Recently I had my first ever Google My Business rejected post. I had no idea why it was being “rejected” or on what grounds. I began experimenting and noticed that the rejected posts were only with posts containing images. So I set out to research.

In various forums, including GMB Help Forum, I noticed this was a widespread issue. Because this would absolutely affect SEO and social media efforts, I visited forums and subreddits dedicated to those topics and sure enough, this was a common issue.

But what causes a Google My Business rejected post? This is where it gets a little unclear.

Google My Business does have image guidelines and they DO say “no stock photos.” Using tools like Canva and Snappa, I have access to thousands of stock photos that I edit and manipulate to create images for my posts. So if Google can tell any of the images are stock, it’s going to be rejected?

This is an answer I haven’t been able to get any clarity on. Google hasn’t responded to any of the online comments that included uploaded photos. My image that was rejected was purely custom but did use stock icons and images. If that was against the guidelines, that’s a bit harsh.

Google My Business Rejected Post Prevention

I can’t answer this because none of us truly know the reasoning for the rejections, but we think it’s the images. So uploading only your own high-quality photos would meet the current guidelines. This would pose easier for some industries than others. Not something I will do a lot of in this industry but it may be favorable to some. So if you are in foodservice, retail products, real estate, floral, clothing, art, etc. start snapping more pics of your shelves, plates, and listings. It certainly won’t hurt, especially now.

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What have your experiences been with this? Any rejected posts? Any posts you’ve made with stock photos? Do you have any tips or advice to add? Let’s connect on LinkedIn and share your stories with me!