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Whether you’re managing a business, climbing the professional ladder, or you desire more growth in your professional career, attracting more customers (or clients) is probably your top priority. To do that, you’ve got to opt for either organic traffic or paid advertising. But since organic traffic takes some time, a paid ad is probably your best bet — and that’s where running Local Services Ads (LSAs) comes in.
To get started, you have to earn the Google Screened badge of trust. But what is Google Screened, and how can you get the most out of it? Well, in this guide, you’ll discover all these and more.
Google screened is a local service provider verification process initiated by Google. An extensive background check is performed using Google’s Local Service Ads and the Google Partner program along with regulatory third parties and the local state.
The primary purpose of the verification process is to ascertain the service provider’s insurance, licenses and reputation are valid and in good standing. The program is primarily designed to pre-screen applicants before they are given the Badge of Trust — Google’s iconic green checkmark.
The badge pretty much signifies that the local business passed all relevant Google screening requirements. And these service providers are known as Google-trusted service providers.
The Google screened badge helps you drive a large volume of buyers from Google’s Local Service Ads. With the Google screened badge, you get to boost your:
Before diving into the type of companies that can use Google screened, you’ve got to know what vertical and horizontal markets are. Vertical markets are businesses that solve specific customer needs. They pretty much come with a local address. However, horizontal markets appeal to a wide range of audiences — they are not local. When it comes to the Google screened badges, it’s only available for vertical markets.
Here are some verticals that are eligible for the Google screened certification:
Attorneys who are looking to have the screened icon on their profile get to go through the Google verification process. But when it comes to performing individual background checks, Google doesn’t do that. After all, attorneys must have passed through the state requirements and processes before getting the license to practice law within their region.
Agents who desire the Google screened badge must be ready for an individual background and license check. However, such a process can be avoided if they have already gone through it while obtaining their state’s realtor’s license.
Preschool and daycare providers have to go through a license check. But they may not go through individual background checks. After all, such requirements are needed under state law before opening a childcare service.
Financial planners like tax specialists and certified public accountants have to go through a business owner and business-level background check. Furthermore, all employees who are associated with the business have to go through a similar process before the business license gets verified.
The Google screened process is pretty straightforward. But it doesn’t mean that the process takes a few hours. Typically, the verification and vetting process takes about two to three days. But the background checks are somewhat longer.
To get started, you have to apply to any of Google’s digital marketing agency partners. Also, you need to be prepared with a means of identification — and that could be a social security number and a valid driver’s license. A copy of the federal and state licenses and that of the local service provider’s insurance should be close by.
If you’ve got a relatively big business, then your employees will also be subjected to some screening. After that, Google will perform an owner and business background check to validate all insurance requirements.
Furthermore, the business needs to have a three-star (or higher) cumulative customer review rating on its Google My Business profile. Managing customer reviews is a sure way to maintain a high rating. Potential customers will almost always navigate toward service providers with the highest customer review rating.
Let’s say you manage a local law firm, and you need a Google screened badge, the first step is to create a local service ad profile using Google. After that, you need to submit relevant information for a license and background check. The Google screened badge is earned after the law firm’s founder and the firm have gone through some reviews and inquiries. Furthermore, you need to ascertain that your Google My Business rating is about 3.0 stars or higher.
Google screened is a sure way of ascertaining that the business has gone through Google’s verification process and its reputation is in good standing. However, Google Guaranteed is somewhat different. Yes, an extensive Google background check is needed — but its primary objective is to provide customer reimbursement for a portion of the service rendered. It comes in handy when the customer is not entirely satisfied with the service delivery.
Depending on the country, there is a predetermined amount Google reimburses to the customer. It’s worth noting that customers are eligible for reimbursement only if they book their work using Local Service Ads. The reimbursement (or payment) is largely dependent on Google’s discretion — and it has a lifespan. That is a period when customers get to request reimbursement.
Just like Google Screened, Google Guaranteed comes with some badge and checkmark of trust. But they are not the same — Google Screener’s checkmark is green in its entirety with a white background. This way, the green checkmark is visible. On the other hand, the checkmark on Google Guaranteed is all white inside the green circle.
To start the setup process, you’ve got to log in to your Google Account which doubles as your Google My Business Profile. After that, you’ve got to follow the easy steps as shown below.
The Google screened badge is worth it. Companies with the Google screened badge tend to be perceived as more trustworthy by the target audience, and the certification helps to drive more qualified direct leads to the business.
The green check mark is proof that the company has gone through Google’s rigorous screening process, and the Local Service ads are a sure way to help the business appear at the top of Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs). This way, you get to boost brand awareness, engagement, and acquisition from one spot. That’s like killing three birds with one stone.
Businesses that have been thoroughly vetted by Google are almost always given top priority in both paid and organic search results. It’s a reliable way of using your content to generate good traffic.
Furthermore, Google uses the pay-per-performance model. That is, you get to pay when a potential customer takes the desired action — and that could be pressing the click-to-call button or other similar buttons. In a nutshell, it’s a low-risk investment for marketers.
Google Ads is arguably the best advertising platform in the world today. It offers customers a reliable way to tell their stories and change their perception in the marketplace. It offers an avenue of arousing the customer’s interest and inviting them to learn and establish a memorable relationship with your brand.
Let’s say you use a Google Ads campaign to attract customers to your brand, one of the things to do is figure out how to manage your campaigns — especially if you’re running multiple campaigns from a single account.
Managing multiple campaigns is no easy feat. But you can get a hold of it by opting for tools like the PPC Signal tool. The PPC Signal tool helps you keep a close eye on your campaign metrics. This way, you get to make the right calls that’ll pretty much boost your return on ad spend (ROAS).
Let’s say you want to determine your campaign is getting enough conversions to ascertain if you’re spending within your campaign budget, all you need to do is navigate to the PPC Signal dashboard. On the dashboard, click on the Conversion to get an automated signal displayed on your screen in real-time.
From the signals displayed, you get to uncover more insights about your campaign and also predict the trends, outliers, anomalies, and shifts from the data. To explore your data, click on the Explore icon.
After clicking on the Explore icon, you get to have a graphical representation of your data — and that helps you to determine how long your campaign cost per conversions has been going upward and conversions are going downward.
There is also a way of representing the data in a tabular form. Using the tabular form, you get to make relevant comparisons of the metrics that are affecting your campaign cost.
From the automated signal, you get to quickly make decisions that will pretty much help you boost your ROI in the long run. Speaking of boosting your ROI, here are some tips to help you do just that.
Google Screened professionals have usually gone through an extensive license and background check conducted by trusted partners like the Local Services Ads or the state (or regulatory) bodies.
The cost of the Google Screened/Guaranteed program is roughly $50 per month.
Let’s say a customer is not satisfied with your service delivery, Google will likely reimburse the customer the amount on the job invoice. But it’s largely dependent on Google’s discretion.
You’d have to use Google to create a local service ad profile. After that, you’d have to submit relevant information for an extensive license and background check.
Since Google is one of the top brands on the planet, and arguably the giant in the advertisement industry, leveraging its services is a reliable way to position your business in front of your target customers.
To do that, you’ve got to start using services like Google Ads, Google Analytics, and other Google-related tools to boost your business presence in the marketplace.
But that’s not all…
You have to consider Google screened. If you want to take advantage of Google screened, then your business needs to be already listed on Google — and you need to make sure that relevant information is up-to-date and accurate.
Although it’s a rigorous process, having the Google screened badge is worth the stress — and it will pay off in the long run.
Are you eligible for the Google Screened badge? If yes, why have you not applied for it?
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