What Is All About Google Local Guide? What Are Its Advantages?
Google Maps are an inseparable factor of our lives now; it’s almost impossible to travel without its assistance today.
Right from checking the expanse between two places to locating the nearby ATMs, restaurants, petrol pumps, etc., Google Maps is a part of our everyday routines now.
Be it local searches or locating places in a new town, Google Maps comes in very handy every single time.
So when you see a piece of thorough data about a location on Google Maps, have you ever thought about who appends that data? It is actually done by the Google Local Guides.
What’s Google Local Guide?
Google Local Guides is the explorers’ community who contribute/share their pictures, reviews, and other details about the locations on Google.
They also check the details already accessible on Google and edit them if needed. Google Local Guides earn a few points for each contribution on Google Maps.
So, basically, they append helpful data about local places on Google and assist millions of individuals across the world in discovering new locations.
How To Join The Google Local Guide Program?
It is really simple to join the Google Local Guides program. So simple, in fact, you can log up in a matter of minutes.
Step#1:
Log in to the Google account and then go to the Local Guides signup page.
If you have enabled location service on the device, you will see that your city will be pre-populated for you.
If not, simply add the location, confirm you are over the age of eighteen, and agree to get emails.
Step#2:
You are now logged up and can start making contributions to Google Maps. You will locate a welcome video on the dashboard and an option to leave the first review.
Simply search for the location you want to review and then click on the Contribute option to start earning badges, points, and rewards.
Step#3:
Once you have added the local business’s name you want to review, you will then be asked a few questions by Google based on the business type under review.
If you are reviewing a hotel, for instance, you will be asked for the overall star rating and then details about the trip type (vacation, family, business, friends, solo, etc.) you took.
You will also be capable of assigning individual star ratings to services, locations, and rooms and uploading pictures.
Step#4:
You can also now start making contributions directly to Google Maps.
Simply navigate to Maps, and you will be capable of fact-checking and verifying details that other users have submitted about businesses close to your location and making edits to incorrect details.
If you switch on the location history, Google will also offer you suggestions for locations to review and verify based on where you have been.
Who Can Become A Google Local Guide?
Anybody with a Google account can actually become a Google Local Guide, given you meet the age requirements of the country.
There are no eligibility criteria; all you require is a little experience and knowledge and a willingness to share it with individuals.
How To Contribute To Google Maps?
Once you log up with the Google Local Guide program, you can begin contributing on Google Maps immediately. Click the Start Contributing button.
You receive points for every contribution on Google Maps, and clearly, you begin with level 1. There are a total of ten levels for reaching, which comprise badges and rewards too.
- Append a new location and get fifteen points
- A review of an existing location on Google will bag five points for you.
- A video will get you seven points, and an image will get you five points.
- Editing a location will also get five points.
- Give a star rating to a location and get one point.
- Answer a question about a location and get one point.
Any location you visit, any image you click, or any video you make, can simply be uploaded on Google Maps, given it provides some information.
There’s no approval needed to append videos or photos of a location, but if you’re appending a new location to the maps, you need approval from Google.
If the GPS on the mobile device is switched on, you’ll see all the locations you have been to on the dashboard.
Sync the Google accounts on all the devices, and you can upload the data from any place.
Once posted, the videos, pictures, and reviews will emerge on each service and product that belongs to Google, such as Google Search, Google Maps, Street View, and Google Earth, and will be available to everybody.
Make certain all the data complies with the user-generated content policy of Google Maps.
How To Unlock Google Local Guide Badges And Points?
Google Local Guides has a strong gamification aspect, with every Guide rewarded for their contributions with badges and points.
Those badges and points can then be traded for rewards with Google partners. You will have to make contributions to Google Maps to start earning points and then increase the activity for earning badges.
Contributions:
- Score a local business by giving it a rating
- Upload video
- Check facts
- Review a local business
- Answer a question about a location you’ve visited on Maps
- Append a missing place
- Share photographs
- Ask a question and/or give an answer on the information panel in the local search
- Edit data
What Are The Advantages Or Rewards Of Being A Google Local Guide?
Google Local Guide program is essentially for explorers or people who love adventures. Somebody who likes sharing their travel experiences and stories with the world would like to be the Google Local Guide.
There are no monetary advantages to becoming the Google Local Guide, but there are quite some rewards and perks that a few of you might like to get.
You receive a badge with each level you unlock which further will assist the content in reaching an extensive audience.
Every time any of the videos/pictures or a review crosses the milestone, you get notified by email. You get the 1st badge when you get to level 4.
Also, Google provides you with early access to new services and products as a reward for your contributions.
And guess what? If you’re awesome at making Google Maps better with contributions, you might get an opportunity to attend the extravagant fully paid summit and meet the world’s best Local Guides.
Do Google Local Guides Get Paid?
No, Google Local Guides do not actually get paid.
You get a few badges, rewards, and points on your profile each time you contribute something on the app, such as some details about a location, a video, a picture, or a review.
If you’re fortunate enough, you might get an opportunity to attend the fully-paid summit in the United States.
How Many Google Points Do I Have?
You can check the points and levels you have right on the dashboard. Just navigate to the Google Local Guides site and click on the profile picture from the top left corner. You’ll be capable of seeing the points there.
Conclusion:
Google Local Guides do a significant duty for Google Maps, editing incorrect details, providing reviews, appending missing locations, and sharing videos and images.
This insight is helpful for local users, and the gamification of the system makes it a fun way to commit search users to actually get involved with Google products.
Hopefully, you have found this guide a little helpful. Thank you for reading!
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