How to Geotag WebP Images (and What Happens to the Format)
October 30, 2026
You can geotag a WebP image, but the practical route is usually to convert it to JPG first, add the GPS coordinates and other metadata to the JPG, and publish that file. WebP can technically hold EXIF and XMP data, but support is patchy: many photo apps, upload forms and image pipelines either ignore it or strip it.
If you need to keep the file as WebP, there are command-line tools that can write metadata into it. For most people, the simpler workflow is to tag a JPG and keep that as your master copy. The rest of this post explains why, and walks through both options.
Can WebP files hold location data?
Yes, in principle. WebP is a container format, and its extended version can carry optional EXIF and XMP blocks alongside the image data. GPS coordinates live in the EXIF block. Titles, descriptions and keywords can live in XMP.
Two caveats matter in practice:
- Many WebP files have no metadata at all. WebP images are often produced by a CMS, a plugin, an export setting or an image optimiser, and these frequently drop metadata to save bytes. If your WebP came from a website, there is a good chance the GPS data is already gone.
- Tool support is uneven. Plenty of desktop photo apps, phone galleries and online tools can display a WebP but cannot read or write its metadata.
To see what a file currently holds, run it through the free photo metadata checker. If you want background on what the fields mean, see EXIF Data Explained.
The simple route: tag it as a JPG
JPG is the most widely supported format for photo metadata. EXIF, IPTC and XMP are all well established there, and nearly every tool that reads photo metadata handles it.
Geotagr accepts WebP files, but it converts them and saves the result as a JPG. It does not write a WebP back out. That's worth knowing before you start, so you don't expect the same filename extension at the end.
Step by step
- Open the editor. Go to the Geotagr editor and add your WebP files. Processing happens in your browser, and the photo files are not uploaded to Geotagr's servers.
- Set the location. Search for an address, drop a pin on the map, or enter coordinates directly. If you're not sure how coordinates work, How to Add GPS Coordinates to Photos Online covers it.
- Add the descriptive fields. Write a title, a description and keywords. Add business details such as name and contact information if they apply. These are written as IPTC/XMP metadata.
- Save as JPG. Export the converted files.
- Check the result. Open the saved JPG in the metadata checker and confirm the coordinates and text fields are present.
If you have a folder of images, batch tagging lets you apply the same location and text to many files at once, and presets save the details you reuse. For more on that, see How to Batch Geotag Photos.
What you lose by converting
Be clear-eyed about the trade-offs.
| WebP | JPG (after conversion) | |
|---|---|---|
| File size | Often smaller at similar quality | Often larger |
| Metadata support across tools | Inconsistent | Broad |
| Transparency | Supported | Not supported |
| Animation | Supported | Not supported |
Converting a WebP to JPG is a re-encode, so there can be a small quality change, and anything transparent will lose its transparency. Animated WebP files are not a good fit for this workflow at all, because a JPG is a single still image.
If the image is a flat photograph, none of that usually matters.
Do you need to keep WebP?
Ask why you want WebP in the first place. The usual answer is page speed on a website. That's a fair reason, but it affects where you do the geotagging.
Option A: Tag the JPG, then let your site convert
Keep a geotagged JPG as your master. Upload it to your site and let your CMS or image plugin create WebP versions for display. The catch: many of these plugins strip metadata during conversion. The WebP the visitor receives may carry no GPS data even though your original does. If the metadata needs to survive on the published file, you must check the live image, not just your master.
Option B: Write metadata into the WebP directly
If you need the final file to be WebP and to contain metadata, command-line tools are the realistic path. ExifTool can write EXIF and XMP into WebP files. Google's cwebp encoder has a -metadata option for copying EXIF and XMP from the source when you encode. Both are technical tools without a point-and-click interface, and behaviour can vary by version, so test on one file first and verify the output.
Whichever method you use, confirm the finished file with a metadata checker before publishing a whole batch.
Will a geotagged WebP help your rankings?
Nobody outside Google can say for sure. Google has not published how it uses photo metadata, and it hasn't confirmed that embedded GPS coordinates affect local rankings. Geotagr can't promise rankings or visibility either. For a fuller discussion, read Does Geotagging Photos Help Local SEO? What We Know.
Many platforms also strip metadata on upload, so the data in your file may never reach the public page. Embedded metadata is still useful for your own records, for handing files to clients, and for organising a photo library by place. Treat any search benefit as unproven.
Privacy: check before you share
Embedded GPS can reveal where a photo was taken, including homes and private sites. If you tag photos with a business address, that is deliberate. If you're sharing personal images, you may want the opposite. See How to Remove Location Data from Photos for that.
A sensible workflow
- Keep your original photos in JPG (or HEIC from a phone) as masters.
- Add GPS, title, description and keywords to the master before any web optimisation.
- Let your site create WebP copies for display if you need them.
- Check one published image to see whether metadata survived.
- If it didn't and it matters, either serve the JPG or use a tool that preserves metadata when encoding to WebP.
FAQ
Does Geotagr save WebP files?
No. Geotagr can open WebP files, but it converts them and saves them as JPG. The same applies to HEIC and PNG.
Can I check whether my WebP has GPS data?
Yes. Upload it to the free photo metadata checker to see which EXIF, IPTC and XMP fields are present. If GPS fields are missing, the file was probably stripped during export or optimisation. See How to Check Photo Metadata on Any Device for other methods.
Why did my WebP lose its metadata?
Most often because whatever created it did not copy the metadata across. Image optimisers, CMS plugins and some export settings strip it by default to reduce file size. Some upload platforms also remove metadata after you submit an image.
Is JPG or WebP better for geotagged photos?
For metadata, JPG is the safer choice because support is broader and more consistent. For page weight, WebP is often smaller. Many people keep a tagged JPG master and serve WebP copies on their site.
Does converting WebP to JPG reduce quality?
It involves another round of lossy compression, so there can be a slight change, usually small for ordinary photos. Transparency and animation are lost.