your area's Visual Gap Score and upload your first photos. No credit card required.
Get Started →