Upgraded Google my business profiles are now available & Include a Google guaranteed badge for $50 per month
Google dropped some big news recently. If you haven’t heard, the search engine giant now offers its Google Guaranteed certification—previously available only to businesses advertising on its Local Services platform—as an “upgrade” to your Google My Business profile.The cost? $50 per month (or $600 per year).
The update was first spotted by Tom Waddington, who shared his findings on Twitter, and it appears to be a beta program Google is running:Google starting to offer an upgraded Business Profile (Google My Business listing) for $50/month that will add the Google Guaranteed badge to the listing and back services the business provides with the Google Guarantee. pic.twitter.com/x4bHLuVEi2
— Tom Waddington (@tomwaddington8) July 22, 2020
What We Know About Upgraded Google My Business Profiles & the Google Guaranteed Badge
While Google has remained relatively silent about its upgraded Google My Business profiles for service-based companies, when asked about the upgraded profiles a Google spokesperson stated:“We’re always testing new ways to improve our experience for our advertisers, merchants and users. This experiment will show the Google Guaranteed badge on the business profile. We don’t have anything additional to announce right now.”
How Do I Know If My Company Is Eligible for an Upgraded Google My Business Profile & the Google Guaranteed Badge?
Getting the Notification
Eligible businesses will receive an email from Google (sent to the owner of its Google My Business page) notifying them they are eligible for the upgraded Google My Business profile and Google Guaranteed certification. You may also run into a notification from Google when logging into your Google My Business dashboard, similar to this:
Available Industries
Google has yet to confirm what types of companies are eligible for the upgraded profiles. However, our experts predict that the Google Guaranteed certification will be available* for the same industries currently open within Google’s Local Services advertising platform:- Air Duct Cleaning
- Appliance Repair
- Auto Glass / Windshield Repair
- Car Repair
- Carpet Cleaning
- Electrician
- Estate Lawyer
- Event Planning
- Financial Planner
- Garage Door
- Handyman Companies & General Contractors
- House Cleaning
- HVAC
- Immigration Lawyer
- Junk Removal
- Lawn Care
- Locksmith
- Moving Services
- Painting
- Pest Control
- Pet Boarding & Grooming
- Photography
- Plumbing
- Real Estate Agent
- Roadside Assistance
- Roofing
- Tree Services
- Tutoring
- Upholstery Cleaning
- Water Damage Restoration
- Window Cleaning
- Window Repair
Why Is This Important?
So why do we care? And why should you? While no digital marketing agency fully knows what impact the Google Guaranteed badge and upgraded Google My Business profiles will have on their clients’ performance, we can only speculate that by signing up for the badge, businesses may see improved performance from their search engine optimization (SEO) and local SEO campaigns:- Greater visibility and higher rankings in Google’s Local Pack (maps listings)
- Higher click-through rates (CTR) coming from Google organic search
- More website traffic (as a result of higher CTRs)
- Increased leads and sales (more website traffic = more leads and sales)
- Higher revenue
- Improved trust and consumer confidence in their brands
What Is the Google Guaranteed Badge?
The Google Guaranteed badge (“Google Guaranteed certification”) means your business must pass a Google screening and qualification process. This process includes:- Verifying your business licenses and insurance coverages
- Background checks for all business owners
- Background checks for all employees entering customers’ homes
How the Google Guarantee Benefits Your Business
Until Google’s latest release about upgraded Google My Business profiles and the expansion of its Google Guarantee to organic search, businesses investing in Local Services ads received the Google Guarantee and continue to benefit in many ways:- Added trust with customers – Customers who see the Google Guarantee automatically know you’re a well-established company…not a one-person shop named “Chuck In a Truck.” They trust you more.
- Improved search visibility – Local Services ads put your company at the top of Google search results.
- Increased leads and sales – Being found at the top of Google search results means more people are clicking on your ads and calling your business.
- Optimized marketing costs – While PPC advertising can cost you thousands of dollars per month to pay for website visits (resulting in you paying a high cost per lead), Local Services ads typically come in at a $20-50 cost per lead.
How the Google Guarantee Benefits Your Customers
According to Google, the Google Guarantee is meant to provide a better shopping experience for customers through the Local Services platform and includes two main benefits:- The Google Guarantee covers claims up to the amount on the job invoice up to the lifetime cap for the coverage ($2,000 maximum).
- Services must (currently) be booked through Google Local Services. The Google Guarantee doesn’t cover add-on or future projects, damages to property, dissatisfaction with price or provider responsiveness, or cancellations.
