We all have been using Google Maps but not everyone is aware of the Google Local Guides Program. It is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for people who wish to share their experiences and insights about the places they’ve been to. No matter whether you’re a travel enthusiast or a food blogger, the Local Guides program is a pretty cool way to earn incentives against reviews, photos, and updates on places.
This program works like a game wherein you can provide feedback about a place, earn points, and get promoted to a higher level. It helps established businesses/outlets get a chance to come across as a worth trying/visiting place. If you also want to join this program, this article is for you as it covers all the necessary whats and hows.
As a local guide for one of the most powerful global search engines, you get various chances to earn redeemable points for your reviews and feedback. So without any further ado, let’s talk about it in detail.
What Is Google Local Guide Program?
Google launched its Local Guides program to encourage people to provide feedback about the places they have visited. It is a community-driven program that crowdsources local data with the help of technology to improve location insights.
The program allows people to contribute by submitting opinions, reviews, photos, and places anywhere in the world. Yes, you read that right! Since it is called the Local Guides program, it doesn’t mean you can only provide feedback for local or nearby places. You are free to submit reviews on national and international places as well.
Who Is Eligible For the Google Local Guide Program?
Like every other Google program, you’ll also need to follow the eligibility criteria for the Local Guides program as well:
| ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR LOCAL GUIDES PROGRAM |
| 1. Anyone who has a Google Account. |
| 2. If you fulfill minimum age requirements of your home country. |
| 3. Lastly, you must sign up for Google Local Guides program. |
That’s it. If you fulfill these three conditions, you’re good to go for the Google Local Guides Program. However, you’re not allowed to participate in this program if:
- You use a Google Workspace Account.
- You use a Google Workspace for Education account and are under 18 years of age.
NOTE:
- Refer to this link for age requirement conditions. For countries not listed in the list, the minimum age requirement of 13 years has to be met.
- Google also states, “If you offer services for hire (such as marketing yourself as a Street View trusted provider), you are not allowed to bundle such services with your Local Guide membership.” So ensure you don’t violate any Google Guide conditions.
Google Local Guide Benefits
Here are a few reasons why you must consider becoming a Local Guide for Google:
- Establish Yourself As A Trusted Reviewer: The Local Guides program is a great way to establish yourself as a trusted review provider or guide on Google. You can provide reviews, add photos, and missing information about any place you’ve visited.
- Earn Perks and Badges: One of the key benefits of signing up for the Local Guides program is that you’ll receive redeemable points that can be redeemed against gamification benefits and perks. These perks might include NY Times online game subscriptions. Furthermore, you get to add badges to your profile for every contribution that boosts your reputation as a local guide.
- Get Early Access To Google Products & Features: Another key feature of becoming a local guide for Google’s community lies in early access to Google products and features offered by the world’s #1 search engine.
- Receive Google Goodies: You can also receive goodies like a Local Guides t-shirt and much more when you sign up for this program.
- Attend & Host Meetups: As a part of the Google Guide community, you’ll get the chance to attend and host meetups. To receive notifications regarding meetups, you must enable your email preferences for the same in Local Guides Settings and save the changes.
How To Sign Up For Google Local Guides Program?
Step-by-step procedure:
1. Sign into your Google account.
2. Go to Google local guide program signup page or visit this link- https://www.google.com/localguides/signup.
3. Enter and select the name of your city based on your region.
4. Agree to program rules and check the box right next to it. Furthermore, you can decide whether or not you want to receive updates on your review impact (which you should definitely opt for).
5. Proceed by hitting the ‘Become a Local Guide’ option.
Now you can begin contributing to the Local Guides Connect community with your place insights.
Google Local Guides Points System
-
Add Review
Ensure reviews are descriptive and highlight the necessary information.
Points: 1-10 points per review [additional 10 points for every review that is more than 200 characters].
-
Rating
Rate places based on your experience and the services/facilities provided there.
Points: 1 point per rating
-
Update Photo
Add quality images that clearly depict a place’ ambiance and nearby that place.
Points: 5 points per photo upload
-
Respond To Q&As
Earn points for answering questions from the people around.
Points: 3 points per answer
-
Reported Incorrect
Remember that you can’t report an incorrect review simply because you don’t like it. Google runs fact checks to verify the information based on other users’ reviews and company’s GBP.
Points: 1 point per reported incorrect
The below table shows points that one can earn by performing different tasks on Google Maps.
| S. NO. | ACTIVITY | POINTS |
| 1. | Photo Tag | 3 points per photo |
| 2. | Video | 7 points per video |
| 3. | Caption (in photo update) | 10 points per caption |
| 4. | Answer | 1 point per answer |
| 5. | Edit | 5 points per edit |
| 6. | Place Added | 15 points per place added |
| 7. | Road Added | 15 points per place added |
| 8. | Fact Checked | 1 point per fact checked |
Google Local Guide Levels & Badges
The Local Guides program has 10 levels in total and the badge earning begins from level 4.
| LEVELS | BADGES | POINTS |
| 4 |  |
250 |
| 5 |  |
500 |
| 6 |  |
1,500 |
| 7 |  |
5,000 |
| 8 |  |
15,000 |
| 9 |  |
50,000 |
| 10 |  |
100,000 |
Google Local Guide Incentives
Google has a flux rewarding program for its local guides under which they can receive:
- Coupons (Zomato/Swiggy/Redbus/OLX, etc.)
- Clothes
- Early access to new features and merch
- Gamified incentives
- Badges
The points you earn in Google Local Guide can be redeemed against these incentives.
How Google Local Guide Can Help Businesses With SEO?
The Local Guide program can benefit businesses in more than one way. Although businesses can’t participate in this program, that won’t stop them from using it for SEO purposes. Among the three factors that Google considers while allotting local rankings, “prominence” also plays a key role (the other two factors are: relevance and distance). Significantly, Local Guide reviews and other content like shared images, videos, etc. have an impact on Google’s local search visibility.
Here are a few tips to boost your business’s visibility in local search results:
(i) Build Network Through Meetups
Business owners are allowed to join Local Guides meet wherein they can reach out to local guides in their area. This is a great way to build a network with trusted guides and ask them to visit you. It must be noted that local guides aren’t allowed to accept any gift/money or sponsorship for hosting meetups against positive reviews.
(ii) Boost Your Google Business Profile
If you haven’t updated your Google Business Profile (GBP) in some while, it’s high time you pay attention to that. Doing so will have an immense impact on your local search rankings. With a well-planned strategy for local businesses, updating operating hours, contact number, location, etc. can take your business one step ahead of your competitors.
For instance, if your favorite bakery’s working hours aren’t updated and you end up going there just to see that it is closed, you’ll not have a good experience with it. In addition, adding photos, services, and about sections, etc. will further increase the chances of your business coming across your local audience.
(iii) Use Google Local Services Ads
Google local services ads are paid ads that businesses can utilize to foster their local search visibility in their budget. Businesses using this service have a chance to get their ads displayed on top of search engines. Google local services ads usually display a business’ name, reviews, photos, operation hours, city, and phone number.
(iv) Make Review Sharing Easy
Not all customers are interested in giving a review, especially the ones who don’t know how to do so. Or even if they are aware of the process, they might not be willing to type your business name on Google and then type a review. If you can do something to save them time reaching out, they might give you the review. So share the link to your Google Business Profile.
(v) Don’t Overlook Negative Reviews
Dealing with negative reviews can seem like a daunting time but it can be even more difficult to handle the drop in rankings because of them. That’s why Google suggests encouraging customers to leave an honest review about their experiences although doing so against any monetary advantage or gift is prohibited. Addressing customer issues, providing valid compensation, and making future improvements can help your business regain its clients.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What Are Activities That Can Earn Me 3 Points In the Google Local Guide Program?
You can earn 3 points from the Local Guide Program by providing a photo tag whenever you upload a photo. A photo tag is a description of an image. For instance, Bangla Sahib Road.
2. How Can I Optimize My Google Business Profile (GBP)?
To optimize your GBP, ensure you update any change in working hours, off days, contact information, address reviews, website URL, etc.
3. Is There Any SEO Benefit To A Google Local Guide?
No, however, businesses can rank well on Google Maps by optimizing their local search strategy so that they can become more discoverable.
4. How Much Does Google Local Search Ads Cost?
It depends on what niche and area you want to target. With Google Local Search ads you only pay when you acquire a lead.
Wrapping Up
The Google Local Guide program is worth participating in if you’re a legit explorer who wants to contribute to Google’s online community. You need to share your experience about a place that you’ve visited/used. Aside from that, the program requires you to share photos, and videos, and answer people’s questions about a particular place. Make sure you adhere to the program’s guidelines for safeguarding from violations.
