What is Google Local Guide Program ?

Google has found a way to boost user contributions for Google Maps by introducing the Google Local Guide program.

Users who review, add photos, answer questions or add unverified locations are rewarded with Guide Points. These contributors can improve their levels and rankings among the Google Local Guide community simply by posting this information. Each level also allows the user to qualify for different events and activities within the Local Guide community.

Creating and optimizing a Google My Business profile is crucial to the success of any business – particularly local businesses with brick and mortar locations. With Google Local Guide, businesses can benefit from crowd sourced material, like photos and reviews, for their profile and ultimately improve their bottom line.

The following shows how these rankings work.

Level 1: 0+ points

• Get the inside scoop with Google’s monthly newsletter
• Join Google-hosted workshops and Hangouts
• In select countries, enter into exclusive contests for Local Guides
• Join the conversation at Local Guides Connect

Level 2: 5+ points

• Get early access to new Google products and features
• Promote your own meet-ups on the Local Guides calendar

Level 3: 50+ points

• Get noticed with your Local Guides badge in Google Maps
• Be eligible to receive promotion of unofficial communities

Level 4: 200+ points

• Receive free Google Drive storage for one year
• Be eligible to be featured on Google’s official online channels: Google+, Facebook, Twitter, and more

Level 5: 500+ points

• Eligible for Trusted Testing opportunities — access Google products and features before they are made public
• Apply to attend the Google Local Guides Level 5 summit

                           

                                  YOU GO UP TO LEVEL 10 

I have been working very casually at building my Google Local Guide status. I like to try new places and activities frequently — but it is hard to stay diligent when building this status as you mostly earn one point at a time.

The most attractive advantage this Google feature offers is that you can turn on location tracking — so Local Guide will recommend leaving reviews for places you have been (I assume this includes locations you stay at for a duration of time, as anyone walking down the street would have way too many options … which doesn’t happen).

There are five ways to earn points to grow your Google Guide status, and each action earns you 1 point, so it can take some time to reach those higher levels. The five actions include:

• Submit a review
• Upload a photo
• Add a new location
• Fix an error on an existing location
• Answer a question

The Google interface makes a lot of this easy. It doesn’t take long to build up points — Google will list places you have been recently, notify you to answer questions about different places you have been, and encourage you to post photos of the spots they review.

Here is my Google Local Guide Profile-here

Not only do these contributions help grow the Google Maps dominance in location services, it also shows how important a Google Local Business presence is for any business.

                                                                                             Yashraj Arya

                                                                                            Insta-here (iyashrajarya)

                                                                                           Fb-here (iyashrajarya)