Hey Google, What are your motives?
Anyone familiar with the Google Partner Programs knows the number of rewarding opportunities and benefits that are available, but have you ever stopped to question why Google are so happy to help?
I have been so lucky to work as a Marketing Assistant at (well, in my opinion) the best digital agency in Brisbane. I’ve worked at Orange Digital for two years now and I’ve had a pretty good time so far. I’ve played a fair few games of foosball, eaten delicious breakfasts, taken part in some pretty amazing parties (ain’t no party like an Orange party, ’cause an Orange party don’t stop), and made incredible friendships.
Over my time at Orange Digital, I’ve learnt a lot. However, it wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago that I realised there was one aspect of the company that I wasn’t familiar with. Orange Digital holds Google Premier Partner status, but I wasn’t sure how this all came about. I questioned our CEO Mike Woodrow about whether we pay for this program. His answer: nope, completely free.
So why? Why does Google run a free program that seems to be incredibly beneficial to us? What does Google get out of this? What are their motives? Google is a huge company, so why do they care about a medium-sized Brisbane agency?
First off, for those who may not be aware, Google has a number of different partner programs:
- Google Partners (focusing on AdWords and Ads),
- Google Cloud Technology Partners
- Google Marketing Platform Partners
Access to these partner programs is completely free. A company can apply and receive free forms of education, rewards, support, and growth assistance. Now, when you break these groups up you can see that Google puts a lot of man-hours into creating these partnerships, which come at no cost to us. In today’s discussion, I am solely going to look at the Google Partnership (focus on AdWords and Ads) Orange Digital has access to.
The educational benefits include access to live-streamed learning sessions, extensive courses, certifications, and insight into new and evolving case studies. These rewards include Google running challenges, access to first-hand insights and exciting awards for agency performance. Google provides continuous support online and over the phone. Support access increases with status, so as Orange Digital are Premier Partners, we have direct access to our own Google representative for any emergency situations. Finally, growth assistance in a Google Partnership includes Business Strategy Consulting and event support.
All those benefits in one free program. That’s a lot of continuous hours, passion, and time, which one huge corporation is putting into Orange Digital — not to mention however many other similar agencies in Australia and across the world take part as well.
I reached out to a representative at Google and unfortunately she was unable to make an official comment relating to the company’s motives behind this program. However, after talking to colleagues and my own experience with the program, my understanding is this program works on improving ad results and return when using Google Ads. The more assistance Google provides Orange Digital, the better the results are for clients. With this mind, clients are therefore likely to increase ad spend and reuse their services based on already receiving positive results in the past.
Additionally, this program has fostered a valuable relationship between agencies (like Orange Digital) and Google. These crucial relationships don’t end there, through the program agencies can help their customers receive even better results using Google services. Consequently, these positive interactions with Google promote brand loyalty, keeping users committed to the company and happy with their services. Brand loyalty is better described as:
“A strategic objective for the companies because of its positive effect on long-term profitability. The importance of user loyalty is increasing as acquiring customer alone is not an effective way for long-term success.”
Positive user-brand relationships aren’t just beneficial for word-of-mouth marketing. Evidence shows that creating valuable client and consumer relationships can increase company profits by 35%-85% by improving 5% of its customer retention rate. The success of the Google Partner program is likely to see more agencies join, with the hope to enhance ad results for clients, thus increasing Google’s profits.
Google’s ability to tap into their client base in a positive and influential way enables the company to reinforce and increase brand awareness among consumers. The Google Partners Program only further encourages positive outcomes for all parties and ultimately places Google as one of the most successful brands who can create long-lasting relationships with customers.
