CONTACT SHEET / 01 · YAHMATION ADS · 2026·05·17

A reference set for the image extension slot.

Ten candidate photos for Yahmation Local SMB — Search, the one active Search campaign on the Yahmation marketing account. Google's recommendation engine has flagged +4% optimization score sitting on the table if image assets get attached. The campaign has every other extension type populated; this is the last open slot. Pick the four or five that feel right — I'll upload and link them via the orchestration API.

Campaign
Yahmation Local SMB — Search
Account opt score
86.2% → ~90.2% with images
Currently linked
0 marketing images · 1 undersized logo
Slot spec
1200×1200 square  ·  1200×628 landscape
Recommended fill
1–2 square, 2–3 landscape
Policy gate
No text · no logos · no screenshots

Primer where these actually appear

SLOT / SEARCH IMAGE EXTENSION

How Google renders the slot

On mobile, Google shows up to four square thumbnails in a strip under the headline. On desktop, one larger image inline beside the ad. The image's job isn't to inform — the headline does that — its job is to make the listing feel right for the searcher, so they click instead of scanning past.

  • Auto-disapproval triggers: text overlay, logos, website screenshots, blurry crops.
  • Top-performer pattern across Square, Toast, Jobber, ServiceTitan: photos of the customer's world, not their own software UI.
  • What hurts here: generic SaaS / "diverse hands on laptops" stock that doesn't read as a local agency.
Sponsored
Y yahmation.com
Workflow automation, websites, ads, and phones — built and managed. Augusta, GA.

Square candidates 1 : 1

1200 × 1200 PX · 5 SHOWN
S / 01 — Founder
Rhett, founder
"The face behind the agency."
Real, on-brand. Trust signal for a relationship-driven service. Caveat: upscaled from a 640×640 source — slightly soft. Worth re-shooting at 1200+ if this becomes a keeper.
1200×1200 · JPG · 159 KBExisting asset
S / 02
Shopkeeper with tablet
"Owner running her boutique from the floor."
Warm, candid, real. Tablet-in-hand reads as "modern small business" without showing any UI. Top pick.
1200×1200 · JPG · 266 KBVitaly Gariev
S / 03
Shopkeeper at counter
"At the counter of her shop."
Inviting, leaning forward — reads as service-oriented. Background full of inventory grounds the "small business" feel.
1200×1200 · JPG · 303 KBAli Mkumbwa
S / 04
Carpenter at workbench
"Tradesman, at home in his shop."
Genuine smile, working-hands shot. Translates well for Yahmation's trades-adjacent target (contractors, builders, service pros).
1200×1200 · JPG · 248 KBAli Mkumbwa
S / 05
Barber cutting hair
"In the chair, mid-cut."
Trade-specific. Anyone running a barbershop, salon, or appointment-based service-business reads themselves into this immediately.
1200×1200 · JPG · 127 KBNate Johnston

Landscape candidates 1.91 : 1

1200 × 628 PX · 5 SHOWN
L / 01 — Founder
Founder portrait, landscape crop
"Same founder, wider crop."
Useful only if you want the founder in both ratios. The 1200×628 crop tightens to the face — works but a fresh landscape shoot would beat this.
1200×628 · JPG · 89 KBExisting asset (upscaled)
L / 02 · flag
Shop owner outside storefront
"Owner at his shopfront, arms crossed."
Read it before picking: the "BUTCHER" sign and "Samaki Kuku" (Swahili: "fish, chicken") clearly place this in East Africa. Beautiful portrait, but doesn't represent the GA SMB you serve.
1200×628 · JPG · 137 KBAli Mkumbwa
L / 03
Carpenter hands on wood
"Hands on raw wood — the work itself."
No face, no text, no platform — just the craft. Reads as "real work, real businesses." Strong landscape pick for trades targeting.
1200×628 · JPG · 98 KBBailey Alexander
L / 04
Mechanic with engine
"Mechanic, head-down on an engine."
Strong mood, low light, specific trade. If your search keywords skew toward auto-shop / service-shop owners, this lands hard.
1200×628 · JPG · 120 KBAaron Huber
L / 05
Person at laptop
"Over-the-shoulder at a working desk."
The "tech-adjacent" landscape shot. Screen content is unreadable (no policy risk), and the warm bokeh keeps it feeling small and human, not corporate.
1200×628 · JPG · 82 KBPriscilla Du Preez

One more thing the chair-maker frame

FYI · CROP LIMITATION

What didn't make the shortlist.

The chair-maker workshop shot was on the longlist but its source is portrait orientation (4000×6000). Cropped to 1200×628 it dumps too much of the frame into dark negative space and loses the subject. Including it here so you can see the crop and tell me to keep, kill, or swap for something else.

Also intentionally cut: a London souvenir-shop facade ("The Shop That Must Not Be Named") — heavy text overlay = guaranteed disapproval.

L / 06 — cut
Chair maker workshop
"Workshop, but the crop fights it."
Beautiful original, but the landscape frame can't carry it. Likely cut.
1200×628 · JPG · 78 KBBailey Alexander
Prepared 17 May 2026 · Yahmation Marketing Account (CID 400-574-8576)
SELECTED  ·  SQUARE 0/5 / LANDSCAPE 0/5 / pick 1–2 square & 2–3 landscape