The Fast Track to Level 10: A Guide to Posting Identical Photos and "Cool" Reviews

[FrancescDomingo]

Hello fellow Local Guides and moderators,

Have you ever wondered how some Local Guides manage to reach Level 10 so quickly? Well, I think I’ve cracked the code, and I’m here to share this groundbreaking strategy with you. Brace yourselves, because this might just revolutionize the way we contribute to Google Maps.

First, let’s talk about photos. We all know that adding photos to our reviews can provide valuable visual information for other users. But who says these photos have to be different? Why bother taking the time to capture various angles or aspects of a place when you can simply upload the same photo multiple times?

Take the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, for example. When you look at the photos for this location on Google Maps, you might notice a certain repetition. Specifically, you’ll see the same photo of Puppy, the museum’s famous flower-covered sculpture, uploaded six times in a row. And that’s not even counting the separate entry for Puppy itself!

Now, you might be thinking, “But surely these repeated photos don’t contribute much to the overall understanding of the place?” And to that, I say: “Exactly!” The beauty of this strategy lies in its simplicity. Why strive for diversity and depth in your contributions when you can reach Level 10 by flooding Google Maps with identical photos?

But wait, there’s more! This strategy isn’t just about photos. It also involves mastering the art of the “cool” review. Forget about providing detailed, thoughtful feedback about your experiences. All you need to do is write “cool” or “nice” and you’re good to go. After all, why waste time crafting informative reviews when a single word can earn you the same amount of points?

Now, I must confess, I have not personally tested this strategy. As a Local Guide who values quality over quantity, I prefer to spend my time writing detailed reviews and uploading diverse photos. But for those of you who are eager to reach Level 10 as quickly as possible, this might just be the strategy for you.

Just remember: When it comes to being a Local Guide, it’s not about helping others or contributing valuable information. It’s all about the points!

(Note: This post is intended to be ironic. Please continue to strive for quality in your contributions to Google Maps.)

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this revolutionary strategy.

Thank you for your time.

[monkeyass0374]

I like quality over numbers for sure.

[LaloPadilla]

I must say, excellent anti-guide to reach level 10 @FrancescDomingo , hopefully lots of points seekers read your post and it finally fulfill their dream to have that badge on their profile without worrying about the quality

Thanks for adding the note at the end of your post, just in case haha.

In case that you don’t know, there is a “Report profile” feature , you can tap this person’s profile , tap the 3 dots icon, tap “Report profile” and finally submit your report, I’m going to share this with the Local Guides team to take actions. Here is a post about reporting profiles

Hasta ahora veo que hablas español jaja, gracias por compartir tu post y sigue siendo un Local Guide enfocado en la calidad de tus contribuciones!

Saludos desde México

[FrancescDomingo]

Gracias @LaloPadilla por tu respuesta.

En primer lugar, sí, hablo español. Soy catalán y el español es mi segundo idioma, el inglés sería el tercero. Por cierto, estudié una temporada en Londres y coincidí con mexicanos, gente fantástica. México es un país que admiro.

Sobre reportar perfiles, no soy partidario, a no ser que fuera algo exagerado y de falta de respeto. Pero he reportado muchas fotos que no correspondían a los lugares donde se habían subido y tampoco ha tenido ningún efecto ya que no se han eliminado.

Un abrazo desde Catalunya!

[Vanalai]

Well… This topic has been in my head for some time and you took it out.

Recently I check few profiles that are 9 and 10 - people who still complian about being hidden. But when I check theirs profiles, mostly photos it was like ‘wtf’? Some of them become that level in 1 year .

Just finished check profiles of 2 people.

1st - just in last max 2 weeks posted double photos in 7-8 places.

2nd person action was like “go to shop, buy 10 products, put each one on the table, make between 2 to 4 photos of each product, upload”. The oldest review at this profile was from 9 months ago.

Just 2 days ago I check another 10 lvl LG. Well that person could sell his photos to some stock webistes - but publish 10 photos same kind but sligthy different view of poppy fields is not a good idea.

We all have problems with hidden reviews etc, but looks like this is effect not only becasue google released that new AI system amongs map, BUT because of high lvl LG who continu spamming .

Im not a good example, I also post similar photos but at least I try to capture a different angles or dinstance. Sometimes in that few years journey I might publish to many photos of some places. And now since some of my reviews was hidden becasue of screenshots and photo collages, I also check historiy of photos from 1 year, and realized that if a photo after 1 year still got a low views that maybe that photo is nit usefull and removed already 50 or more photos… And then I saw profiles that I mentioned above and was sad.

Many of those people still complain about reviews being hidden, feel frustrating etc. I get it - I was mad, I was frustrated too. But I did my leassons and continue to organize photos to be usefull, not just focus on scores. If those people will give up becasue of ‘frustrating’ AI system that tries to blok theirs spamming activity, well, maybe that will be best way!

[Vanalai]

Just in this moment, found a post from a 9 lvl LG complain that recent reviews had been hidden. I’ve check photos

those photo are same, just 2 are in colors and 2 black/white, published in 1 venue, just an hour ago

/edited post, becasue my intention was to see problem of spaming photos in 1 venue

[MortenCopenhagen]

Hi @Vanalai

I’m not sure what your intentions are.

Please see How to identify and report fraud on Google Maps and
You can now report entire profiles for abuse on Google Maps. You probably already know this.

Also, kindly be careful when accusing fellow LGs for wrongdoing. I could find the profile based on your screenshot in 10 seconds. Often it is better to raise your hand and a moderator can get the profile link from you in a pm.

Or maybe you wanted to discuss why there are so many bad contributions on Google Maps? And we could discuss how Google Maps could provide much better education and guidance to Maps users.

All the best

Morten

[Vanalai]

@MortenCopenhagen

I know it is easy to find a person in 10s.

I didn’t post a name, because I didn’t want to focus on exact person, but the problem with spamming of photos.

Thank you for links about to report, BUT I did report photos for over a year and I do not see any improvement. Really, or maybe the places where I did report were not so much important. (usuall very bad quality, wrong places, or really private photo from published in a museum).

I have no briliant idea how Google Maps could provide much education if people do not want to learn. Again, I do not want to point a finger, but today just checked a profile of person who continue to complain hidden reviews and I see that person did this same action again, exactly the same. But since photos are not connected to any review, system allow to upload them .

I’m not in position to jugde if some photos will be usefull or not for sure, because simply I might not be in a recievers group of such place. But I start to see a bigger problem with spamming photos. And THAT transfered my frustration from AI system to those who still complain but change nothing. I spend time on cleaning photos (not all yet of course) and in the same time 2-3 other 9 lvls continue to spam.

[MortenCopenhagen]

@Vanalai

I know it is frustrating to see so many bad contributions.

One thing, the notion that only photos uploaded with a review get checked by tre spamfilter is not correct. There is a spamfilter specifically for photos and all photos get checked.

All the best

Morten

[Vanalai]

@MortenCopenhagen

“One thing, the notion that only photos uploaded with a review get checked by tre spamfilter is not correct.”

Well, my experience from 1 month shows something different imho. Even a review with some photos has been tagged and hidden, 1 extra photo added separately to venue was immediately visible without restrictions. Not just 1 situation but more. I tried this on venues that haven’t got any photos. There is one venue where my review is still hidden, but photo added separetly is visible and I the number of views is growing.

Also, I visited in June a small town. I made a reviews of 2 venuse which was immediately hidden and I did appeals, then I scrolled photos that I made in this town, decided to add only photos without reviews (or rating) to few different venuse in town and those photos were immediately visible.

Also, in previous post I mentioned I check some other 9 lvl profiles, rigth?

I cover the name of the venues, because again, I dont want to point a finger at anyone but system…

This screenshot shows that sending even 9 duplicate photos can be uploaded.

And here screenshot that same photos were upload in a difference of 3h

Those were same photos. Definitely not photo and video with same mini, I check all of them and already reported as a doubles. ‍

So, If you are sure that there is photo spamfilter, then for sure it does not work properly… ‍

[MortenCopenhagen]

@Vanalai

Nighter filter works well in my opinion.

The fact that you see photos go public while reviews do not could simply be due to the currently too sensitive review spam filter.

All the best

Morten

[FrancescDomingo]

Hello @Vanalai and @MortenCopenhagen ,

I’ve been following this thread with interest and I completely understand and share the frustration expressed by @Vanalai and others. I’ve had all my recent reviews blocked, even though I believe they were useful and informative. It’s disheartening to put effort into writing a detailed review, only to see it blocked for no apparent reason. However, once these reviews are published, without any intervention from my end, they consistently appear as the most relevant reviews. As of now, I believe all my reviews are published. This suggests that someone finds them useful, which makes the initial blocking even more perplexing. I should note that I check this in incognito mode to ensure an unbiased view.

I also share the sentiment about the quality of contributions on Google Maps. When I visit places and start seeing photos that don’t add any value, just quantity, and reviews that are equally unhelpful, it’s disheartening. These contributions only serve to earn points for the contributor, but they clutter the platform with low-quality content, making it harder for users to get an accurate impression of the place.

Over the years, I’ve reported numerous erroneous photos, i.e., photos that are of a different place altogether, not to mention the repeated ones. However, I’ve seen little to no effect from these reports.

I’ve been contributing to Google Maps for five years now. I’ve uploaded 1963 photos and 710 videos, and I’ve amassed 60 million views. Yet, I’ve seen Local Guides with 30 to 50 thousand photos that have very few views, and they’re at Level 10. This disparity clearly shows that the current points system is flawed and, in my opinion, is the biggest threat to the credibility of Google Maps.

We need to shift the focus from quantity to quality. The points system should be revised to reward valuable contributions, not just the sheer number of them. Only then can we ensure that Google Maps remains a reliable and useful tool for everyone.

In conclusion, I believe that the points system, as it currently stands, is the main enemy of Google Maps’ reputation. It encourages quantity over quality, leading to a flood of low-quality contributions that do not truly help users. While we as Local Guides certainly do not have a say in Google’s policies, I feel it’s important to voice these concerns, not just as a Local Guide, but also as a user of Google Maps. After all, the ultimate goal should be to provide useful, reliable information to all users.

Best regards,

Francesc

[MortenCopenhagen]

Hi @FrancescDomingo

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Two comnents:

When logged in the user will always see his own review listed first. This does not indicate relevance.

Photoviews and points are separate. Views are actually much closer to indicating quality and helpfulness when compared to points.

Otherwise I pretty much agree with what you wrote.

Cheers

Morten

[FrancescDomingo]

Hi @MortenCopenhagen ,

Thank you for your response. I just wanted to clarify that when I mentioned my reviews appearing as the most relevant, I was referring to checking them in incognito mode, not while logged into my account. This was to ensure an unbiased view of their relevance. I’m attaching a screenshot that shows a comparison of a review initially blocked in my profile and the same review appearing as the most relevant when viewed in incognito mode. I appreciate your insights and agree with your point about photo views being a better indicator of quality and helpfulness than points.

Best regards,

Francesc

[MortenCopenhagen]

@FrancescDomingo

Perfect. I rest my case. It is quite unusual that someone is aware of the need to use incognito mode.

Well done.

Cheers

Morten

[Vanalai]

@FrancescDomingo

I think that ‘incognito’ won’t change that.

If you shows review added to this place - https://maps.app.goo.gl/t27kCp6Zh1MGbj4z9 then sorry but your review is not visible to the world

If you published in differen venue with same name let me know, I will check

That is why I do not use incognito status, but check on my partner phone or sometimes on PC after log out.

@MortenCopenhagen

About photo views and points, I think @FrancescDomingo meant was that people get tons of points for uploaded photos, whether they’re helpful or not.

Rating - 1 point

1 review - 10 or 20 points depend on text

1 photo - 5 points / 50 photos per review - 250 points

9 lvl = 50 000 points = 10 000 photos

40 venues, each with 50 photos = 9 lvl

2 profiles that I check for fun had average 20 photos per venue = 100 points

So… 100 venues, each with 20 photos = 9 lvl

Maybe the problem is in the number of photos that system allowed. We can add 50 photos attached to review, but to be honest I do not know is same 50 is for photos NOT attached. If people couldn’t publish 50 photos or not even 20 of some venue, then MAYBE they will start to pay attention to what they publish if they got limit for example 10 fotos and 5 videos.

(yes, I also publish sometimes more than 20 but now when i go back and see thst some had very low numer views I treat them as unusefull and remove them… I do not expect other will do that, just mention about it as I have learnt that to many photos is not good)

Also in restaurants i pay attention for better photos of food than building itself - 1st because when I choose new restaurant I always check what I can eat through the food photos section, and 2nd yes food photos give chance for extra points for tag name of the food, but that means I pay need to pay attention about what is on the photo, right?

My other suggestion that maybe lvl should be depend not only on points but also on lvl of badges. Maybe not all but some? So not only photos/reviews/ratings but also other stats like answers/editions/new places/verifications.

Some would say that this might destroy of fun, but will it? I remember when I was struggle to make 50 added places. Had like for 45 and ‘omg how I can add those 5’. But later had opportunity to see new places and let say opportunity to clean the map - here some changes, here some hours, here some name translation, here add new place, and suddenly i see I’ve crossed those ‘50’ a long time ago… so when i wanted ‘work’ for those 50 venues I had fun with other aspects.

But of course that is just my opinion…

[FrancescDomingo]

Hi @MortenCopenhagen ,

I started using incognito mode when I realized that what I was seeing, both photos and reviews, was not the same as what Maps users were seeing. I found it regrettable that I had unpublished posts without any notice.

Although I must say that now it seems that all of them are published.

Yes, it’s sad to go like this, mainly because I have to admit that I have greatly reduced my activity on Maps.

Best regards,

Francesc

[FrancescDomingo]

Hello @Vanalai ,

Thank you for your response. I want to clarify that I checked my review visibility in incognito mode on both my computer and phone, and my review appears as the most relevant one (just now).

I believe that checking on a friend’s phone, especially if they follow you, may not provide the same view that general Maps users see. That’s why I find incognito mode reliable.

I agree with your suggestion about limiting the number of photos and videos for a place. For instance, there could be no limit for 360 photos as they can provide a walkthrough, but there should be a limit for regular photos and videos. Or at least, not allow more than two photos or videos to be uploaded per day per place. This would also prevent the mass uploading of photos from various places to a single place, which I’ve noticed is also common.

[FrancescDomingo]

Hello @Vanalai ,

Thank you for your private message and for sharing your observations. I’ve also noticed that the relevance of reviews on Google Maps seems to be influenced by the language settings of the device used to access the platform. When I checked the link you provided in incognito mode on my tablet (which is set to English), the first reviews displayed were those written originally in English. This suggests that the language set on the user’s device determines the order in which reviews are displayed. It seems that the relevance of my reviews is limited to those who have their device language set to Catalan.

Best regards,

Francesc

[Vanalai]

I came across this profile by accident, because I was checking my reviews from rio de janeiro. This profile has dozens of such reviews, where most or all of the photos are face selfies.

Great photo and review spam filter

this review is visible and yet mine just with one photo of sculpture in this place is hidden

And here - 14 of selfie together and 11 solo selfies - 25 usless/private photos… 25 = 125 points…

Such reviews - arround 20 - published in last fews days, maximum 3 weeks ago. Older than a month look similar, however less photos.

Such examples demotivated me ehhh

Already reported.