Everyone knows that you can share 360 photos on Google Maps’ Street View. But how would you like to be able to post a virtual tour to Google Maps? Cupix is a software will do it for you automatically. But it won’t teach you how to fight off the hugs and kisses that your clients will inevitably try to give you.

Google Maps Street View Virtual Tours

Google Street View is one of the most popular platforms for sharing 360 photos, particularly of businesses and places. But in addition to 360 photos, Google Street View can also include virtual tours. Here is a sample virtual tour of Disneyland:

Unlike a typical 360 photo on Street View, you’ll notice that the cursor becomes an arrow, letting you know that you can move to that direction within the photo. By allowing viewers to ‘move around,’ the virtual tour gives viewers an even more immersive view,

Creating a Google Maps Street View Virtual Tour manually

Before we discuss Cupix, I wanted to show you first how to create a virtual tour the conventional way on Street View. Besides uploading the 360 photos, you need to connect them. If they have GPS data, they can be automatically connected. Otherwise, you’ll need to connect them manually. Here’s how to connect them manually:

1. On the Street View app, go to the Profile tab.

2. Select the photos you want to connect and tap on the upper right corner and select “Move and connect photos.”

3. On the next screen, you’ll see all the photos on a map. You’ll then have to position each node in the correct location vis-a-vis each other.

4. Tap on a line between photos to connect them.

5. For each photo, you must also reorient the photo by sliding the equirectangular view left or right.

6. For each photo, you must also place the correct compass orientation by sliding the compass indicator left or right.

For a tour with only a few nodes, it’s not too bad. But for a tour with many nodes, it is quickly becomes very tedious.

CUPIX: Create Street View Virtual Tours automatically

The good news is that there’s now a shortcut for creating Street View Virtual Tours automatically – with Cupix, a web-based virtual tour software. I’ve covered Cupix before (see here). If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a unique virtual tour software that lets you upload several 360 photos, which it can analyze and automatically connect in relation to each other, and even create a 3D model in the process.

Now Cupix has added a new function: you can export your Cupix virtual tour as a Street View Virtual Tour. Since the photos are already connected in Cupix, you won’t have to connect the photos manually in Street View! Here’s a video demo:

Cupix therefore enables you to upload several 360 photos, have Cupix’s powerful software connect them, and then you can upload the tour to Google Maps, allowing you to create a virtual tour on Street View without the need to connect any of the photos manually, whether or not your photos have GPS geolocation data.

Now that you know how to post virtual tours easily to Google Maps, which virtual tour are you going to post first? Let me know in the comments!