How To Add Your Virtual Tour to the Front Page of Google

Add Your Virtual Tour to the Front Page of Google with the Add Update feature on your Google Business Profile

Adding an Update on your Google Business Profile is a great way to share relevant, fresh content with the people who are searching for you. Use images, videos and even animated GIFs to engage your audience, and add inline links to drive traffic to specific content. This enhanced format allows searchers to hear directly from the primary source — you — and complements existing results from across the web.

Prerequisites

Before we get started we will need to choose the view in the virtual tour that we want to showcase, a screenshot from that view, and the link to the virtual tour. To learn how to choose the perfect view from your virtual tour and generated the screenshot and the link, check out our Guide to Choose the Perfect View in your Virtual Tour and Share it Online.

Basic Instructions

A great way to show off your virtual tour is to use the “add update” feature on your Google Business Profile. Follow the instructions below to add your virtual tour to the front page of Google with the Add Update feature on your Google Business Profile.

  1. Sign in to your Google Business account and go to your Google Business Profile page.
  2. Click on the “Add update” button to create a new post.
  3. Choose the type of post you want add. Since you want to add an image and a link, select the standard “add Update” option.
  4. Add a photo by clicking on the “Add photo” icon and selecting an image from your computer.
  5. Type in any text you want to include with the image.
  6. Click on “Add a button” and select the “Learn more” option.
  7. Paste the link to your virtual tour in the text box provided.
  8. Preview your post to make sure it looks the way you want it to.
  9. If everything looks good, hit the “Post” button to publish your update.

Detailed Step-by-Step Instructions With Images

Step 1.

Sign in to your Google Business account and go to your Google Business Profile page.

Step 2.

Click on the “Add update” button to create a new post.

Step 3.

Choose the type of post you want add. Since you want to add an image and a link, select the, “Add update”, option.

Step 4.

Add a photo by clicking on the “Add photos” icon and selecting an image from your computer.

Bonus Tip: Create an image that matches the entry point you chose for your virtual tour link. Pick the spot in your tour you want to share, take a screenshot, and select the web address link you will be using for your button all at the same time. This will let the user feel as if they are stepping into the image when they click the “learn more” button on your post.

Google prefers a 4×3 image ratio, so an 800×600 pixel image works very well for your post. Also remember that the image will be cropped in various ways based on the device your post is being viewed on. Center weighting your images is a good method to make sure that whatever device it is viewed on produces the best results.

Step 5.

Type in any text you want to include with the image.

Select the “Add a description” text box and type your message. When using your virtual tour as the topic for your post make sure to let the user knows what to expect when they click the “learn more” button. Here is an example of the text we used on one of our recent posts.

“Located in Dayton, Ohio, this charming venue features three unique rooms, and is perfect for everything from birthday parties to weddings, from charity events to retirements parties, and everything in between. Click the “Learn more”, button to take a virtual tour and see for yourself.”

Step 6.

Click on “Add a button” and select the “Learn more” option.

Step 7.

Paste the link to your virtual tour in the text box provided.

Open Google Maps and select the entry point in your virtual tour you would like to use in your post. Copy the url in the address bar of your browser and paste it into the button link dialog box.

Step 8.

Preview your post to make sure it looks the way you want it to.

Step 9.

If everything looks good, hit the “Post” button to publish your update.

Conclusion

Your post will now show up on Google Search and Google Maps when someone searches for your business.

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