How Google Local Guides improves visibility

What used to be done by word of mouth is now done by Google. It's not that we have stopped recommending, it's just that now we do it differently. We still tell our colleagues that the "Succession" series is gold while having a drink on the terrace of a bar, but if we want to find a spa in Madrid or a restaurant for our next visit to Valencia, we use Google.

Clearly Google is aware of its power (it has an estimated 63,000 search queries per second) and that it needs more and more content for the tool to continue to be so effective. That's why creating a community of users who can offer this content collaboratively and free of charge was an obvious step for the search engine. And so, with this idea, Google Local Guides was born.

What is Google Local Guides and how it works

As the platform itself explains, Google Local Guides is "a global community of explorers who write reviews, share photos, answer questions, add or edit places and verify information on Google Maps". In other words, they contribute content as users to Google My Business listings, becoming a kind of guide for the rest of the users.

For those who form this community, the concept is the same as in other platforms such as TripAdvisor: you share experiences and opinions, increase your recognition and that unlocks different rewards. Each of the actions performed as a Local Guide gives you a score. For a review you get 10 points and if it exceeds 200 characters, you add 10 more points to your account. Uploading photos, videos or answering questions from other users increases your score and the higher your score, the more recognition you get.

Community members start at level one and work their way up to the highest level, level 10, which is accessed when you have reached 100,000 points. When they reach level four they can create lists of their favorite places or destinations that the guide plans to visit, and unlock rewards such as increased storage space on your email account drive.

Anyone of legal age can become a Local Guide simply by having an email account and signing up. In addition, any previous reviews we have done with that email will be registered, so you don't have to start from scratch, and since anyone can become a Local Guide, the chances that this community of users will end up benefiting our business increase. 

Benefits of Google Local Guides for businesses

As a business we can improve our Google My Business (GMB) page, but we cannot be a Local Guide. In fact, if Google discovers that a Local Guide is duplicating reviews or participating and giving opinions about a business that belongs to them, the guide profile will be removed from the program and with it, all the content. 

And don't think that Google is like that philosophy professor who used to stare into infinity during exams (reflecting on the meaning of life, obviously) and never caught you cheating. Google is watching and the punishment is not worth it. 

That doesn't mean that as a business we can't benefit from the Local Guides platform. In fact it is a tool with which we can achieve greater visibility in the Google search engine, which will then bring us more visits to our website or more calls. 

The first step to sell is to have a commercial opportunity with a customer, and that first contact via Google can be that moment, so increasing our visibility in the search engine can be more than beneficial.

Another advantage of this tool is that it helps us with a more local marketing that goes directly to a target audience and more likely to buy. An example: you are walking around Edinburgh and suddenly you stumble, with the bad luck that you end up with broken glasses. You don't know the city, you're sightseeing and you have no idea where there's an optician nearby. You pull out your iPhone and type "optician" into the Google Maps app, and before you've even finished you have an address 400 meters from where you are. 4.6 out of five stars, photos revealing a beautiful old facade and a couple of Local Guides recommending it as their trusted optician's shop. Convinced. You'll get your glasses fixed there to continue enjoying your stroll along the Royal Mile. 

According to a Google My Business Insights study by BrightLocal, 5% of GMB listing views result in a website click, call or address request, hence the importance of optimizing our Google My Business page. 

Businesses with more photos get more clicks, calls and requests, as well as appearing in more searches on both the search engine and Google Maps. So, if Google Local Guides receive rewards for uploading photos to our GMB listing, not only will they receive a prize, but our business will also gain visibility.

That is why it is important for us as a company to keep our GMB listing as up to date as possible and with all the necessary data. Moreover, the more interaction we have from users the better. And not only positive interaction, negative ratings help us to show how we resolve conflicts and how much we are willing to improve. With reviews, for example, it's like with roadside bars. The more stopped cars and trucks you see at a bar, the more likely you are to decide to stop in. People call people. And reviews call future customers. 

How to use Google Local Guides to our advantage

Although we have already mentioned that Google penalizes and blocks Local Guides that try to take advantage of their personal businesses, there are some tricks that we can put into practice to take advantage of the benefits of the platform.

The simplest of all is to invite our customers to interact with us through Google, either with comments, reviews or by uploading photos that help our business profile to be updated and alive within the Local Guides platform. We can for example do it through a newsletter after the purchase of a product. With a simple "tell us how we did" that leads to Google reviews we are inviting the customer to comment. They won't always do it, but if out of 100 sales, 1 comments, we already have one more than we had.

We can also reward our Local Guides in some way, for example with a 10% discount on their next drink if they upload three photos of our place. Although without a doubt the best thing we can do is to optimize our Google My Business page because it is something that is 100% in our hands and does not require an exorbitant effort. 

This small gesture is the first step for our business to be number one in the lists of Google Local Guides and have the impact we deserve in that giant sea that is Google. And if you get lost with your little boat in it, don't worry, our team will be happy to jump in the water to help you.

Main photo: Tobias Dkly