Google Local Guides: 2nd Year Anniversary!

What timing – literally days after my first post in a year, covering off where I am with Google Guides, this badboy popped into my inbox acknowledging the 2 year milestone of using the platform. It’s been an interesting journey because I started with a short burst; took a lengthy hiatus; and then with a bunch of back-to-back travel experiences I returned with a flurry of reviews completely swinging for the fences again.

Google Guides - Dan's 2nd Year — Google Local Guides – Dan’s 2nd Year

Current Stats at the Start of Year 2:

Local Guide Level 7
7,226/15,000 points towards Level 8
82 Reviews
789 Photos
30 Videos
1,196 Q&As
2 Places Added
8 Followers

I’ve begun answering more of the question-related contributions on the platform, and uploading photos without reviews. Previously I wouldn’t have added a photo unless they were attached to reviews, and sometimes that becomes the roadblock because reviews take a bit of creative energy to deliver in an entertaining style. Whereas just posting photos and/or answering Y/N questions doesn’t take much brainpower to execute.

The Rule of 5’s-Only:

I did make a clear rule for myself on Google Local Guides when using the platform; which is in complete opposition to how I used Yelp. I will only bother posting a review if I think the place is a 5 or a must-visit; Now, due to the ratings options being a 4 or a 5, anything 4.5 is considered a 5 by my estimation, so this makes it a bit easier to work with.

There’s a handful of reasons why I felt I needed this sort of rule to ensure I used the platform effectively:

I found myself posting a lot of reviews on Yelp (over 375 reviews to date); but a great many of them sit in the 2-to-4 range; It ends up feeling like you are recommending mediocrity. Reviewing everything makes you part of the barometer of a location; I want to standout, so I want to recommend great things.
I wanted to avoid confrontation; something that is almost impossible to do if you give lukewarm or even somewhat negative reviews. Conversely, I want to actively put positive energy into the digital space so 5’s-only gives me that opportunity.
It means fewer reviews are required from me (less is more); I’ve only done 80-odd versus the 375 on Yelp; This suits me because I am time poor.
I want businesses to do well; Everyone has had to struggle through the last few years, and I just don’t feel like the stances I had on businesses previously hold sway in our current environment.

Google Local Guide 3.4 Million Photo Views

We’ve also just hit 3.4 million total views on 819 visual contributions (789 photos + 30 videos). That’s more than 4,150 views per contribution, which is not too shabby! I’ve somehow also managed to capture 8 followers… Great! On Yelp I amassed 4,196 friends (the max you can have is 5,000), and 68 followers…