A Google review with real content, photos and video is not read ten times but thousands of times. That is the claim of this test, measured on Gijs Bodenstaff’s Local Guide account from July 2025 to July 2026. All figures come from Google itself: from the monthly emails, milestones and summaries of the Local Guides programme.
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Join the waitlistThe claim: from Local Guide level 6, thousands of people read along
Local Guides earn points for reviews, photos, videos, answers and edits in Google Maps. According to Google, level 6 starts at 1,500 points, level 7 at 5,000 and level 8 at 15,000 points. The lab’s experience is that from about level 6, reviews are read and viewed thousands of times within a few weeks, especially with photos or videos. We tested that with one account: Gijs’s, at level 7 in 2025 and at level 8 since 2026.
What a detailed review with photos looks like
The reviews in this test follow a fixed pattern: what you ordered, what it cost, how the service was, and several of your own photos. Google adds labels such as “dine in”, “lunch” and the price range. Four examples below, from old to new.
Result per contribution: thousands of views in days to weeks
Google Maps shows the number of views for each of your own contributions. These five contributions from August 2025, from old to new:
| Business | Age of the contribution | Views |
|---|---|---|
| O resto-bar | one month | 21,174 |
| Le French Café, Voorstraat 16 | 4 weeks | 14,992 |
| Bacio Amersfoort | 3 days | 6,082 |
| De Burgemeesters | 3 days | 3,711 |
| De Lieve Vrouw | 3 days | 3,165 |
Result per month: from 288,681 to 801,821 views
Every month Google Local Guides emails how many new views all contributions together received. In the second half of 2025 that almost tripled:
Result per year and per milestone
- 2025: 1,311 contributions, 7,916 points and 5.01 million views.
- Most viewed review of 2025: Ross Holidays, 64,811 views.
- Most viewed photo of 2025: The Potting Shed, 97,343 views.
- Total photo views: 2 million on 28 October 2025, 3.5 million on 17 February 2026 and 5 million on 5 May 2026.
- First half of 2026: 979 new contributions (161 reviews, 527 photos, 43 videos, 220 answers) with 1,733,646 views together. The most popular contribution reached 81,213 views.
Conclusion: a detailed review with your own photos or video by an active Local Guide is viewed thousands of times within days, and tens of thousands of times within a month. For a local business it is one of the most read texts about the place.
Explained in the review management workshop
In April 2025 Gijs gave a review management workshop for hospitality staff in Baarn. Three short clips (in Dutch):
What this test does not prove
- It concerns one account. Whether level 6 is the exact threshold was not measured separately: we have no figures for this account below level 7.
- Views are not readers. Google counts how often a contribution was shown or viewed.
- Photos and videos count in the totals. The share from text reviews alone is not listed separately in the emails.
What a local business does with this result
- Ask happy guests for a review with one or two of their own photos, and mention what they can describe: dish, price, service.
- Reply to every review, positive and negative. How fast chains do that is covered in the review test at 100 franchise chains.
- Keep your own photos in your Google Business Profile up to date: guests compare them with what Local Guides show.
- Never pay for or reward reviews. Google forbids it in its user contributed content policy.
Related lab tests
- review response speed at franchise chains, 500 Business Profiles examined.
- the Google Maps hack with 100 phones, the blackhat side of local signals.
- the YouTube Shorts test, in which video appeared in Google AI within an hour.
Frequently asked questions
How often is a Local Guide's Google review viewed?
In this test, single contributions with a photo or video reached 3,165 to 6,082 views in three days and 14,992 to 21,174 views in four weeks to a month. The most viewed review of 2025 reached 64,811 views. All figures come from Google Local Guides emails.
What is Google Local Guide level 6?
Local Guides earn points for reviews, photos, videos, answers and edits in Google Maps. Level 6 starts at 1,500 points, level 7 at 5,000 and level 8 at 15,000 points.
Are Local Guide reviews shown more often?
Google does not say that the level itself counts. What this test shows: an account with many detailed reviews, photos and videos gets thousands of views per contribution. Whether level 6 is the exact threshold was not measured separately.
Do views equal reviews read?
Not quite. Google counts how often a contribution was shown or viewed. That is an upper limit for the number of people who actually read the review.
Why do photos and videos help a review?
In this account's figures, most views come from photos and videos: the most viewed photo of 2025 had 97,343 views. Images make a review stand out in Google Maps and show what a guest really got.
How do I get more detailed reviews with photos as a business?
After a good experience, ask guests for a review with one or two photos and mention what they can describe: dish, price, service. Reply to every review. Never pay for or reward reviews; Google forbids it.
May I pay Local Guides for a review?
No. Google forbids reviews that are bought or rewarded, including through discounts. Simply invite guests to share their honest experience.
Sources
- Google Local Guides, monthly emails to Gijs Bodenstaff on new views: July to November 2025.
- Google Local Guides, 2025 year summary (15 January 2026) and 2026 half-year summary (16 July 2026).
- Google Maps, photo view milestone emails: 28 October 2025, 17 February 2026, 5 May 2026.
- Screenshots of own contributions and reviews in Google Maps, August 2025, own archive.
- Google, Local Guides points, levels and badging.
