What are Google Local Guides? Anyone can sign up for Google Local Guides, regardless of whether they have a Google account. They will help people navigate their local area and reveal secrets only residents would know. Is there a hidden threat to businesses? Some believe that Google’s Local Guides program has dangerous flaws. Let’s explore.
Google Local Guides: What are they and why should you care?
Local Guides allows global community of explorers and researchers to share their knowledge, collect reviews, share photos and check facts. They can also edit Google My Business listing information. This will help ensure accuracy in Google Maps (and other Google features)
Each month, more than one billion people use Google Maps to find business listings or manage their navigation needs. This is a lot of information about local businesses and infrastructure that you need to keep updated!
Google Maps continuously curates new information from map users, street view cars, local business owners, and satellite imagery. Every day, Google Maps users contribute an astonishing 20 million pieces of information.It is simple to sign up for Local Guide.
How to sign up Google Local Guides
It is easy to become a Google Local Guide. Simply visit the website to register and leave reviews as well as photos of the places you’ve been. Your guide ranking will rise the more reviews you leave and interactions you have.
You may love a special dish at a neighborhood restaurant or you might know the best spot to view a sunset. You can now be a tour guide and also post your Instagram photos.
What are the benefits of being a local guide?
Google’s Local Guides is a program for adventure-seeking volunteers who want to share their knowledge and travel experiences with others.
Sharing your knowledge and photos about local businesses will provide valuable insights for potential customers and online visibility for businesses. You can also earn badges, points and other perks as a Local Guide to satisfy your thirst for reward (right, millennials?).
Once you have reached level four in the Guides program you will be able to unlock your first Local Guides badge. This helps you and your contributions get noticed.
Google will reward you with exclusive perks, new Google products, and top-secret rewards for partners. You might be featured in promotional videos, or attend an expense-paid summit that brings together the best Local Guides around the globe.Google Local Guides help contribute to the local community
How to earn Google Local Guide points or badges
People trust user-generated reviews more than brand-generated content and advertising. We tend to look at others’ opinions and behaviours, even if they aren’t our own, when we’re looking for a plumber or a restaurant to eat out, or discovering hidden gems to explore.
Participation in the Local Guides Program is rewarded by badges, perks, and points. Guides around the world are the backbone of Google Maps and they thrive on accurate and up-to-date information.
Google Local Guides uses a real-time gaming algorithm that rewards users for sharing and contributing.
You can also trade the badges and points you earn with thousands of Google partners. You must make contributions to Google Maps in order to score points. To earn badges you need be active.
Points, badges and contributions
Local guides can answer and edit questions, update information and review local businesses. Answers might be provided on the information panel of a local search. You can also leave a review, add missing places, update and edit information and check facts regularly.
You will be awarded a specific number of points for each contribution. You will earn five points if you upload photos; 10 points if your review is more than 200 characters long. 10 bonus points are added. These points can be quickly accumulated and lead to badges.
Earn 250 points to earn your first badge. Level ten, which is 100,000 points high, is the super-star tier.Progression as a Local Guide is earned by contributing reviews, photos, questions and more
Businesses are beginning to realize that customers are their greatest brand advocates and advocates. Consumers and user-generated content now dominate traditional product pages. They play an integral role in purchasing decisions, including product ratings, uploaded photos and videos, questions, answers, and product ratings.
Why Local Guides are Dangerous: Gamifying Reviews (Points for the Sake of Points)
While Google Maps and Local Guides were created with the right intention, some Local Guides don’t want to be part of the healthy ecosystem of Google. They’re just looking for quick dopamine rushes as they earn their badges or rewards.
Gamification refers to the application of game mechanics in non-gaming situations. In real-life you will be able to recognize it in play when otherwise mundane, boring tasks give you a rush for fun, excitement, and reward. Gamification is a way to earn badges for reviewing products. Earn candy by driving on Waze! Gamified!https://www.youtube.com/embed/YKnutkaa5kE?feature=oembed
Gamification is a great way to get people to engage, have fun and stay loyal. Google Maps and Local Guides can be used in the same way. Local Guides perks, which are gamified dopamine hits, can lead to people acting in a way that doesn’t benefit the community.
Your Local Guide level (and trust) will rise the more points you earn. So what is a negative review? Or a few low-effort answers? A fake photo? All in pursuit of points. Earned badges aren’t visible to the public. However, your level is and this is what Google searchers trust.
The programme’s initial idea was great, but poor implementation has reduced its value and compromised the integrity of the contributions. Scrolling through the Google Q&A section will reveal a lot of short, sarcastic answers which have been awarded points. However, you’ll find it difficult to understand, accurate, or enjoyable reading.
Is it possible to trust local guides? How to tell?
Not all Local Guides are involved at the highest level. Although the majority of Local Guides are contributing to the ecosystem in the right way, there have been many instances when businesses received fake reviews and ratings that were detrimental to their business.
They would do it, but why?
Earning clout, unlocking badges, and scoring points is addictive. It’s more fun than writing honest and helpful reviews.
Local Guides may be more trustworthy than reviews when someone is looking for a local business or restaurant. Ironically, badge holder reviews can be a great way to see just how ridiculous some of them are.When Local Guides attack, businesses suffer. This Guide leaves a wake of fake reviews in their trail, collecting ‘points’ for doing so.
Google Maps’ Local Guides program was created to make sure that it was reliable, accurate, and helpful. There are many negative and unnecessary reviews being left by people who just want to earn a Local Guide badge.
Do you believe them? To see if the guide is you, click on their profile. Check to see if the guide has a fake account, or is trying to cheat the system.
How to avoid bad reviews for your business
Are you at the mercy of unreliable Local Guides and shady competitors? It’s not an easy process to remove fake reviews, but it is possible. We wrote a detailed guide here.
is the best defense to play strong offense.
Cloutly is a tool that allows you to drive new reviews by your customers to your Google My Business listing or any other review site. This will help you build trust and bury negative reviews.
