Appendix T: Google Local Guides Table of Contents
What Are Google Local Guides?
Google Local Guides is a global community on Google Maps. It helps people find new places, share their local knowledge and their experiences with Google Business Profiles.
How To Become A Google Local Guide
Anyone can get started at https://maps.google.com/localguides
Google Local Guide Influence
According to Google, there are an estimated 120 million Google Local Guides. Their unfiltered ability to directly communicate their subjective opinions about a Google Business Profile make them a powerful group.
As a local business owner, understanding this community of people can go a long way to establishing long-term goodwill for your business locally and as part of the online community.
There are 3 primary ways Google Local Guides influence others and potentially impact your business.
Reviews
Google Local Guides receive points for the reviews they leave. Google rewards them for leaving longer reviews (reviews of 200+ characters). Guides leaving a review get 10 points, but they double their points to 20 with longer reviews.
Think this has an impact upon your business? You bet it does!
Photos and Videos
Google rewards Guides for uploading a photo to a GBP or map listing. Guides receive 5 points for uploading a photo, 3 points for tagging a photo and 7 points to adding a video.
Don’t be surprised when Google Local Guides generate content for your GBP listing.
Contributions
Google rewards Guides for other contributes they make to keep Google Maps and Google Business Profiles updated. These contributions include: answering questions, fact checking, providing descriptions and updating road conditions.
Its possible that a Google Local Guide added your business to Maps. You just need to claim it. Not sure how to do that? Head on over to Chapter 1.
Google Local Guides: How It Works
Google Local Guides are rewarded by activity. The more active the guide, the badges they earn. It goes without saying, the more active, the more badges, the more influence the guide has.
The Google Local Guide Platform consists of: Points, Levels and Badges.
Points
Guides earn POINTS for various activities on a scale Google created. Here’s how the Guide Local Guide point system works:
1 point – Answer
1 point – Rating
1 point – Fact Checked
3 points – Photo Tag
3 points – Q&A Response
5 points – Photo
5 points – Edit
5 points – Description
7 points – Per Video
10 points – Review
10 points – Review of 200+ characters (in addition to 10 review points)
10 points – Eligible List
15 points – Place Added
15 points – Road Added
Levels
Guides move up LEVELS as they accumulate points. Here’s how the Guide Local Guide Levels work:
Level 1 – 0 points
Level 2 – 15 points
Level 3 – 75 points
Level 4 – 250 points
Level 5 – 500 points
Level 6 – 1,500 points
Level 7 – 5,000 points
Level 8 – 15,000 points
Level 9 – 50,000 points
Level 10 – 100,000 points
Badges
Guides receive BADGES once they hit Level 4 @ 250 points.
