Google’s prestigious title of Top Contributor or Rising Star is a badge of honor for those who have attained it.
Have you ever needed help on a Google product or service and found yourself reaching out to the help forums? Millions of people have.
In order to support the multiple billions of people using Google products, it takes the hard work and dedication of average, everyday people who willingly volunteer their time to provide support and assistance.
That’s where the Google Top Contributor and Rising Star program come in. For those who have contributed significantly to specific Google products support forums and have displayed an expert level knowledge of their respective products, Google has developed a program in which to recognize and endorse these experts as Top Contributors and Rising Stars.
The Top Contributor Program is a group of Google product enthusiasts who earned the distinction of Top Contributor or Rising Star by sharing their knowledge in Google Help Forums and Help on Social.
Our very own Ben Fisher has been recognized as one of Google’s Rising Stars in the Google My Business Forum and decided it would be a great idea to give people a perspective about the program and some of the great people that contribute to it.
So we’ve created a series of questions for a handful of Google’s Top Contributors to see exactly what it means to them to contribute to the program.
Google’s Top Contributors
Below you will find the short set of questions we gave each contributor. Our questions are in bold and their responses are below the corresponding question.
Michael Blumenthal
Product: Google My Business
Do you remember when you first started using the product you’re now a top contributor for?
I started in 2005 before Local and Maps were integrated. I was living in a rural area and needed 8 Yellow Page books to prospect. I was able to throw them all away. It was an epiphany
When you first started using Google My Business, was there a Top Contributor who helped you out a lot?
There was no such thing as a Top Contributor when I started with the product. There were forums, there were angry, frustrated users and a there were a few of us that helped out without any Google support. A few of them, Treebles and Helmut are still TCs. Curmudgeons all.
What was it about Google My Business that got you interested in contributing to the community/forums about it?
Its value to the SMB was obvious but its flaws were legion. It was beautifully complex and if you got it right a business had a lot to gain and if you got it wrong, there was hell to pay. In those days it meant calls to your competitor’s phone number or your listing being hijacked and the calls going to an affiliate marketer. It was like the wild west.
Contributing to a Google product forum is a lot of work—why do it?
First, I wanted and still want to help small businesses succeed with the product.
Second, there is always something to learn and the best place to learn is to look at the odd cases
What’s one of the most common questions you get asked about Google My Business?
There are probably two:
- I can’t get the postcard, what should I do?
- My reviews disappeared, why?
If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about Google My Business, what would it be?
I have been at this for over 10 years and stopped waving magic wands about 3 years ago. Google screwed up so many times I can’t count them. I so rooted for them but they so consistently pointed the gun and fired at their cuboids that it’s amazing that everyone doesn’t hate them. Yet, they keep on plugging.
Joy Hawkins
Product: Google My Business, Google Maps
Do you remember when you first started using the Google My Business Help Forum?
I believe I first started posting on the forum back in 2010 or 2011.
When you first started using Google My Business, was there a Top Contributor who helped you out a lot?
Yes. Linda Buquet really helped me and she was my inspiration for becoming a TC. I also realized Mike Blumenthal was a TC and instantly wanted to be a part of that group.
What was it about Google My Business that got you interested in contributing to the community/forums about it?
My entire job revolves around GMB so I initially started using the forum to ask questions about clients. I quickly realized there were tons of others like me out there looking for help and it felt really good to be able to assist them with issues similar to the ones I was having.
Contributing to a Google product forum is a lot of work–why do it?
It’s both a career move and a hobby for me. I truly love what I do and if I didn’t, it would be much harder to devote extra time to helping users in the forum. Since I work in the Local SEO industry, having a vast knowledge of the product really benefits my clients. Personally, I feel the benefit when I’m able to help a user out of a frustrating situation.
What’s one of the most common questions you get asked about Google My Business?
Lots of posts lately are related to spam. There have been a lot of suspensions for locksmiths so we get a ton of those threads. We’re also seeing more people reporting spam that exists that they want removed.
If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about Google My Business, what would it be?
Currently I would say their Insights are frustrating me the most. Google does such a great job at Google Analytics but their GMB Insights are terrible. I recently wrote a write-up on some of the issues with it.
William Rock
Product: TC of Google Web Search and RS in Webmaster
Do you remember when you first started using the product you’re now a top contributor for?
I started out posting in the forums back in June 2012 when I was looking for information and help with web security and rankings. My primary area of Interest was Google Webmaster Central Help Forums and asked many questions and found that in time I was helping to answer the questions as well.
When you first started using Google Webmaster Central, was there a Top Contributor who helped you out a lot?
Yes, in fact many of our TC’s we see today in the Google Webmaster Central Forums from Sasch, StevieD, Luzie, webado, and many others including John Mueller. I was then asked by Matt Storms to hangout over at Google Web Search and meet some great Top Contributors.
What was it about Google Webmaster Central that got you interested in contributing to the community/forums about it?
My favorite was studying hacked websites as well algorithm penalties to help tune my skills for my employers. I learned a ton from the others in the forums, often challenging my answers giving me that opportunity to figure out the answer even better, especially when you sometimes could not obviously see the issue. I then learned how to use tools to better identify a website penalty helping me to define my site audits from a few days to now only 10 minutes giving me the time to help others.
Contributing to a Google product forum is a lot of work–why do it?
Yes, it is a ton of work and we do not get paid for doing so in dollars, but look at this as a constant challenge for my brain to keep me up to date with Google and its evolving technology. I have also had the opportunity of employers allowing me to spend a few hours a week in the forums on the clock for constant upkeep of my skills as I find answering questions much better than just going to a conference. Don’t get me wrong I do love attending them.
What’s one of the most common questions you get asked about Google Webmaster Central?
We seem to get a large variety of questions and prefer to answer most of the questions within Google Search. The number one question we get all the time is the variety of Google My Business questions. I have been on a mission to help educate the public through chambers of commerces now and through online webinars to help slow the amount of basic things such as, “I cannot change my business hours” or “Google has the wrong phone number how do I change it?” Many of those are simple and they have not verified their business.
Other hot questions we see a lot are the Captcha message where the computer may have malware and is pinging the Google search query like a robot would.
Another fun one we get in Web Search is ranking problems and or hacked sites just as we would in Webmaster Central.
We have a many random product questions within the Google Web Search as we are like the portal to all forums and we can transfer the questions to other forums if we cannot answer them.
Kinda like a smorgasbord of knowledge challenging questions, and would recommend any webmaster looking to get a head in their industry to have fun with what they do.
If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about Google Webmaster Central, what would it be?
I would love to see things like my simple tutorial for Chamber of Commerce’s used. Asking all the business owners in a Chamber meeting to open their phones up and type in their business name to see if they see the message Claim this Business. Here is a link to that simple tutorial.
Peggy K
Product: YouTube, Blogger, Google+, Hangouts, Project Fi
Do you remember when you first started using the product you’re now a top contributor for?
I became a Top Contributor for AdSense in 2010. That was followed over the years by YouTube, Blogger, Google+, Hangouts and Project Fi.
Currently I’m most active in the YouTube Help Forum.
I started using Blogger, YouTube and AdSense a decade or more ago, when you could sign into each product individually, rather than via a single unifying Google account.
Other products like Hangouts and Project Fi I’ve been using since they launched.
When you first started using the various product forums, was there a Top Contributor who helped you out a lot?
When I started using YouTube, Blogger and AdSense, I set things up on my own. I’m not sure there even were Top Contributors at the time.
What was it about the products you’ve contributed to that got you interested in contributing to the community/forums about it?
Back in 2009 I had a question about using AdSense. I don’t remember exactly what information I was looking for, but I found the answer in the AdSense help forum. And while I was there, I realized that I could answer someone else’s question. So that’s how I got started.
Contributing to a Google product forum is a lot of work–why do it?
I enjoy being able to help people by sharing what I know. When someone comes to the forum confused or frustrated, it’s a great feeling to be able to help them sort out their issue or better understand how the product works.
And I’ve found that the flip side of helping is learning. It’s not just that it’s helped me keep up with product updates. I’ve also developed a better understanding of how the products work and how to find information to answer my own questions.
Plus it’s great being in a group of knowledgeable and passionate users from all around the world.
What’s one of the most common questions you get asked about YouTube?
I always check for monetization-related questions. The one I respond to most frequently is “why was my monetization disabled?”.
If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about the YouTube Help Forum, what would it be?
With my TC hat on, I’d love for there to be more in-product information for users who have limitations placed on their account. Over the years the messaging has improved significantly, but it could be even better.
With my user hat on, I’d really like to see improved YouTube notifications for private messages and comments.
Tim Capper
Product: Google Maps
Do you remember when you first started using the product you’re now a top contributor for?
In 2001 I owned a restaurant and hotel in the Lake District (UK), when the area was devastated by the foot and mouth outbreak. The press at the time labeled the Lake District as “Closed”, overnight mine and other visitor dependent business were up against a wall. The question was, how do we let people know which businesses were open and crucially directions to get to them without going through quarantined areas. The answer was through Maps.
Google Maps did not exist at that time, so we created PDF maps, routes and directions which we hosted on our sites and also had the tourist board publish tons of them. When Google Maps was born in 2005 I had already moved into the online marketing space and this was a natural progression into pinning businesses onto Google Maps, so I have always been involved in some shape with Maps and Businesses.
When you first started using Google Help Forums, was there a Top Contributor who helped you out a lot?
In the Google My Business product Helmut Geissler was always great (and still is) with sharing his insights. The Top Contributor program is a little family within itself and there are other TC’s that lent their support to me too, like Eric Gehler, Masatake Wasa and Rob Maas.
What was it that got you interested in contributing to the community/forums about it?
I was involved in the webmaster forums and rather sheepishly never knew that a Google My Business help forum existed but when I discovered this, I dived right in.
Contributing to a Google product forum is a lot of work–why do it?
My motivation/interest for contributing to the product forums, stems from the fear and frustration that I felt as a business owner during the Foot and Mouth crisis. Every time I help a business in the product forums, I know there is one less thing for them to worry about knowing they have a presence on Google.
What’s one of the most common questions you get asked about Google Maps?
I would say the most common question would be, “Why is my business not appearing?” and also “I appear for xyz keyword but not abc keyword, Why?”
If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about Google Maps, what would it be?
My magic wand moment would be “3rd party data reliance” from review summaries, booking info, menus, events all being extracted from 3rd party applications, when the actual business owner could provide all of this information for you.
Google wants accurate information but they discount the actual business when it comes to providing it.
Margaret Ornsby
Product: Local Search Forum
Do you remember when you first started using the product you’re now a top contributor for?
It was somewhere around 2010. It was relatively easy at that stage to get quick wins for local businesses just by getting them into the local packs, and they loved the results they got from it. Easy way to make clients happy (and who doesn’t like that?).
When you first started using the Local Search Forum, was there a Top Contributor who helped you out a lot?
Initially I was getting help from a guy that would nowadays be called a black-hatter. Once I learned enough to get what was going on, I started looking for “a better way” and found the Local Search Forum which is run by Linda Buquet. She’s an excellent advocate for doing Local SEO and GMB the ethical way. Can’t sing her praises highly enough.
What was it about the Local Search Forum that got you interested in contributing to the community/forums about it?
There are two thing that came together.
First, I’m a pay it forward believer. The forums gave me a chance to help other people who knew less than I did, and people who were trying to get good help.
Secondly, you discover what you really don’t know about a topic when you try to teach & help others. The forums also gave me a chance to look at problems different to ones that I was solving for my clients, and that helps me.
Contributing to a Google product forum is a lot of work–why do it?
That’s an excellent question. Sometimes I ask myself the same thing. And then I remember – the two answers in your previous question.
What’s one of the most common questions you get asked about Local Search?
It depends a bit on the industry. By far the most common question for locksmiths is why their page gets suspended. And then, more often than not, I go looking at their online footprint and it’s not half obvious why Google would consider their listing a bit suss.
Reviews and verification questions are quite common, as are questions about how to show in the Knowledge Graph or in the local pack.
People reporting maps spam is another growing segment, sadly.
If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about Local Search, what would it be?
First wave of the magic wand would be to give me two magic wands. Do magic wands work like genie wishes?
One would be for better spam detection and the other for better reviews algorithms to cut the fake reviews.
If you forced me to pick just one, spam would be the winner by a nose.
Both of those can be done better– we see other companies doing a better job who don’t have half the number of clever brains in their staff as Google.
Ben Fisher
Product: Google My Business
Do you remember when you first started using the product you’re now a top contributor for?
I started using the local tools provided by Google around 2010.
When you first started using Google My Business Help Forum, was there a Top Contributor who helped you out a lot?
Beyond all the help in the forums, I had a lot of help from people like Linda Buquet and Joy Hawkins.
What was it about Google My Business that got you interested in contributing to the community/forums about it?
Professionally, I was looking for a way to learn more, and also wanted to get help with people who work directly with Google. I gain personal satisfaction, when I can help someone who is just having a hard time getting their hands around a problem, and more importantly they have hit a wall with support.
Contributing to a Google product forum is a lot of work–why do it?
Being recognized for your expertise is all well and good, and can impact a business’s bottom line. Networking with other TC’s is also important, the learning process is accelerated. At the end of the day, you are making an impact on someone’s life, that is also a just reward.
What’s one of the most common questions you get asked about Google My Business?
We see a lot of posts about verification issues, suspensions and also about reviews. Then there are the problems which are glitches between Google My Business and Maps, most of the times these problems must be escalated.
If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about Google My Business, what would be?
Oh now that is a simple answer, can I have more magic wands please? Seriously, listening to user feedback would be the biggest thing, a great example is what they recently did with the insights dashboard and also the removal of being able to edit your own company’s description.
Concluding Thoughts
It’s not easy being a Google Top Contributor or Rising Star, but these folks do it anyways. We feel it’s great to hear directly from them as it puts into perspective that these are real people, freely giving their time and knowledge to those seeking answers.
[clickToTweet tweet=”It was great hear from @Google Top Contributors & Rising Stars on why they do it.” quote=”It was great to hear from Google Top Contributors & Rising Stars on why they do it.”]
We greatly appreciate those who contribute to the various Google help forums and hope you do too. Also, if you ever need assistance with Google My Business, our team is ready and willing to help.
