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What is Google Certified?

Google offers two certifications: Google Certified Professional and Google Certified Company. To be a Google Certified Professional (or Qualified Individual), you must maintain a 3-month spending level of $1,000 in Google Adwords, between all of your clients. (I think they eliminated this requirement, though it should have remained.) The biggest difference between the two are their AdWords spending requirements. Web Your Name® was formerly a Google Certified Professional company. We don't always maintain the required spending limits, because we focus on organic search engine results. The Google Certified Professional requirements are here. You can only use the "OFFICIAL" Google logo if you are a Google Certified Professional. There are additional logo requirements that I see violated all over the Internet. For example, we are supposed to use the logo with equal spacing on each side. As of now, I don't meet the spending so I cannot use the Official logo.

Google's website has the complete list of "Official Rules". I have summarized them here:

• You may not change the aspect ratio or colors of the logo.
• You may not display the logo as the most prominent feature on your page.
• You can't display the logo to imply a relationship, sponsorship, endorsement, or affiliation with Google. (This would be a good place to say, Google does not endorse my company, though I wholeheartedly support theirs.)
• You are not allowed to use the logo on your site without clearly indicating the number of individuals who have earned Google Certified status and successfully passed the Google Professional Exam. (This would be a good place to say that we have one Google Certified Professional. Me.)
• You cannot use the logo on any website that contains or displays pornography, gambling, or otherwise violates any law or regulation, is obscene or objectionable, or violates stated Google editorial policies.
• You cannot delete, distort, or alter any element of the logo.
• You cannot display the logo so it appears larger or more prominent than your name, product, or service name, trademark or service mark, logo, or trade or company name. (Our header on this page is our logo and bigger than the Google logo.)
• You can't use the logo in a way other than as specified by the Google guidelines. Failure to comply with their instructions shall constitute a breach of the Google Advertising Professionals Rules of Use. (We will assume that if you violate the "Google Rules Of The Road", you will likely have your status terminated.)
• These rules are broken all over the Internet. Google never enforces any rules, so that doesn't mean don't comply with them.

 

Is being Google Certified important?

No. In all honestly, hiring a Google Certified Company, or Google Certified individual does not make a whole lot of difference. It is a good sales pitch for many Internet marketing companies. I do not preach about being Google Certified because my clients and I focus on natural search engine results, not pay-per-click advertising. I have passed the exam several times. I would rather make money on AdSense than spend money on AdWords.

AdSense Is Better than Adwords. Business 201.
Don't commit Google marketing suicide.

AdSense is the opposite of Adwords. AdWords is you spending money to generate traffic, while AdSense is other people paying you money to get traffic. However, AdSense should not be used on any websites that make you a lot of money on products. For example, my friend, Keith Bloemendaal, sells fence materials; his average sale is between $2,500 and $5,000. Keith has been using AdSense on his website.

But Keith Bloemendaal doesn't understand that once he has visitors at his site he should want to keep them there. Confusing customers to click on links that they think are internal, but are really external advertising links (as with AdSense), is a bad thing when you're selling high-ticket items. Any advertisements that distract a person from spending $5,000 on your website so you can make a single dollar with a click is the worst mistake you could possibly make. Keith does not sell trinkets or bullshit stuff that he only makes a couple dollars on; his sales result in a direct profit of several hundred to several THOUSAND dollars. Why would he (or you) want someone to leave the website? They might never come back. Worse, they might stay at a competitor's site and buy what they need there. Not everyone will even realize that they have left your website. Keith said that everyone else does it, which made me laugh inside, because as I was told growing up, if everyone else is doing it, it was usually a BAD THING. Laugh out loud.

Now, you see I'm encouraging Keith Bloemendaal to use AdSense, but on a personal blog. I want him to stop being a Wayne Sutton wannabe and stop wasting his time twittering and whatever other social networking bullshit he does, and work toward making some real money with Google, the Internet, and online marketing.

I will take a $1,500 fence job over losing a customer over profiting $0.90 by sending them to a competitor. Sending a client away from Keith's business is SUICIDE. This does NOT hold true for every business, just those with a huge profit margin at stake. That comes in Google Marketing Lesson 201. Keith Bloemendaal is another excellent friend, who I would take a bullet for.

I will update this page with Keith's blog website, if he ever decides it is worth it. The guy has real talent. He's like my little brother. He doesn't have the experience I have had over the years, but he has the heart and dedication, and he is a quick learner. Keith's limited experience with Google marketing has helped him a lot over the last few years. Keith is not Google Certified, but when Web Your Name® is large enough to become a Google Certified Company, I would ask Keith to be my right hand man. I am looking forward to reading Keith Bloemendaal's blog.