If you’ve never heard of Connect LIVE, you might wonder why a podcast episode about the return of Connect LIVE is needed at all. If you know what it is, on the other hand you’ll probably be extremely excited about the fact that Google decided to bring it back. Just keep listening to find out the details. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepodcast@gmail.com...
One of the most popular episodes of the LetsGuide Podcast is episode 10, titled “Level 5 in a Day”, where I explain how it is possible - in a completely legitimate way - to score 500 points (the amount needed for level 5) in a single day. Reaching level 10, however, requires 100.000 points, so you would have to spend almost 7 months (200 days scoring 500 points every single day) to reach that goal. In today’s episode I am revealing some advanced techniques that will enable you - once more: in a ...
In the past few months quite a bit of exciting new things have popped up, both on Google Maps and in the local guides program. So what else could I do but put together a brand new “News & Updates” episode? And as a bonus we have some exciting details about the upcoming EuroMeetup 2024 in Manchester. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepodcast@gmail.com ....
In February 2019, the first episode of the LetsGuide Podcast was released. That is now 5 years ago, and to celebrate this milestone, I decided to make a special episode - one where the content is created by the listeners. So, a while ago I reached out to the audience in several ways asking to submit audio clips with answers to 4 questions. And this is where you now get to hear the result, with contributions from local guides, Connect moderators, Google moderators and even members of the Google M...
Okay, not only is the Google Maps team continuously releasing new features, I’m now also receiving an increasing amount of messages from fellow local guides and podcast listeners about novelties they have noticed. So, it is high time for another news & updates episode. Do stick around until the end, as I’m also covering a few news items that I have not shared anywhere yet. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepodcast@gm...
Sometimes you come across special projects using Google Maps as their main tool. Perhaps you might recall episode 12 about EdPins, a project focusing on schools. In this episode we look at a project that aims to add water taps, places where you can refill your water bottle, to Google Maps. And you will also find out how local guides can help in getting this ambitious project realized. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepo...
In episode 35 we covered the basics about adding roads, but since then a lot has been going on in exactly that domain, so here’s another episode with additional info on adding roads, which also includes official answers from the Google team to a number of questions I was able to submit to them. And you’ll certainly want to stick around until the end of the episode, as there’s a section with some exciting news items as well. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in ...
It has only been 3 months or so since the previous ‘News & Updates’ episode, but still I have already come across enough topics to fill another one. So here we go again: an overview of the interesting and/or newsworthy things related to Google Maps and the local guides program that I have encountered in the past few months. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepodcast@gmail.com ....
The very first episode of the LetsGuide Podcast dates back to February 2019 - more than 4 years ago. It was called “The basics”, as it explained in detail what it means to be a local guide. For a while now, I have been wanting to make an update of it, but I didn’t like the idea of putting a lot of work into that. So the solution I came up with is to simply ask ChatGPT to write it - and that’s exactly what I did. Of course, having to record all those AI-generated texts with my own voice would als...
It’s been a while since we had a News & Updates episode, and obviously, the Google Maps team has not been sitting around idly all that time - which means it’s high time to check out again what new features have been introduced (or spotted as preview) in Google Maps and what’s new in the local guides community. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepodcast@gmail.com ....
There is a lot of information on Google Maps - an overwhelming amount in fact. If you zoom in or out, other types of information will be shown to you: e.g. city or even country names if you’re zoomed out, and individual street or place names when you’re zooming in. Other types of information can also be displayed when you have specific needs, such as traffic information when you are driving. All of that information is stored and organized on the map in layers - and that is the topic of this epis...
Being an active local guide is to some extent a numbers game. There are the points you earn when you contribute to Google Maps, the levels you reach by getting those points and the counters for the different types of contributions (how many reviews you wrote, how many questions you have answered, etc.), but the most impressive number is beyond any doubt the counter of the views for the pictures you have uploaded. Lots of local guides have seen this count go up into the millions - some even into ...
One of the consequences of publishing podcast episodes less frequently, is that I will need to do a “News & Updates” episode every couple of episodes, I guess - especially if the Google Maps team keeps bringing out new features at the current pace. But I have understood from the feedback that most of the audience likes these episodes, so here we go again: more news and updates about Google Maps and the local guides program! Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get...
Google provides a dedicated forum for Local Guides to get in touch with one another and share their experiences. That is - as you will probably know - Local Guides Connect. On that platform the moderation is handled on the one hand by some Google employees, the Google Moderators, and on the other hand by selected Local Guides, the Connect Moderators. In this episode we’ll have a closer look at those Connect Moderators, and you will actually hear the info from those Connect Moderators themselves....
AI (Artificial Intelligence) is definitely one of the most used buzzwords in recent years. And Google is definitely a major contributor in that field. But when it comes to using Google Maps and being a Local Guide, some of the things we see pop up or get proposed by the algorithms don’t seem to be intelligent at all. In this episode we will cover some specific examples of what I would rather call Artificial Unintelligence and suggest possible fixes. Let’s hope it can help the Google team deliver...
There are a bunch of novelties again, both about Google Maps and the Local Guides program, so it’s time for another News & Updates episode. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepodcast@gmail.com .
When you click on the profile picture of a local guide in Google Maps, a screen pops up listing the number of contributions (s)he has made, split up by type of contribution. In most cases there are high numbers for Photos and Answers, sometimes also for Reviews. But the contribution type where you are most likely to see a 0 is ‘Roads Added’. Perhaps all the roads have already been added? Or perhaps it is extremely difficult to add roads to Maps? In this episode you will find out that this is mos...
The Local Guides program in Google Maps is 100% based on volunteer work. There is no payment for the contributions we all make on Maps. Still the topic Local Guides and money is at times heavily debated, so in this episode I want to answer some questions relating to this topic, such as: What exactly is not allowed? And are there nevertheless ways to earn money with Google Maps? (Spoiler: yes, there are.) And if so: should you go down that path? Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepod...
Not everything you see on Google Maps belongs there. Quite a few entries are in fact spam, often added on purpose for malicious or at least deceptive reasons. In this episode I discuss that topic with Jason Brown, an absolute specialist in fighting such spam entries. Jason is a Platinum Google My Business (GMB) Product Expert. He’s also a Local SEO specialist and - the main reason why we have him here - a dedicated GMB spam fighter. On Twitter he even calls himself the “Unofficial Sheriff of Goo...
Look, this Google Maps team is seriously messing up my planning. Typically I record one episode per month on a specific topic related to the Local Guides program, and I then add a short section at the end where I talk about new features. But they keep releasing so much new stuff and revealing a seemingly endless list of interesting facts, that I am now forced to make a dedicated episode to tell you all about these wonderful newsworthy topics (18 of them if you add it all up) in full length. Actu...
An important element of the Local Guides program is the gamification - the fact that you can earn points by contributing to Google Maps and that those points help you reach higher levels. The highest level you can reach as local guide is level 10 - and judging by what Mara Chomsky, Global Lead of the Local Guides program at Google, told us in the interview I had with her a couple of episodes ago, there are no plans to introduce additional levels any time soon. For this episode I have therefore i...
The last few weeks and months, quite a few of the ways you can suggest edits on Google Maps have changed - both in terms of the processes and the screens that are presented to Local Guides in the Maps app. In this episode we will explore what exactly has changed and find out whether things have gotten better or worse. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepodcast@gmail.com ....
Not all contributions on Google Maps are made by local guides. A lot of information is also contributed by the businesses shown on Maps - either by the business owners or by marketing agencies working on their behalf. In this episode we will have a closer look at those agencies by interviewing Rasmus Himmelstrup, a local guide who works for such an agency. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepodcast@gmail.com ....
In this episode we will explore some of the intricacies local guides are faced with when adding places to Google Maps or editing existing ones: we take a deep dive into the official (and sometimes curious) guidelines on how to proceed in several exceptional situations. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepodcast@gmail.com ....
In this very special episode you can listen to an interview with none other than Mara Chomsky, Global Lead of the Local Guides program – the big boss, so to speak. In the interview she talks about the role the local guides program plays at Google, and reveals some insights about the history of the program and its future. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepodcast@gmail.com ....
Two of the activities a lot of local guides most frequently engage in are: giving places on Google Maps ratings (1 to 5 stars) and writing reviews for them. Those are also activities Google time and again encourages all Maps users to do, no doubt because they are one of the major reasons why people consult Maps. In this episode we will therefore dig into the secrets of ratings and reviews. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsgu...
One of the most powerful things you can do as a local guide is to change the information available on Google Maps, either by adding things or by editing data points of the places already on the map. When you then submit those edits, they are of course verified and in this episode we explain how this verification process works. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepodcast@gmail.com ....
A relatively new feature on Google Maps are lists: lists of landmarks worth visiting, the best pizzerias in town, and many more. Google seems to put quite a bit of focus on them, both by creating lists themselves and by encouraging local guides to create them, so in today’s episode we’ll explore that topic in more detail. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepodcast@gmail.com ....
The way local guides can and should interact with Google Maps is constantly being updated. What has changed in the last few weeks and months? What is new? Are there any updates about the topics we already covered? Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an email to letsguidepodcast@gmail.com .
Being a local guide is all about adding content to Google Maps or editing things already on it. To do that in a proper way, you need to be confident that whatever you add to the map is correct information, based on reliable sources. In this episode we will investigate which sources of information local guides have at their disposal, but also which sources of information are perhaps not the best to use. Check out the shownotes on https://www.letsguidepodcast.com . To get in touch, just send an em...
