I’m a digital marketing professional by trade, and I’ve been doing it for over 12 years (out of 15). One of my specialties is local area marketing: I help businesses improve their online visibility by making them more relevant to their target customers in their geographic area. So whenever a matcha cafe pops up when you search for “cafes near me,” think of me.
But it’s not just the digital marketer who does all the work. Existing customers can also help their favorite businesses reach the top of search results by writing reviews, adding photos, and updating information. This is the Google Maps Local Guides Program, and bike commuters can be the ideal guides for their city’s local haunts.
What is the Google Maps Local Guides Program?
Google Maps Local Guides are the reason you can find a hole-in-the-wall ramen restaurant tucked between buildings in Makati CBD. Members can write reviews, upload photos, answer questions about places, verify business details, and suggest edits when information is outdated or incorrect.
Users accumulate points and level up, mainly for bragging rights, so it’s something I gloss over. Its real value lies in improving the accuracy and usefulness of Google Maps for everyone. So, from uploading photos to verifying if an establishment’s business hours are correct, Local Guides help create a more complete picture of places and communities.
While it’s popularly known for providing restaurant reviews and travel recommendations, Google Maps Local Guides is ultimately about local knowledge. It relies on people who regularly interact with their surroundings to provide information that might not be available through official sources alone.
And bike commuters can be reliable local guides!
How Bike Commuters Can Act as Local Guides
Because Metro Manila is big, the region is worth exploring by bike.
Bike commuters are uniquely positioned to become effective Local Guides because we’re often more inclined to explore in, around, and even beyond our neighborhoods than motorists. A bike is fast enough to take us to places but slow enough to let us observe details that drivers or passengers often overlook when inside a car.
For instance, if I were in a car, I wouldn’t really go out of my way to squeeze into the alleyways of Binondo to find the best restaurants that serve the best handmade pork and shrimp siomai. But with a bike, I can go anywhere I please, find a place that looks like it serves good food, and park my bike (safely). If I’m happy with the food and service, they get a positive review on Google Maps.
If word picks up that this resto’s got good yum cha, people are more likely to visit, reputation improves, and they get good business.
Seasoned bike commuters are familiar with their routes and neighborhoods. This makes them more aware of any changes in the area, such as newly opened businesses. By sharing this information through Google Maps, cyclists contribute to the platform’s accuracy and promote the best of what their turf’s got to offer.
How to Sign Up for the Google Maps Local Guides Program
In many ways, bike commuters are already local guides. The Google Maps Local Guides Program simply provides a platform through which users can share information to a wider audience. So it doesn’t hurt to create an account.
It’s absolutely free, mind you. Just have your Google account ready.
The process is straightforward:
- Sign in with your Google account.
- Visit the Local Guides sign-up page.
- Click Get Started.
- Agree to the program terms and conditions.
- Start contributing to Google Maps through reviews, photos, edits, ratings, and place updates.
Do you need to have a basic understanding of local search engine optimization (Local SEO) techniques to write reviews?
No. But it may be a plus if you add quantifiers like “paella in Makati” or “matcha bar in Kapitolyo.” Generic is just fine, but add those things to signal to Google that “Hey, this place is good for this food or drink, and I want people to know more about this place specifically for this food or drink.”
Help Your Favorite Local Business Thrive
Many of us already support our favorite local businesses by visiting regularly, recommending them to friends, or sharing photos on social media. Or, with me, featuring bike-friendly establishments on my Best By Bike series. Becoming a Google Maps Local Guide is just another way to show support.
Even the smallest contribution can help your favorite local businesses become more visible while giving potential customers better information before they visit.
For bike commuters, it’s another fun side-project. If they have bike parking, wheelchair accessibility, or vegan dishes, tell the world about it! Let us know if your favorite restaurant in your neck of the woods is worth going to without a car.
In doing so, you help not only individual businesses but also the communities that make Metro Manila worth exploring in the first place.
Feature photo from Norma Mortenson on Pexels
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