In early February 2020, Google announced that a brand new Google Partners program would be launched in the middle of the year. However, due to the overall challenge of the coronavirus, Google decided in April to delay the planned launch of the new program until 2021 and ultimately February 2022.
But what changes with the new Google Partners program anyway?
The changes include the following three subsections:
“Performance” area
In the area of performance, Google did not previously provide any precise information on how to fulfill this point at all as an agency. It simply listed that solid growth and a loyal and growing customer base are critical to status. In the new Google Partners program, performance now refers to the optimization factor of the agencies’ Google Ads management account.
The optimization factor is an estimate of the performance of a Google Ads account. The value ranges from 0% to 100%. Together with the optimization factor, you get a list of recommendations that could be used to optimize the campaigns. For each recommendation, it is displayed in % how much the optimization factor is influenced if you adopt the recommendation.
In the future, the Google Ads management account must have an optimization factor of at least 70% to retain Google Partner status. However, you can decide for yourself whether you want to implement Google’s recommendations or reject them. This keeps it possible to take into account the individual goals of our customers. After all, not every recommendation Google suggests makes sense for a customer’s strategy.
“Spend” area
In the area of spend, the specifications do not change for the time being. A minimum of $10,000 must be spent on Google Ads within the last 90 days.
“Certifications” area
In the area of certifications, Google has never been as strict as it is now. Previously, only at least one person from the company had to successfully pass the Google Ads basic exam and an additional exam with a chosen specialization to receive the Google Ads certification.
In the new program, at least 50% of Account Strategists (company employees who manage Google Ads campaigns on behalf of clients) assigned to the Google Ads management account must be certified in each product area in which the company has invested at least $500 in the last 90 days. This can be a certification in search, video, display, shopping and/or app campaigns.
This step clearly shows that Google is increasingly placing a clear focus on knowledge and quality in the partner network.
Conclusion
The new requirements make it more difficult to maintain or gain Google Partner status. The Google Partner logo is thus gaining in importance because the circle of those who can call themselves “Google Partner” is becoming more exclusive.
Companies that want to commission an agency to place Google Ads ads can thus be even more certain in the future that agencies with a Google Partner logo represent high-quality SEA agencies.
Do you have further questions about the Google Partner Program or would you like to plan your Google Ads advertising campaign with us?
Please simply get in touch with your contact person from our SEA team:
Webentwicklung / SEO / SEA / Social Media-Management