What is a Google Partner?
Digital marketing agencies can become part of the Google Partner network if they exceed the threshold for ad performance through Google Ads, take and pass annual certifications across the Google products, and are using best practice techniques when running Google Ads. When an agency becomes a Google Partner there are multiple benefits to both the agency and you as the client. These are:
- Continuous skill set improvement through annual certifications which have to be passed to maintain partner status.
- Business Support in the form of a dedicated account manager and strategist at Google that works with the agency to grow and improve your Google Ads.
- Invitations to events - both online and in-person at Google Headquarters, to gain insight into the latest search engine trends and technologies.
As a client, you will know that your agency, if they are in the partner programme, is working to the best and latest practices, whilst always improving their skill set to work more effectively on your account.
What additional work needs to be done to gain and maintain the status?
Performance
A large proportion of performance is graded on the adoption of new features for marketers. This can include utilising Dynamic Search Ads, Responsive Search Ads and Responsive Display Ads, or expanding your reach on the discovery network. All of these features can improve the conversion rate of your Google Ads if they are used correctly. Google also use the account optimisation score towards your performance level as a partner: the more optimised your client’s account, the better your performance will be.
Certifications
The annual exams that need to be taken by members of the team include:
- Google Analytics Individual Qualification
- Google Ads Search
- Google Ads Display
- Google Ads Video,
- Shopping Ads
- Google Ads Measurement
- Google Ads Apps
This ensures that the team who are managing your Google Ad account are always working on the latest and developing technologies. For example, if your agency team first trained on Google Ads six years ago, back when it was Google AdWords, but hasn't kept up to date with their certifications, or attended Google conferences, they may be lacking in their up-to-date knowledge of how to progress your account further. But if your agency is a Google Partner, and they are required to take part in 23.5 hours of training and then complete seven exams each year, as well as attend monthly conferences and webinars, and fortnightly account manager and strategist calls, they are going to have the latest knowledge, practices and strategy to enable you to grow and achieve a successful ROI.
Each year, agencies within the Partner Programme are reviewed and if they are meeting the guidelines, they will maintain their status. On the other hand, if staff haven't passed their certifications, or the performance levels haven't been met, then an agency’s status will be revoked.
How to find out if your agency is a Google Partner
There are a couple of ways to find out if the agency you are working with is a Google Partner. You can either simply ask them, or you can check their website. Google Partner agencies showcase the partner logo within their accreditation page or in their footer, some also have it on their email signatures, as like us they are proud to be partnered with a reputable organisation like Google.
If you would like to see how an accredited Google Partner agency could improve your marketing campaigns - get in touch with our digital marketing team, who will be more than happy to discuss your account.
