Is it a requirement to pay for LSAs to display the Google Guaranteed badge?

[Wendy Moon]

I have an HVAC SEO client who has gone through the vetting process and until recently, their business appeared in search with the "Google Guaranteed" badge without paying for leads. They contacted LSA support and they were informed that they must pay for the LSA to display the badge.
Is this something new? It was my client's understanding that once they passed the screening and kept their information updated, they would not have to pay for ads.

 

[Dee]

I have an HVAC SEO client who has gone through the vetting process and until recently, their business appeared in search with the "Google Guaranteed" badge without paying for leads. They contacted LSA support and they were informed that they must pay for the LSA to display the badge.
Is this something new? It was my client's understanding that once they passed the screening and kept their information updated, they would not have to pay for ads.

LSA will not show the Google Guaranteed badge unless the ads are “turned on”. They can be approved by Google to have the badge but it only shows when the ads are running.

 

[Wendy Moon]

LSA will not show the Google Guaranteed badge unless the ads are “turned on”. They can be approved by Google to have the badge but it only shows when the ads are running.

Thank you for the reply, Dee. Just for clarification, was the policy requiring ads to be "turned on" always in place? My client said that they previously had the badge displayed without ads running. Thanks!

 

[Dee]

Thank you for the reply, Dee. Just for clarification, was the policy requiring ads to be "turned on" always in place? My client said that they previously had the badge displayed without ads running. Thanks!

I’ve been using it for 4 years and from what I remember it would only show the badge when ads are turned on.