Donkey laughs at dog after it touches the electric fence
Last Updated: November 26, 2024
Google Partner Badges: Why They Don’t Mean What You Think
Last Updated: November 25, 2024
If you’ve been burned by marketing companies before, you’re not alone. Small business owners—especially in industries like plumbing, HVAC, landscaping, and others—have long been targeted by slick-talking marketers making big promises. One of the shiniest carrots these companies dangle? The “Google Partner” badge.
It sounds impressive, right? A stamp of approval from the world’s biggest tech company. But here’s the truth: that badge is way easier to get than you think.
Let’s break it down.
What Is a Google Partner Badge, Really?
The Google Partner program is supposed to identify agencies with advanced skills in running Google Ads campaigns. To earn the badge, an agency has to meet three basic requirements:
- Spend at least $10,000 on Google Ads over 90 days.
- Maintain a 70% optimization score in their ad accounts.
- Have 50% of their team certified in Google Ads.
At first glance, this might seem like a rigorous process. But when you look closer, the cracks start to show.
How Easy Is It to Get?
Let’s put it this way: as long as you spend enough money, the rest is child’s play. Here’s why:
1. The Ad Spend ($10,000 over 90 days)
This is the only challenging part. If an agency handles high-budget clients, they can hit this mark with no problem—regardless of whether they’re running campaigns effectively. Google doesn’t care if the money is being wasted on poorly targeted ads. They just care that it’s being spent.
2. The Optimization Score (70%)
This score is shockingly easy to achieve. Google itself tells agencies what to do to improve their score—things like:
- Running more campaigns (whether they’re strategic or not).
- Adding broad match keywords (which often lead to wasted clicks).
- Turning on Google’s automated bidding (which prioritizes spending your money faster).
Following Google’s suggestions will almost always boost your score, but you can just DISMISS them and your score will go up too! Essentially, as long as you RESPOND, positively or negatively, to the suggestion, they give you the optimization points. An optimization score of 70% is effectively nothing more than a participation trophy.
3. The Certifications
Agencies only need 50% of their team certified, and getting certified isn’t as hard as you’d think:
- The certification exams are free.
- You can take them as many times as you want.
- You can find the answers online in about two seconds.
In other words, the person running your campaign might not even be certified, and if they are, there’s no guarantee they know what they’re doing. The test doesn’t measure creativity, strategy, or problem-solving—just how well someone memorized Google’s rulebook.
Why Google Wants It This Way
Let’s not forget who benefits most from the Google Partner program: Google. Their goal isn’t to ensure your campaigns succeed; it’s to get more people to spend more money on ads. As long as agencies:
- Spend tens of thousands of dollars every quarter, and
- Don’t let campaigns fall embarrassingly low on performance metrics…
Google wins. The badge exists to give agencies a tool to sell you on their services while giving you the illusion of guaranteed credibility.
What This Means for You
If you’re hiring someone to run your Google Ads campaigns, don’t be dazzled by the badge. It’s no guarantee of expertise, and it certainly doesn’t mean they’ll get you results. Here’s what you should focus on instead:
- Find out how the billing works. Ideally, there should be two fees. One for managing the campaign, and one for the ad spend. Otherwise, there’s a built-in incentive for the portion the marketing company keeps to grow until $1 before you complain. So you really want to have a clear understanding of how much is spent on each thing. Prospect Genius, for example, charges the management fee directly, and then Google bills directly for the traffic. That way, there’s no possible way to cheat.
- Ask for case studies. What results have they delivered for businesses like yours?
- Get transparency. Will they show you the actual performance metrics for your campaigns?
- Demand a tailored strategy. Cookie-cutter campaigns waste money and fail to deliver meaningful results.
The Bottom Line
The Google Partner badge is little more than a marketing gimmick. It’s not proof of skill, strategy, or even basic competence. It’s a participation badge that rewards spending YOUR money with Google.
If an agency leads with their Google Partner status, ask yourself: What else do they have to offer? Because if they’re relying on that badge to win your trust, they probably don’t have much else to show for themselves.
Don’t Use Your Social Media Profile As Your “Website” in Google Maps
Last Updated: November 18, 2024
If you’re using your Facebook page as the “website” on your Google Business Profile (GBP), it’s time to make a change, right now! Google’s rules have been tightened up regarding this practice, and failing to follow their guidelines can lead to serious consequences, including suspensions.
What’s the Issue?
- Suspensions Are on the Rise
Google now penalizes businesses that use a social media link—like a Facebook page—in the “website” field of their GBP. This field is specifically for a business’s main website, and misusing it can result in your GBP being flagged or suspended. - Social Links Have a Proper Home
Google has a dedicated section within the GBP interface for social media links. This is where they want you to include your Facebook, Instagram, or other social profiles—not in the “website” field. - Your Website Is a Ranking Factor
Having a proper website linked to your GBP isn’t just about compliance—it’s also a ranking signal. A well-structured, relevant website boosts your visibility in local search results. Choosing to leave the “website” field blank means you’re willingly ranking lower than you could.
What’s the Solution?
- Link to a Real Website
If you don’t already have a website, it’s crucial to get one. A simple one-page website is enough to satisfy Google’s requirements and can act as a digital business card for your company. - No More Free Websites From Google
Google used to offer a free, one-page website option for GBP users. However, this feature was discontinued in early 2024. If you’re relying on this or haven’t replaced it yet, now’s the time to find an alternative. - Consider an Ultra-Affordable Replacement
Services like Prospect Genius’s GBP Website Replacement can fill the gap left by Google’s free websites. These highly-affordable, single-page sites are designed to meet GBP requirements, look professional, and instead of being a dead-end, they even allow for easy upgrades in the future if your needs grow. This ensures you won’t have to scrap your site and start over, saving you time and money.
The Bottom Line
Using your Facebook page as your “website” in your GBP might seem like a quick fix, but it’s a shortcut that can cost you. Google has clear expectations for where social media links should go, and failing to comply can hurt your GBP visibility—or worse, get your listing suspended.
A proper website is not just a best practice; it’s a necessity. Even a simple, affordable site can make a big difference in your rankings and your customers’ trust.
Don’t risk your GBP status. Update your listing today, and if you need help getting an affordable, compliant website, there are plenty of options out there to make the process quick and easy.
Google Business Profiles: Address-Based, Service-Area, and Hybrid
Last Updated: November 8, 2024
A Google Business Profile (GBP) is an essential tool for local businesses looking to boost visibility in Google Search and Maps. However, we find there’s a lot of confusion about Google’s rules governing the use of each type of GBP. “There are different types?!” Yeah, that’s usually where the conversation starts…
Google offers different profile types—address-based, service-area, and hybrid—designed to match various business setups. Knowing the differences and rules around each type can help your business to not only appear in relevant searches and attract the right customers, but most-importantly, to avoid the dreaded penalties associated with picking the wrong one for your situation.
Let’s explore these three types of profiles and discuss which one is best suited for your business type.
1. Address-Based Google Business Profile
Address-based profiles are designed for businesses with a physical location where customers can visit. By listing a visible address, these profiles can rank highly in searches within that area, making them powerful for businesses aiming to capture nearby customers. This local ranking advantage has led some businesses to use virtual addresses in desirable locations, like city centers, to rank higher—though Google strictly prohibits this practice. Furthermore, they have implemented new verification requirements that make these sorts of tricks effectively impossible to pull off.
Pros:
- Strong Local Ranking: Address-based profiles rank well for searches close to the listed address. This can be particularly advantageous in high-demand areas, as the business is seen as “established” and easy to locate.
- Increased Customer Trust: A visible address signals legitimacy and reliability, which can be especially reassuring for customers seeking a physical location.
Considerations:
- Follow Google’s Rules: Using a virtual address or other tricks to appear in high-traffic areas is now very difficult and can result in severe penalties, including suspension of your profile. It’s crucial to stay within Google’s guidelines to avoid potential setbacks.
2. Service-Area Google Business Profile
A service-area business (SAB) profile is ideal for home-based businesses or those that only travel to customers. For industries like plumbing, HVAC, and electrical work, a service-area profile allows you to show your general service radius without displaying an exact address. While not as powerful in local ranking algorithms as an address-based profile, the SAB option gives you the visibility you need while protecting your privacy. After all, you don’t want an upset customer knocking on the door where your kids live…
Pros:
- Privacy for Home-Based Businesses: You can list a service area instead of an exact location, so potential customers won’t see your home address. This maintains professionalism and privacy, reducing the risk of unexpected visits.
- Reaches Nearby Customers: Though less powerful than address-based profiles, a well-defined service area helps your business appear in searches within your radius, allowing you to connect with customers in your service zone.
Considerations:
- Accept Limitations in Search Rankings: Service-area profiles may not rank as highly as address-based profiles for nearby searches. However, using an address for your SAB profile is against Google’s rules and could result in suspension.
3. Hybrid Google Business Profile
The hybrid profile is designed for businesses with both a physical location where customers can visit and an on-site service component. Hybrid GBPs show an address while also allowing you to list a service area radius, making them ideal for businesses with a “brick-and-mortar plus” model, like pizza shops with dine-in and delivery or professionals like photographers who work both in-studio and at clients’ locations. Other examples include massage therapists, any type of take-out restaurant with in-store seating (Chinese food for example), or automotive glass repair services.
Pros:
- Flexible Customer Reach: Hybrid profiles allow businesses to rank for both “near me” searches as well as broader service-area searches, giving you the best of both worlds.
- Appeals to Diverse Customer Needs: This setup can attract walk-in customers and those looking for services delivered to their door, helping you grow your client base.
Considerations:
- Only Use If Applicable: Google expects hybrid profiles to accurately reflect businesses that operate in both modes. Trying to use a hybrid model without a genuine physical location or service area can lead to penalties.
Final Tips and Best Practices
- Stay Within Google’s Guidelines: Attempting to game the system by misrepresenting your address or profile type can result in harsh penalties, including the suspension or removal of your listing. Google’s rules are in place to ensure accurate and helpful results for users, so it’s crucial to adhere to them.
- Keep Your Profile Updated: Accurate information on hours, service areas, and contact details is essential for all profile types. Google rewards profiles that keep their information current, so regularly review and update your GBP.
- Choose Based on Business Needs: Each profile type has unique benefits designed to suit specific business models. By aligning your GBP with how your business truly operates, you can maximize your reach without risking penalties.
- PRO TIP: Your hours of operation now help to control when you’ll be shown for searches. If you list that you’re only open until 5pm, you can expect not to be shown in searches for your services after 5pm. It’s worth considering solutions that would enable you to receive live customer calls longer than you previously have, so that you can expand your advertised hours of operation and rank in more searches.
By selecting the right Google Business Profile type—whether address-based, service-area, or hybrid—you’ll build credibility, improve local visibility, and attract the ideal customers to your business.
Dog Leaves Nothing to Interpretation
Last Updated: November 1, 2024
