Google Guaranteed for GMB?

[lincolnchan]

Google offering 'upgraded' GMB profile with Google Guaranteed badge for $50 per month

Google tested the idea of subscription-based services for GMB in April 2019.

searchengineland.com

Has anyone seen or heard anything about this? I'm familiar with Google Guaranteed for ads (our clients still on the waitlist or whatever ) but first I've ever heard anything about a GMB subscription. Has anyone been involved in survey, Google's experiment, or is this live for anyone? Really innnnteresting.....

 

[TomW]

Oh my... what a bunch of nonsense. Thanks for sharing your exchange with the rep.

Google has not been very clear about any of this and I have heard conflicting info as well, but it is possible to be in Google Ads and LSA and have the badge in GMB, Now, they could change this, of course, but I don't see a scenario where they would make a business choose between them.

This is still a small test group and I haven't heard any updates on where they're going with it but they do seem to be testing it more. And by testing I don't mean opening up the option to more businesses necessarily, but instead sticking the GG badge and a call tracking number on the GMB listing of a business without their knowledge. More than likely when you see a badge that is what is happening. The business is not paying $50/month for it, Google is just currently testing on their listing.

And when Google does stick the badge on a listing for their testing, it's going to be a business that's already in LSA. Why? Because they're not going to put it on the GMB listing of a company that they haven't already screened.

My best advice at the moment for actually getting in the program is to occasionally check the GMB dashboard for the option to upgrade. And if multiple users manage the listing, have them check too because the option may be visible in one account but not another.

 

[Lanerizz]

Thanks Tom! Yes I agree, would make no sense for them to show the badge for businesses that aren't already verified in the LSA program.

Good advice to check multiple users, will do that. Thank you for staying on this and sharing your knowledge.

 

[JoshuaMackens]

Do we have a screenshot of what the invite in the dashboard looks like to upgrade? And is it only in the GMB dashboard?

 

[JoyHawkins]

@JoshuaMackens there are some screenshots here: Google Now Offering Fee Based Business Profile Enhancement to LSA Users - Local University

 

[JoshuaMackens]

Great, thank you!

Any idea where in the GMB dashboard it shows up? Or is it in the LSA dashboard?

 

[TomW]

Hey @JoshuaMackens look in the 'Home' section of the GMB dashboard on desktop. That's where it will appear if it is available for the listing.

 

[JoshuaMackens]

I thought so! Tons of stuff there but no option no way to get in touch with support and ask them to make it available?

And are you still hearing it's available more for the bigger brands than the smaller guys?

 

[TomW]

I haven't seen indications that it's mainly bigger brands. I know a couple small ones in it. It's probably a decent mix but not sure why they picked the ones they did.

 

[JoshuaMackens]

Interesting. Thank you!

 

[JoshuaMackens]

Well, I dug into this deeper and thought you might be interested in my findings:

1) This rollout is uber small. There were 4 companies with GG that we found across close to 12,000 listings. We searched bigger service area industries such as plumbers, moving companies, locksmiths, HVAC, electricians, roofers, appliance repair, etc. And we looked in bigger areas such as New York, LA, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philly, etc. So, with four companies out of 12,000 listings, that's .0003% of companies with a GG in the map pack. It's definitely a small program which is what I was told repeatedly by different sources.

@TomW assertion about it being smaller companies has held up for me. I called all 4 companies and spoke with 2 people. Both were owner operated in all departments. They're doing their own marketing for instance as well as other stuff probably. When they answered, they were actually in the field on calls. So, yes, I think Google targeted smaller companies, at least in some instances.

One of the ones I talked to told me someone called him, asked him if he wanted to be in the program and then from there I believe it was all done over email. He was aware of the difference between the GG results and GG in the map pack. He knew he was paying $50 for the right to be in map pack with GG. He said the person he spoke with did have a slight accent but spoke well enough that he thought they were US based, which makes sense. He also said he tried to get it for his other locations/listings but the Google rep said no. He also asked for a way to call and get in touch and the Google rep said something to the effect of, "No, you don't call us, we call you." That seems a little intense but that's what he said. He said he would email me any help he could give. He ended up emailing me the number but said when you call, it's like a typical Google number, it goes nowhere.

The second person I talked to was a similar story. He's a smaller shop. But this time it was all done over email and he didn't understand there was a difference between GG results and GG map pack. He said he would email me the correspondence. I'll let you know what I find out.

Also, I was surprised to see that it looks like Google targeted smaller companies with a smaller reputation. The two I spoke with had around 200 - 300 less reviews than the people at the top in their industry/location. In fact, the most either had was 25 reviews. Looking back, I think it makes sense that Google wants to prove their product on smaller businesses because if it works for them, it will work for anyone. Maybe that's their reasoning. I don't know.

Anyways, I'd like some help:

1) Would anyone be willing to share some GG map pack results they've seen? I'd like to find more companies and draw more conclusions.
2) Does anyone have insights into a way for me to find more GG map pack results on my own? For example, any particular industries or cities that are heavy with them?
3) Any other insights you have would be great.

 

[JoshuaMackens]

Anybody else?

 

[JoyHawkins]

I have yet to be able to trigger these in search results whatsoever. I don't know anyone else that has either. Last we checked with Google the test was super small (as you mentioned) and there was no way to get added to it.