Using The Right Roofing Photos For Your Google Business Profile

Photos can be one of the most persuasive parts of a roofing company’s Google Business Profile.

A potential customer may not understand roofing terminology, different installation techniques, or the technical differences between roofing systems. But almost anyone can look at a photograph of a completed roof and recognize professional-looking work.

For roofing companies, photos provide something particularly valuable: proof of the work you actually perform.

Your categories tell customers you’re a roofing contractor. Your services explain the types of roofing work you provide. Your description introduces your company.

Your photos show customers the results.

Since you’ve already completed the Get Found on Google Maps – Invisible No More course, we’re going to focus specifically on the types of photos that work well for roofing companies and how to build a photo collection that accurately represents your business.

Start With Photos of Completed Roofing Projects

Completed projects should make up a significant portion of your Google Business Profile photos.

These images immediately demonstrate the type and quality of work your company performs.

Whenever possible, photograph completed roofs from angles that allow customers to clearly see the finished project.

Depending on your business, these might include:

• Asphalt shingle roof replacements
• Metal roof installations
• Flat roofing projects
• Commercial roofs
• Garage and addition roofs
• Porch roofs
• Other roofing systems you regularly install

Your photo collection should reflect the type of work you want more customers to hire you for.

If asphalt shingle replacements represent most of your business, customers should see plenty of examples.

If you’re trying to grow the metal roofing side of your business, include several high-quality examples of completed metal roofs.

Commercial roofing companies should show commercial properties rather than filling their profiles with residential projects that don’t represent their target market.

Before-and-After Photos Are Extremely Useful

Roofing is particularly well suited to before-and-after photography.

A worn, damaged, stained, or missing-shingle roof followed by a photograph of the completed replacement tells a simple visual story.

The customer can immediately see what changed.

Try to take the before and after photographs from approximately the same location and angle whenever possible.

This makes the transformation easier to recognize.

Before-and-after photos can work particularly well for:

• Complete roof replacements
• Storm damage repairs
• Metal roof installations
• Flat roof replacements
• Major leak repairs
• Damaged roof sections
• Skylight replacement projects

You don’t need to create elaborate graphics or add large amounts of text to the images.

The work itself should be the focus.

Show Different Types of Roofing Work

A roofing company that offers several important services should use photos to demonstrate that range.

For example, your profile might include images of:

Roof replacements.

Roof repairs.

Metal roofing.

Flat roofing.

Flashing work.

Skylight installations.

Storm damage repairs.

Commercial roofing projects.

Gutter installations.

The exact mix depends on your company.

Think back to the services you selected in Lesson 2. Your photos should reinforce those services.

If your profile lists Metal Roof Installation as an important service but there isn’t a single metal roof anywhere in your photos, you’re missing an opportunity to visually support that part of your business.

The same applies to commercial roofing, storm damage repair, gutters, skylights, and other services.

Take Photos During the Roofing Process

Not every photograph needs to show the finished roof.

Photos taken during a roofing project can help customers understand the amount of work involved and demonstrate that your company is actively performing roofing jobs.

Examples might include:

• Removing old roofing materials
• Preparing roof decking
• Installing underlayment
• Installing flashing
• Laying shingles
• Installing metal roofing panels
• Working around chimneys or skylights
• Repairing damaged roof decking
• Installing ridge vents
• Performing commercial roof work

These photographs can make your profile more interesting because they show the process rather than only the result.

They can also help demonstrate workmanship that customers won’t be able to see after the roof is completed.

For example, once shingles are installed, the customer can’t see the underlayment beneath them. A photograph taken during installation can show that part of the job.

Show Your Roofing Crew

People hire people, not just company names.

Including photographs of your roofing crew can make your business feel more established and approachable.

Useful team photographs might include:

• Your crew at a job site
• Roofers actively working
• A company team photograph
• Employees wearing branded clothing
• Crew members standing near company vehicles
• Employees performing inspections
• Team members meeting with customers

Safety should always come first.

Don’t stage photographs that require employees to take unnecessary risks, and avoid publishing images that appear to show unsafe roofing practices.

A potential customer who notices workers without appropriate safety equipment may come away with exactly the opposite impression you intended.

Your photos should reinforce professionalism.

Include Branded Trucks and Equipment

Your work vehicles can help establish that you’re a legitimate local roofing company.

If you have trucks, trailers, vans, or equipment displaying your company name and logo, include a few good photographs.

These images can help customers recognize your company when you arrive for an estimate or roofing project.

They also demonstrate that there is an actual business behind the Google Business Profile.

A clean, branded roofing truck parked at a real job site is much more useful than a generic stock photograph of a roof.

Avoid Stock Roofing Photos

Stock photos may look polished, but they don’t show customers anything about your roofing company.

A generic photograph of a beautiful house with a perfect roof could belong to almost any roofing company in the country.

Your own photographs are far more valuable because they demonstrate your actual work.

You don’t need a professional photographer for every job.

Modern smartphones can produce excellent photographs when you use good lighting, keep the lens clean, and take a few seconds to frame the shot properly.

Authenticity is more important than creating something that looks like a magazine advertisement.

Pay Attention to Photo Quality

Authentic doesn’t mean careless.

Avoid uploading photographs that are:

Blurry.

Extremely dark.

Poorly framed.

Taken through a dirty windshield.

Obstructed by equipment when the equipment isn’t relevant.

So distant that the roofing work can’t be seen.

Filled with unrelated clutter.

Take several photographs at each project so you can choose the best ones later.

Morning or late-afternoon lighting can sometimes make exterior photographs easier to capture than harsh midday sunlight, but don’t overcomplicate the process.

Your goal is simply to create clear photographs that accurately show your work.

Use Drone Photos Carefully

Drone photography can be particularly useful for roofing companies because roofs can be difficult to photograph from ground level.

An aerial photograph can show an entire completed roofing project in a way that a ground-level photograph can’t.

Drone images may be especially helpful for:

• Large residential roofs
• Commercial roofing projects
• Complex roof designs
• Metal roofing installations
• Large flat roofs
• Before-and-after comparisons

If you use a drone, make sure you’re following applicable laws and regulations and that the person operating it is permitted to do so when required.

You don’t need drone photography for every project, but a few strong aerial photographs can add variety to your profile.

Protect Your Customers’ Privacy

Remember that roofing projects take place at customers’ homes and businesses.

Be thoughtful about what appears in your photographs.

Avoid unnecessarily showing:

• People who haven’t agreed to be photographed
• Vehicle license plates
• House numbers when they aren’t relevant
• Personal belongings
• Children
• Anything else that could create privacy concerns

When in doubt, frame the photograph around the roofing work.

The roof should be the star of the image anyway.

Don’t Upload 50 Nearly Identical Photos

More photos aren’t automatically better if they’re all essentially the same.

Imagine completing a roof replacement and taking 30 photographs.

You probably don’t need to upload all 30.

Choose several that show different useful perspectives.

You might select:

One photograph of the front of the completed roof.

One from the rear.

One close-up showing the shingles and flashing.

One photo of the crew working.

One before photograph.

One after photograph.

That gives customers much more useful information than uploading 20 nearly identical pictures from the driveway.

Build a Habit of Taking Photos

The easiest way to build a strong collection of roofing photos is to make photography part of your normal workflow.

You could create a simple process:

Take several photos before the project begins.

Take a few photos during important stages of the job.

Photograph the completed project.

Take one or two wider shots showing the property.

Photograph any particularly interesting details.

Over time, you’ll build a large collection of authentic roofing photographs.

Then you can periodically add some of the best images to your Google Business Profile.

This is much easier than realizing six months later that you’ve completed dozens of roofing projects but didn’t photograph any of them.

Make Your Photos Match the Work You Want

Your Google Business Profile photos should represent the roofing company you’re trying to build.

If you want more roof replacement jobs, show replacements.

If you want more metal roofing projects, show metal roofs.

If you specialize in commercial roofing, show commercial properties.

If storm damage repair is an important part of your business, document those projects.

A potential customer looking through your photos should quickly recognize that you’ve completed projects similar to the one they’re considering.

That familiarity can build confidence.

Let Your Roofing Work Speak for Itself

Roofing companies have a major advantage when it comes to Google Business Profile photos: your work produces visible results.

Use that advantage.

Show real roofs.

Show real projects.

Show your crew.

Show your vehicles.

Show before-and-after transformations.

Show the types of roofing systems you actually install and repair.

Avoid filling your profile with generic stock photography or promotional graphics when you have the opportunity to show genuine examples of your work.

Your photos should help a potential customer answer a simple question:

“Does this roofing company look like it can handle my project?”

A strong collection of authentic roofing photos can make the answer much easier.

In Lesson 5, we’ll bring everything together by looking at The Best Local Keywords for Roofing Companies, including how potential customers search for roofers, repairs, replacements, roofing materials, and other roofing services in their local area.