Category: Uncategorized

Episode 4: Unclaimed Businesses

On quite a few places on Google Maps you will see a button ‘Claim this business’. What is meant with this? How does it work? And why should all businesses do it?

SHOWNOTES

TRANSCRIPTION

Jan Van Haver 0:05
Hello, and welcome to the LetsGuide Podcast, the ultimate podcast for Google Local Guides. It’s been about two weeks since I released the last episode – high time that we dive into it again. So here is episode number four. Today we will be talking about unclaimed businesses. What is exactly meant with this ‘claiming’? How does it work? And why should all businesses do this as soon as possible? This episode is recorded at the end of March 2019, and is therefore describing the situation as it is today. If you listen to this episode, at a later point in time, things might obviously have changed. Continue reading “Episode 4: Unclaimed Businesses” →

Episode 3: Selecting Pictures

Adding pictures to places on Google Maps is one of the main activities of Local Guides. But which ones should you upload? What should you pay attention to?

SHOWNOTES

TRANSCRIPTION

Jan Van Haver 0:06
Hello, and welcome to the third episode of the LetsGuide Podcast, the ultimate podcast for Google Local Guides. Today’s episode is all about pictures, one of the main activities of local guides. Which ones exactly should you upload? What should you pay attention to? And lots more. My name is Jan Van Haver; I’m a local guy from Belgium but also spending quite a bit of my time in Germany. And I have created this podcast to share some of the experience I’ve gained in my own journey as a local guide. Continue reading “Episode 3: Selecting Pictures” →

Episode 2: Categories

All places on Google Maps have a category. What exactly is this? Why are they so important? How to select the right one?

SHOWNOTES

TRANSCRIPTION

Jan Van Haver 0:06
Welcome to Episode 2 of the LetsGuide Podcast, the ultimate podcast for Google Local Guides. Today we will be talking about categories. Is a place of interest, so a point on the map, is that a baker, is it a school or perhaps a travel agency? (Yes, those do still exist). That’s what the category is used for. In today’s episode, we will look into why exactly those categories are so important and how to pick the right one. Before we dive into it, I want to point out once again that I have no official link to Google or the Google Local Guides program. I am just a local guide like most of you. Everything said in these episodes is just my personal interpretation. This episode is recorded at the end of February 2019, and is therefore describing the situation and It is today. If you’re listening to this episode at a later point in time, things might have changed, of course. Continue reading “Episode 2: Categories” →

Episode 1: The basics

In this first episode we cover the basics. What exactly is meant with Local Guides? Can anyone be a local guide? Why should you become a local guide?

SHOWNOTES

The official Google intro video on the Local Guides program

TRANSCRIPTION

Jan Van Haver 0:06
Hello, and welcome to the very first episode of the LetsGuide podcast, the ultimate podcast for Google Local Guides. My name is Jan Van Haver, and I hope to be your host for a new episode in this podcast roughly every two weeks or so. Most people listening, I assume, are local guides and so are well aware of what it means to be a local guide. But some people might have stumbled upon this podcast and have no clue what it is about. And also, since I plan to promote this podcast quite heavily on my personal, private social media accounts, I guess some colleagues from work or family and friends might be listening to at least part of this. So it’s a great opportunity for me to explain what the heck I’ve been doing all this time.

Jan Van Haver 0:51
Today, therefore, I will simply be covering the basics. What exactly does it mean to be a local guide? Who are these people? Why are they doing it? Future episodes will typically deal with one specific aspect of the local guides program, and could include some tips and tricks or best practices. It’s up to you to stay tuned and find out what exactly next episodes will be about. A very important remark before we really kick off is that I want to point out that I am not a Google employee. I have no official connection to Google whatsoever. I’m just a local guide myself. And this means of course, that anything I say in this podcast is simply a personal interpretation of things. This episode is being recorded the beginning of February 2019 and is therefore describing the situation as it is today. If you are listening at a later point in time, things might have changed by then, of course. Continue reading “Episode 1: The basics” →