Google Maps is one of the most popular navigation apps in the world. It is relied upon by commuters across the globe to travel to destinations they have never been to, explore new places in their neighbourhood, estimate time to travel between work and home and even look for places inside a building. Needless to say that it is a very useful tool. Did you know you can also earn money using Google Maps?
First, a bit about Google Maps’ Local Guides Point.
Google Maps gives points to the users for contributing to making the navigational platform more useful and accurate. Google Maps gives points to people who describe their experience with reviews, share photographs and videos, provide insights with answers, respond to questions about a place, update information with place edits, add missing places, or verify information by checking facts. These points vary with contribution. For instance writing a review earns you 10 points while editing details about a place gives you just 5 points.
| Maps contribution | Points earned |
|---|---|
| Review | 10 points per review |
| Review with more than 200 characters | 10 bonus points per review |
| Rating | 1 point per rating |
| Photo | 5 points per photo |
| Photo tags | 3 points per tag |
| Video | 7 points per video |
| Answer | 1 point per answer |
| Respond to Q&As | 3 points per response |
| Edit | 5 points per edit |
| Place added | 15 points per place added |
| Road added | 15 points per road added |
| Fact checked | 1 point per fact checked |
| Eligible list published | 10 points per published list |
| Description (in list) | 5 points per description added |
As these points grow, so does your level. When a person has gathered 250 points they get a star. As these points keep increasing and the local guide crosses various landmarks such as 1500 points, 5000 points, 15000 points and more, the level of the local guide keeps increasing and so does the complexity of the start.
| Level | Points | Badge |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 0 points | No badge |
| Level 2 | 15 points | No badge |
| Level 3 | 75 points | No badge |
| Level 4 | 250 points | Star |
| Level 5 | 500 points | Star |
| Level 6 | 1,500 points | Star |
| Level 7 | 5,000 points | Star |
| Level 8 | 15,000 points | Star |
| Level 9 | 50,000 points | Star |
| Level 10 | 100,000 points | Star |
But these points aren’t useful in the real world at all.
Meaning, you cannot redeem these points for money in the real world. You also cannot redeem it for points on Google’s Play Store. Simply said, other than bragging rights (if any), these contributions are good for nothing.
But is there is another way?
While there is no direct way of earning money from Google Maps, there are two side jobs (sort of) that will help you earn money from Google Maps.
First is a Map Analyst. A map analyst detertmines the relevance and accuracy of information in a map by performing online research and referring to guidelines provided to you. Lionbridge is a company that works with companies like Google to ensure that maps and search results and other internet-related information is accurate and working swiftly. The job is flexible and it pays $10 (Rs 756 approx.) to $16 (Rs 1,211) per hour.
The second way is becoming an online marketing consultant. An online marketing consultant uses SEO, ads and user generated content to bring more customers to small businesses. You can help small businesses get noticed online and get more customers. Or you can optimise their online presence such that they get more customers. However, you do need some marketing knowledge and web development skills for the same.