How To Pick the Starting Panorama for a Google Street View Tour

When creating or editing a Google Street View tour in GoThru, it's important to understand how the starting panorama is selected. The starting panorama is the first image users see when they view the tour on Google Maps or in search results. Here’s how to make sure you choose the best starting point:

Option 1: Automatically by Proximity to the Google Business Pin

Google selects the panorama closest to the business pin on the map to be the starting panorama for the tour.

In GoThru:

• The green dot on the mini map represents the Google Maps business pin location.
• The panorama closest to this green dot becomes the start pano when published to Street View.

Best Practices for Choosing the Starting Panorama

1. Identify the Business Pin
   • Make sure the green dot (business pin) is in the correct location on the map.
2. Position the Right Pano Near the Pin
   • Place your desired starting image (usually the entrance or front of the building) closest to the green dot.
3. Avoid Placing Interior Images Closest
   • If an interior shot is nearer to the green dot than your exterior shot, Google may choose that instead.

Option 2: Manually Selecting the Starting Panorama by Unselecting Panos with the Place ID

In this tutorial you are going to look at how to select the starting panoramas of a Google tour by dissociating the panos with the Place ID.

In some exceptional circumstances, it is necessary to adjust the tour's starting panorama. For instance, If you find that Google has chosen an unappealing starting panorama for your business tour, you can intervene and change it manually.

Step 1: Unselect the Panorama

1. Go to My Tours and press the Tools button for your tour.
2. Press the Google button.
3. On the publishing page, you'll see a list of panoramas automatically associated with the business.
4. Deselect (publish with placeID) any panoramas you don't want associated with the business — especially ones you don’t want as the starting panorama.
   • Google will then choose the starting panorama only from the remaining selected ones.
   • Example: If only pano #6 are selected, only this pano is considered.

Important: GoThru will warn that this can cause ghost panoramas or other issues—only do this in extreme cases.

If the tour has multiple levels, make sure at least one panorama per level remains selected.

Step 2: Update the Tour

1. Press Update your tour on the Google Street View > Start Publishing.
2. After the update, check the tour and make any necessary manual adjustments.
3. Click on SV Info to verify the publishing status:
   • Green dots = associated panoramas
   • Blue dots = dissociated panoramas (no placeID)
4. Use the 360 View to confirm if the starting panorama has changed.

Note: This advanced method is useful if you're unhappy with Google’s automatic selection, but it should be used cautiously to avoid publishing issues.

That’s it! Now you know how to choose the best starting panorama for your Google Street View tour—either automatically based on map proximity or manually by refining the panorama associations.