Google Street View Virtual Tours in 2025
Insights
Google Street View Virtual Tours in 2025
There was a time when having a Google Street View virtual tour was a popular choice for businesses. It helped improve visibility, and allowed people to explore your space directly from Google Maps. But in 2025, with the focus moving to more flexible and feature filled options, is it still the best option moving forward?
Here is a look at Google Street View tours in 2025 and why opting for a Street View only tour may not be the best choice.
The Trusted Photographer Programme is Gone
Once the backbone of Google’s Street View offering for businesses, the Trusted Photographer programme gave clients access to verified professionals who could create quality, well linked tours, using Google’s own set of quality control measures. Google have now pulled this accreditation, meaning finding quality Google photographers may get harder moving forward. It is more important now than ever, to make sure you hire a professional, long serving company who can provide the very best photography and know how, making sure you get the very best results.
No Easy Way to Edit or Update
If you have made changes to your space such as a new layout, there is no simple way to update your Street View tour yourselves. Need an area updated? Unless you go back to your original photographer, any new content added would have to be completely re-shot, in its entirety, and simply uploaded in addition to your old content. Google supplies a ‘report an image’ tool for requests to delete old content, but this can take a while to action, and each individual 360 scene must be reported.
Compare that to a bespoke virtual tour with a CMS, where you can log in any time and update content quickly and easily.
Limited Features, Lack of Branding, and no Hotspots
Street View tours offer no customisation. They only allow for 360 imagery to be uploaded, combined with the Street View navigation arrows. This means users get no context to spaces, no identifying scene or area names, and no Hotspots to further push your marketing message or describe key features of a space. In today’s digital age where providing as much relevant information is key, these limitations simply do not meet the expectations of modern users, who crave information quickly, and in an interactive format.
The many Benefits of a Google Street View Virtual Tour
Google Street View tours still provide a lot of great benefits however. Mainly, EXPOSURE! Having your 360 virtual imagery on Google Street View can bring in thousands, if not millions (some of our oldest Street View tours have over 7 million views!) of visits. Google Maps is an extremely popular platform, and users love to explore via Street View, and get a sense of a location before they visit.
It’s also a trusted and recognised app, nearly everyone has used the Street View platform to navigate a space, it’s interface, whilst basic, is quick to pick up, and it’s instantly recognisable to users.
There Is No Need to Choose Street View Only
Here is the key point. You no longer need to choose between a rich, feature packed virtual tour and having a presence on Google Street View. We can upload your bespoke 360 tour scenes or your Matterport scans directly to Google Street View for you at no additional charge.
This means you get the best of both worlds. A fully branded, interactive tour that lives on your website, plus a simplified version on Google Maps to support your online visibility.
There is no longer any reason to settle for a Street View only tour, but to use a Google Street View virtual tour as the perfect compliment to your more advanced, bespoke or Matterport version.
Final Thoughts
Whilst we do offer the option to just have a Google Street View Virtual Tour shot for your business, we now strongly advise our clients to offer multiple options for users. Our feature filled bespoke virtual tours allow for flexibility, Hotspot additions, branded design, and quick linking to other areas, and Matterport Virtual Tours give a unique 3D perspective. By choosing these options, we can then upload any 360 imagery to Google Street View so you can also take advantage of the traffic that Maps allows. One stone and a couple of birds comes to mind!
If you would like to upgrade your tour, add it to Street View and have full control over your content, get in touch. We would be happy to show you how it all works.
